A paler white of shade
“They weren’t booing me,” he clarifies.
By
La Cieca
“That said, on the first night of his performance in Otello at the Teatro di San Carlo the previous week, there were boos. ‘They weren’t booing me,’ he clarifies. ‘I talked to many people afterwards who complained mostly because Otello is not black. And that was the director’s idea.”Let me get this right: they were booing the director because you’re white? Kaufmann nods.” [The Guardian]
La Cieca
James Jorden (who wrote under the names "La Cieca" and "Our Own JJ") was the founder and editor of parterre box. During his 20 year career as an opera critic he wrote for the New York Times, Opera, Gay City News, Opera Now, Musical America and the New York Post. He also raised his voice in punditry on National Public Radio. From time to time he directed opera, including three unsuccessful productions of Don Giovanni. He also contributed a regular column on opera for the New York Observer. James died in October 2023.
-
Topics: blackface, jonas kaufmann
