Engaging with Orientalist Opera in the Twenty-first Century

自2020年的黑人生命问题（Black Lives Matter）和2021-22年的停止亚洲仇恨（Stop Asian Hate）抗议活动以来，人们对种族问题的认识越来越高。然而，英国的歌剧公司正在努力适应。例如，皇家歌剧院（ROH）试图在2022年秋季“修复"现有的《蝴蝶夫人》，这再次被发现是文化上的不敏感（BEATS 2022）。在我的博士项目中，我的目标是调查学术研究之间的脱节-这往往谴责歌剧东方主义，批判刻板印象，寻求更多的反语解读--以及英国歌剧表演，其中东方主义很少受到挑战。使用三组研究问题，涉及行业，观众和学术界，我将建立为什么试图弥合这一差距一直无效，并探索前进的方式。从历史上看，歌剧总是反映--并因此延续--围绕着种族“种族”的欲望和焦虑。对这些歌剧的处理和接受是如何看待种族，特别是与性别和性有关的种族阿萨晴雨表。现在，当人们对种族和代表性问题有了更高的认识，并渴望做出改变的时候，多亏了社交媒体和放映平台，歌剧比以往任何时候都更容易接近。最近的东方主义歌剧作品所引发的争议揭示了上演这些歌剧的公司希望更批判地参与其主题，反思和改变东方主义歌剧在系统层面上的处理方式。我的研究将提供如何实现这一点的途径。

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.