Engaging with Orientalist Opera in the Twenty-first Century

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Since the Black Lives Matter (2020) and Stop Asian Hate (2021-22) protests, there has been agreater consciousness about issues of race. Yet UK opera companies are struggling to adapt.The attempt of the Royal Opera House (ROH) to 'fix' their existing Madama Butterfly inautumn 2022, for example, has again been found to be culturally insensitive (BEATS 2022).In my doctoral project, I aim to investigate the disconnect between academic scholarship -which often decries operatic Orientalism, critiquing stereotypes and seeking more reparativereadings - and British opera performance, in which Orientalism is rarely challenged. Usingthree groups of research questions, concerning industry, audience, and academia, I willestablish why attempts to bridge this gap have been ineffective, and explore ways of movingforward. Historically, opera has always reflected - and in so doing perpetuated - desires andanxieties surrounding the racial 'Other'. The treatment and reception of these operas serves asa barometer of how race, especially in relation to gender and sexuality, is perceived. Now, at atime when there is greater awareness around issues of race and representation and an appetiteto make changes, opera has become more accessible than ever, thanks to social media andscreening platforms. The controversy generated by recent productions of Orientalist operasreveals a desire for the companies that stage these operas to engage more critically with theirsubject matter, to reflect upon and change how Orientalist opera is handled at a systemic level.My research will offer avenues on how to approach this.