Michigan Opera Theatre COVID-19 Response

On behalf of Michigan Opera Theatre (MOT), thank you again for your gift that supported digital opera and dance programming in 2020 and 2021 via GlobalGiving. The following details our progress since the last report, with links and descriptons for your review and enjoyment.

Videos

In Conversation: Themed Discussions on Opera (hosted by Arthur White, MOT's Director of External Affairs, unless otherwise noted)

• “On Representations of Race in Opera and the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” a conversation with University of Michigan professors Dr. Naomi André, Dr. Mark Clague, and George Shirley, moderated by Austin Stewart.
• “On Site-Specific Opera” with Dr. Megan Steigerwald Ille (University of Cincinnati) conducting an interview of MOT Artistic Director and MacArthur Foundation Fellow on site-specific opera, and the changing media and meaning of the art.
• “On Wagner’s Ring” with Dr. Gundula Kreuzer (Yale), Dr. David Levin (U-Chicago), and Dr. Kirsten Paige (Stanford).
• “On Bel Canto” a library book club presentation on the music and politics of Ann Patchett’s critically acclaimed novel Bel Canto, presented in conjunction with the Michigan Library Network.
• “On The Final Bow for Yellowface” with Phil Chan and Georgina Pazcoguin, founders of Final Bow for Yellowface, an organization dedicated to eradicating outdated representations of Asians in opera and dance, and discuss the importance of replacing caricature with character as we strive for respectful and inclusive representation on classical stages. Moderated by Arthur White and Andrea Scobie.
• “On Creating a Digital Opera for Children” members of the Michigan Opera Theatre Children’s Chorus join Assistant Music Director and Chorus Master Suzanne Acton in discussing the creation of their entirely virtual, pandemic-time opera, The Very Last Green Thing, one element of MOT’s youth arts education programs.
• “On Black Stories and the Future of Opera” with composer Nkeiru Okoye and scholar and dramaturg Lee Bynum on the potential for new operas to convey stories of the Black experience.
• “On Moving Cultural Institutions Forward” with playwright, director, and educator Tazewell Thompson, higher education and arts leader Alexandra Smith of the Manhattan School of Music, MOT President & CEO Wayne S. Brown.
• “On the Arts and Healing” with MOT’s Andrea Scobie joined by Dr. Jennifer Gómez, Wayne State University; Dr. Jessica Lopez Lyman, University of Minnesota; Dr. Sara A. Ramirez, Texas State University; and American ballet dancer Brooklyn Mack, currently with English National Ballet.
• “On Passage and Black Stories in Dance” with choreographer Claudia Schreier and composer Jessie Montgomery discussing their new ballet for Dance Theatre of Harlem, “Passage,” discussion moderated by Dr. Jennifer Gómez.
• “On Celebrating Shirley Verrett” with Dr. Christopher Brooks reflecting on the legacy of one of America’s greatest opera singers and cultural contributors.

MOT’s Dance Dialogues: Livestreamed Conversations with Scholars and Critics of Dance

• “On Ballet Blanc and Swan Lake” with David Lyman (Journalist and Essayist, Cincinnati), hosted by Jon Teeuwissen.
• “On Paul Taylor Dance Company and American Modern Dance” with Dr. Suzanne Carbonneau (George Mason University), hosted by Jon Teeuwissen.
• “Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with Ballet Hispánico” with Eduardo Vilaro (Ballet Hispánico), hosted by Jon Teeuwissen.
• “On Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Revelations” with Robert Battle, hosted by Jon Teeuwissen.
• “On The Nutcracker” with Alastair Macaulay, hosted by Jon Teeuwissen.
• “On the Legacy of Katherine Dunham” with Theresa Ruth Howard, a reflection on the “matriarch and queen mother of Black dance.”

 Virtual Lectures with Austin Stewart

• “The World and Revolution of Richard Wagner”
• “Sir Walter Scott and The Italian Lady of the Lake”
• “Shakespeare in Opera: Verdi’s Falstaff and Otello”
• “Mythologizing Opera: Wagner’s Parsifal”

 Dance Blog Series by Jon Teeuwissen

• “A Controversial Masterpiece: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Fawn”
• “Four Minutes a Dying Swan: Anna Pavlova and Becoming the Symbol of the New Russian Ballet”
• “Ballet Blanc: Shades, Shadows and Spirits”
• “The Story of Swan Lake in Black and White”
• “Les Sylphides: The Origins of Abstract Dance”
• “Arden Court: Paul Taylor’s Masterpiece Danced by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater”
• “Aureole: Exploring Paul Taylor’s Landmark Work”

Podcasts

• OperaHERE, Celebrating Pride: A conversation on opera and dance that tells LGBTQ stories with Andrea, Scobie, Arthur White, and Jon Teeuwissen.
• OperaHERE, Opera for Our Times: Andrea Scobie and Arthur White examine how operas that were once “new” are now cornerstones of the canon, and which contemporary works will join that esteemed list.
• OperaHERE, Twilight: Gods: Arthur White and Andrea Scobie interview legendary Detroit poet Marsha Music on her creation of the poetry and narrative behind Twilight: Gods, and the challenges and inspiration of condensing Wagner’s massive Ring cycle into poetry with a distinctively Detroit flair.
• DanceHERE, A Nutcracker Holiday: MOT’s Andrea Scobie and Kim Smith are joined by Edwaard Liang on the traditions of presenting The Nutcracker and the imaginative heft of this timeless classic in the cultural imagination.
• DanceHERE, Eduardo Vilaro and Ballet Hispánico: MOT’s Andrea Scobie and Jon Teeuwissen are joined by Eduardo Vilaro of Ballet Hispánico to celebrate the heritage of dance in Spanish-speaking communities.