Three Years After Strong Statements & Cancelation, Angel Blue Set for Arena di Verona Debut

By Francisco Salazar

Angel Blue is set to make her Arena di Verona debut only three years after she canceled due to a incident relating to the use of blackface in “Aida.”

The company noted that she will sing the role of Violetta in “La Traviata” in performances on June 27, July 5, and 11, 2024.

Back in 2022, the soprano canceled her debut in the same opera due to the company’s use of blackface in a production of “Aida” and said, ” I cannot in good conscience associate myself with an institution which continues this practice.”

Last season Verona reprised a 1913 production of “Aida” and did not use blackface to present the work and in 2023, the company opened a new production of the opera directed by Stefano Poda and starred Anna Netrebko, who was at the center of Verona’s controversy. That production also did not use blackface.

In August, Blue told OperaWire she had been invited back but did not accept due to scheduling. She said, “Also, and no one knows this, but I’ve been invited back to Verona every year. They actually invited me this year to sing ‘Aida,’ and unfortunately, I wasn’t able to because of a scheduling conflict.”

She also told OperaWire, “So, the most important thing for me, I think….I don’t use the ‘R’ word anymore; R-A-C-I-S-T…I try not to use that word, and I try not to use the ‘B’ word either! The ‘B’ word that ends with the word ‘Face’! Because now I recognize that those are strong words and everyone feels the way they feel about those words, but for me, I do believe I did the right thing for me. As long as I can look at myself, in the face every day and know that I held on to my beliefs.”

 

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