African American singer withdraws from Arena di Verona: Racist Aida with black makeup

There is controversy at theArena in Verona over Giuseppe Verdi’sAida: it all revolves around the performance of the protagonist, the Ethiopian princess Aida, who last July 8, in the repetition of the performance with Franco Zeffirelli’s stagings, was played by Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, who was made up in black makeup to simulate the skin color typical of the African population to which the protagonist of Verdi’s opera belonged (something that had already happened at the premiere on June 18, anyway). However, this practice sparked outrage from African American soprano Angel Joy Blue, since in the United States the act of putting makeup on a white person to make him or her look like a black person is considered deeply racist (it is called blackface). Angel Blue was supposed to play Violetta in Verdi’s Traviata on the July 22-30 billing, but decided to withdraw from her role in controversy over what happened.

“I have come to the unfortunate conclusion,” she wrote in a post on her Instagram profile, “that I will not be singing La Traviata at the Arena di Verona this summer as originally planned. As many of you know, the Arena di Verona recently decided to use blackface makeup in a recent production of Aida. Let me be perfectly clear: the use of blackface in any circumstance, artistic or otherwise, is a deeply misguided practice based on archaic theatrical traditions that have no place in modern society. It is offensive, demeaning and overtly racist. Period. I was looking forward to making my Arena di Verona debut singing one of my favorite operas, but they cannot, in good faith, associate my name with that of an institution that continues this practice. Thank you for your understanding, and thank you to everyone who has shown support and sensitivity toward me and my colleagues of color.”

The Arena di Verona Foundation ’s retort came via a statement: it let it know that the Zeffirellian production ofAida “is not recent,” that the agreement with Angel Blue and the agency representing it “dates back almost a year,” and that “The premiere of Aida took place on June 18 and therefore the characteristics of this production were well known when Angel Blue made a conscious commitment to sing at the Arena.” Regarding the use of blackface, the Foundation explains, “All countries have different roots and their cultural and social structure has developed through different cultural-historical paths. On the same topic, the sensibility and approach can be very different in different corners of the world; often a shared idea is arrived at only after years of dialogue and mutual understanding. We have no motive, nor any desire, to offend and disturb anyone’s sensibility. We reach out with vivid emotions to people from different countries, from different religious backgrounds, but for us all people are equal. We believe in dialogue, in the effort to understand the point of view of others, while respecting the artistic commitments made.” Finally, the Foundation closes with a wish towards the African-American singer: “Angel, we and the Arenian audience are confidently waiting for you, it will be an opportunity to dialogue in a constructive and concrete way starting precisely from your reflections. The digital world does not create the same empathy that only direct contact can bring about: just like in Theater. The juxtapositions, judgments, categorizations, and lack of dialogue only fuel a culture of conflict that we totally reject. And we hope that everyone will work not to fuel divisions.”

This is not, however, the first time this situation has arisen at the Arena di Verona: back in 2019, another U.S. soprano, Tamara Wilson, criticized the production of Aida for forcing her to perform with black makeup (a compromise was later found so as not to scupper the performance and Wilson went on stage with lighter makeup), and thus declared that she would refuse to return to the stage of the Roman amphitheater in these terms.

Why do African Americans consider it racist to blackface makeup a white person?

The origins of blackface probably date back to the early 19th century (it is not known exactly when it originated and who was the first to use it): this makeup was used in the United States in caricature skits during which blacks were portrayed with an abundance of racist stereotypes, so much so that later, when blacks were also allowed to perform in shows, they themselves made use of this makeup to give a grotesque representation of themselves ( blackface in fact involved not only making up the face black, but also marking the mouth with lighter shades): in these shows, for example, blacks were portrayed as individuals who spoke stunted English, were dedicated to theft, and were systematically lazy, liars, and superstitious. Representations of this kind are believed to have contributed to the spread of racist prejudice against African Americans and thus were also a cause of discrimination against them.

The use of blackface became especially widespread during the minstrel shows of the mid- and late nineteenth century, a form of comedy show very much in vogue at the time, which involved alternating skits and music in which the constant was always the presence of a white actor playing a black man. All this while slavery was still in force, which would be abolished in 1865: blackface nevertheless survived even after the end of slavery, carving out no small space for itself in film and television as well. It was not until the 1960s, thanks to the work of Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, that blackface began to gradually disappear from the U.S. entertainment industry, and by the 1980s, with rare exceptions, it had practically fallen into disuse.

For all these reasons, blackface is considered profoundly racist in the United States, although in Italy, since there is no such cultural background, the controversy that each time accompanies situations in which this trick is used is often incomprehensible, and it has even happened that it has been used with good intentions: for example, in 2018, when the famous Neapolitan pizza maker Gino Sorbillo, along with some colleagues, painted his face black to show support for the footballer Kalidou Koulibaly who had been subjected to racist insults. What was meant to be a gesture of closeness, from an African American could be interpreted as a racist affront.

In Italy, however, the debate is not new: a case similar to the one in the Arena of Verona had erupted on TV last year, when rapper Ghali raised the issue of the program Tale e Quale Show , which involves the imitation of famous show business personalities, and where habitually to imitate blacks the whites who played them were made up. After the controversy, RAI decided to permanently ban blackface from its programs: black characters will therefore be played only by black people, or no makeup will be used.

Pictured: Anna Netrebko in makeup as Aida.

African American singer withdraws from Arena di Verona: Racist Aida with black makeup

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