Every Voice with Terrance McKnight
Debuts February 16
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Abduction from the Seraglio: Revelations
With such a dark past, what does the future look like for opera as an art form? From Verdi to Mozart, many of opera’s most celebrated works famously reduce people of African descent t... Jun 1, 2023
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Abduction from the Seraglio: A Blind Eye
Mozart’s “The Abduction from the Seraglio” was first heard in Vienna in 1782, commissioned by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II to cater to the German-speaking audience of the capital city... May 25, 2023
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Abduction from the Seraglio: A Dream Interrupted
In the prime of his illustrious career, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ran in the realm of prominent, Black visionaries, composed the radical (unfinished) opera “Zaide” depicting a slave rev... May 18, 2023
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Abduction from the Seraglio: Freedom and Justice for Some
All too often, characters of African descent in operas written during the 18th and 19th centuries are defined as the institution of slavery and the idea of inferiority. But today’s c... May 11, 2023
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Aida: America’s Confederates in Egypt
When “Aida” premiered in Egypt in 1871, it delivered some not-so-subtle messaging in the dramatization of light-skinned Egyptians dominating dark-skinned Ethopians. Within two years, ... May 4, 2023
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Aida: 100% Egyptian Cotton
“Opera has always been not just adjacent to colonial conquest, but perhaps … quite a large part of it.” Pranathi Diwakar, Every Voice with Terrance McKnight researcher. When the US an... Apr 27, 2023
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Aida: Off the Chain
At the heart of Verdi's opera “Aida” is an African love story, where an Egyptian general and an Ethiopian princess fall in love. It premiered in Cairo in 1871, but the truth is, very ... Apr 20, 2023
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Aida: Red Heart, White Eyes
In Giuseppe Verdi’s “Aida,” Princess Aida is torn between her homeland of Ethiopia (ruled by her father, King Amonasro) and her captor, the Egyptian leader Radamès who loves her and w... Apr 13, 2023
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Otello: The North Star
As the one Black man in Shakespeare’s play and Verdi’s opera, Otello was not only tokenized, but villainized, criticized and minimized. With such an emphasis on Otello’s flaws, how is... Apr 6, 2023
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Otello: Black Handkerchiefs Matter
Giuseppe Verdi's Otello rose from enslavement to the ranks of army general and marries an aristocratic Venetian woman. It’s difficult to imagine the rich cultural heritage of Otello’... Mar 30, 2023
