Thursday, February 25, 2016
The Met Will Stage an Opera Composed by a Woman for the First Time in More Than a Century
jezebel.com: I am judging L’Amour de Loin exclusively and non-expertly from clips I am currently consuming on YouTube—including the above trailer from an incredibly striking, spare, psychotically pretty staging of the opera at the State Theater in Linz, Austria—but the first woman-composed opera to be staged at the Met since 1903 looks extremely tight.
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It’s crazy that it’s been over 100 years (years!) since the Met produced an Opera composed by a woman. I think operas are often forgotten in the ongoing discussion about the lack of female representation in entertainment because opera is so much considered to be something antiquated, for the older generation. I can’t think of many millennials (who are, for the most part, the ones driving forward the conversation about gender equality) who would go to the opera over seeing a more modern theatrical production; in spite of the influx of new young people interested in theater performances, I think operas are still lagging behind. I guess this may also be since opera is more commonly associated with music culture as far as performances go, even though the behind the scenes stuff is more similar to theater. I think because the positive movements towards gender equality are more popularized, people don’t really realize, as this article points out, how slowly things are actually evolving. 100 years is just ridiculous.
Having worked with opera in my past, this story does not surprise me. Opera is not a fast-moving beast, and is so riddled with internal conflict that it seems to take ages to go anywhere, as everyone and their conductor must argue about if it's the right way to go, or if they should be going at all. In addition, innovation has a slightly different meaning in the world of opera, which has had a much harder time detaching itself from the age-old formula of soft-covered false prosceniums and shows in one/two/three. Adding to my own opinion of opera (which is by no means an expert opinion. and also a bit colored by the fact that the opera company I worked for was not the most timely when it came to things like payment) is the article I read just last week about the Met's limited rotation of shows, and how the same 4 operas make up a sizable part of any season, and have for a very long time. While some would call it consistency, I would call it pure stubbornness, and to this article I have one reaction: about damn time. Let's not wait another 100 years for the next one, shall we?
You know how sometimes you hear facts that shouldn’t be shocking yet somehow are? That’s where I am right now. I honestly can’t believe it’s been more than 100 years since the MET has produced a female composer. That seems ridiculous, like a fact straight out of the 1500’s. I’m glad they are finally getting around to the 21st century though. I read an article last week (or the week before maybe) about how large opera companies (including the MET) only produce the same three opera’s over and over. The theory is that these three operas, the ABC’s as they’re called, are sure to turn a profit. This may be one of the contributing factors to the apparent sexism prevalent in the MET. And while it may be an interesting motive, it’s still no excuse. At least this work will not only feature a female composer, but also present a unique, more modern opera. I’m hoping this production will do well, so that more and more modern, diverse operas can be produced in big houses like the MET.
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