Page 9 - Classical Singer Magazine November/December 2019

New York State Fair Presents Its First Opera In observance of Equality Day,
the New York State Fair looked at the life and times of local resident Matilda Joslyn Gage in an opera titled Pushed Aside: Reclaiming Gage. Presented by Syracuse’s Society for New Music, the opera tells of Gage’s fight against slavery and campaign for women’s right to vote.
According to cnycentral.com, excerpts from the opera were presented in the Art and Home Center Empire Theatre for free. The 45-minute family-friendly performance showed how artists can use this musical form to share our common history.
bit.ly/35AnnXV
Why Do So Few Women Lead American Opera Companies?
The Seattle Times reports that when General Director Christina Scheppelmann took the reins at Seattle Opera this past August, she became one of only two women heading major opera companies
in the United States. The one
other woman currently holding a similar position to Scheppelmann is Washington National Opera Artistic Director Francesca Zambello.
Marc Scorca, president of OPERA America, says the reason there are so few women in top jobs has to do with “everything from acknowledged or unacknowledged bias on one end to
a willingness to embrace the lifestyle on the other end.” Certainly, a lifestyle that requires moving to jobs around the planet for years at a time is less than conducive to family unity.
Scheppelmann, who was the rst director general of the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman and artistic head of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, wishes being a woman in her position wasn’t quite so unusual. She would rather talk about making opera. She says, “I’m sure there has been, often, discrimination. But if I put this in my head, I will not change the discrimination. I can only change it by proving that I’m doing a good job.”
In her opinion, “It would have been nancially too heavy of a burden to have a family, children, to do all these changes, and to move around the world.”
bit.ly/2IQ3J0s
VERSATILITY. MARKETABILITY.
Voice Performance & Opera
DEGREE PROGRAMS OFFERED:
B.A. with Performance Concentration in Music
B.M. in Vocal Performance B.M. in Music Education Double Majors encouraged
Arts Merit Scholarships available.
Auditions in November, January and February.
bucknell.edu/opera bucknell.edu/VoicePerformance
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