'If you come to an opera and you only see white singers telling these stories, that’s not what our world looks like.' Nina Yoshida Nelsen is speaking out against racism and calling for better representation in opera
has had a long history of yellowface , it’s also been one of the few operas that has consistently provided opportunities for Asian singers to take center stage as leads.
“My first reaction was, ‘Well, that’s great that you’re trying to protect me,’” Nelsen says in the documentary. “But you’re also taking work away from me as someone who’s only offered Asian roles. And you’re also creating erasure of my face on a stage. So are we actually doing good by canceling this? Or are we creating more harm?”
Nelsen believes that a better solution would start with making structural change within the industry; by consulting with and hiring Asian artists and creatives for roles both on and off stage to ensure that there are identity-conscious hires at every level of production from directors and casting to costuming and set. The issue of pigeonholing artists in Asian roles could be resolved if they were given the same consideration for other parts, she argues.
This year, amid the lingering effects of the pandemic and the formation of the Asian Opera Alliance, Nelsen had one of the best singing seasons of her career. She booked eight new roles, five of which were not Asian-specific, and a number of concerts. While she appeared in
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