In May of 2023, Boston Lyric Opera presented Omar, the story of an Islamic scholar sold into the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Olivia Moon Photography

Opera

Opera Evolves

In recent years, the art form has seen more diverse stories, exciting new initiatives, and renewed commitments to inclusivity. Is opera in its strongest era yet?

The BLO was already making strides in representation in its productions. In 2022–2023, the company co-commissioned and staged Omar, which tells the story of an Islamic scholar from West Africa sold into the trans-Atlantic slave trade at the start of the 19th century. The show went on to win the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in music. “It’s groundbreaking,” says Ishan Johnson (’06), a baritone, chief philanthropic officer at BLO, and member of Boston University’s Alumni Council. “When you learn of slavery, you learn it from a Christian point of view. Here, you learn that Muslims were enslaved too.”

Alums of the School of Music and BU Opera Institute are leveraging their experiences as performers and as arts administrators to open the world of opera to more people—on both sides of the curtain. In its next chapter—in which opera seeks to reach more people and uplift unheard voices—where will it take its audiences, both old and new? “Opera has survived every World War, the French Revolution, plagues, slavery, the Holocaust, the Civil Rights Movement,” says Johnson. “Operas are being produced today during very tumultuous times. Opera is not going anywhere.”

Diverse Voices and Stories

For decades, European standard fare—Verdi, Mozart, Wagner—has been cast with singers of color. But more companies are making commitments to staging new and reimagined works in addition to the beloved canon of Western composers. A 2024 report by the nonprofit OPERA America found new works—particularly those with experimental formats and those that foregrounded contemporary issues—were as attractive to new audiences as they were to veteran opera-goers.

Opera houses are also re-envisioning classics in ways that challenge outdated storytelling. In 2023, BLO staged a highly praised production of Madama Butterfly—a Puccini opera maligned by contemporary critics for its outmoded and Orientalist depiction of Japanese culture—in a 1940s internment camp.

The BLO’s Nelsen, who has sung the role of Suzuki in Madama Butterfly about 200 times—and who founded the Asian Opera Alliance to push for a wider variety of roles for singers of Asian heritage, among other changes—was the dramaturg for this production. “It was a Madama Butterfly that could, in fact, have happened,” says Johnson. “You left that opera with a very different view of the world.”

Alexis Peart (’23, MET’24), a mezzo-soprano, is an award-winning performer, a producer, and an advocate for Black performance and storytelling in the arts. She says that in order to better showcase diverse voices, opera companies must also be aware of blind spots and unconscious biases when it comes to their performers of color.

During the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, she remembers, many companies began to look inward to “assess how artists [of color] were presented onstage, what that means for their storytelling, and the implications that it may have.” Some outcomes were tangible, like expanding makeup shade ranges and hiring stylists skilled with textured hair. The industry felt a deeper impact through its reexamination of casting practices and shifts in organizational culture.

“If you’re always casting a person of color in the villain role, what does that say?” she asks. “Are you aware of the subliminal messages that your unperceived bias is creating?”

According to Johnson, the world of arts administration is evolving at a similar pace. “I didn’t meet another Black man in fundraising until about five years into my career, when I met other men who looked just like me,” he says. “I truly am focused on making sure that I am not alone in the spaces I am in—I didn’t always have the power and the influence to make something like that happen, but I can now.”

“The Pay-It-Forward Generation”

Change is happening backstage, too. When Peart was starting out as a professional singer, she was discouraged from participating in arts administration work, which can take the form of anything from producing shows to managing company schedules to soliciting donations.

“For a long time, there was this idea that if you had other interests, it meant you failed as a singer,” she says. “There was shame associated with people who did both.”

But singers who straddle both sides of the curtain have an advantage in the industry, Peart says. She notes that working in multiple areas of the field can provide performers with extra income and encourage them to take creative risks. In addition to her residency with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Peart works across a range of arts institutions as an opera and contemporary theater producer, teaching artist, curriculum writer, and arts educator.

“I do a lot of guest lectures on different careers in opera, and I always say that it’s really important to have a balance of skills that you can lean on,” she says.

The presence of singers in opera administration has a positive effect on how all performers are treated, according to Michelle Johnson (’07), a soprano.

“When I see an [administrator] who was a singer when I was growing up, I know they not only have the business background but they know what we need, as artists, to do our job well,” she says. “I’m looking forward to the next generation of arts admins, because it’s a whole new vibe. It is so refreshing.”

Johnson and her husband, Brian Major (’08,’10), a baritone, take on informal mentorships of up-and-coming singers, offering them auditioning tips, industry advice, and words of encouragement. Johnson also offers voice lessons on a sliding scale, while Major provides professional advice on his social media accounts.

“We are part of the pay-it-forward generation,” Major says. “We had mentors, voice teachers, and coaches who knew we didn’t have anything financially, and they would still help us and give us opportunities to perform. Today’s generation gets its mentorship from social media, [and] finds its way through those platforms.”

A Huge Community

While opera welcomes many changes, other new initiatives are meant to embrace its past. Until the mid-20th century, opera was seen as a people’s art form—intended for all audiences, regardless of status—and not the rarefied medium it can sometimes feel like today.

“When opera was performed for kings and queens, they would sit in the good section, but there were townspeople who enjoyed it as well,” says Michelle Johnson. “It was high art, but it wasn’t just for the rich. It was a huge community of people.”

“The origins and heart of opera have always been rooted in community and conviviality,” says Peart. “It was a social event. People talked through the whole thing, and they had a great time.”

BLO’s community programs tap into opera’s popular history. Its Opera Stories series—condensed, participatory operas for young listeners—travels to local libraries and schools. Its summertime Street Stage, a truck that opens up into a mobile stage complete with piano, hosts free, open-air performances around the city.

In April, BLO opened its Opera + Community Studios in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood. The company’s first-ever brick-and-mortar outpost not only serves BLO, but doubles as a much-needed rental space for a variety of uses, including rehearsals and performances.

“I did not know, when BLO brought me on, how hard it is to find a space to sing, to act, to dance, to write, to draw,” Ishan Johnson says. “It’s nice to be an organization that can provide that resource for so many people.”

“We hope folks understand that opera is not just on the main stage; it’s not just wigs, poofy costumes, and big orchestras,” he adds. “Opera helps to build connections across the cultural ecosystem—it is within the community, and you have access to it.”