Converge Media's TraeAnna Holiday on storytelling, accessibility, and learning to love opera

TraeAnna Holiday is an Emmy Award-winning artist, activist, and community leader. She is a founding member and media director of King County Equity Now, an advocacy and policy non-profit committed to realizing measurable markers of equity for Washington’s Black community. Weekday mornings at 11am she hosts The Day with Trae on Converge Media, where she aims to highlight Black brilliance from across the Puget Sound. TraeAnna recently sat down with Seattle Opera to discuss her newfound love of opera and the ways the industry can make itself more accessible to the Black community.

Seattle Opera:
The first show you saw at Seattle Opera was Blue, in February 2022. Did you have any experience with opera before that? I know you have a theater background, but had you ever been to an opera before?

TraeAnna Holiday:
No, never live. I think I had watched some things with my grandmother, but it was never something I had a personal experience with before Blue.

Seattle Opera:
Did you have any preconceived notions about opera? What was your perception of it from the outside?

TraeAnna Holiday:
I didn’t feel like it was a space for me. It felt like a space for rich white folks, something that appeals to them and their sense of what entertainment should be. And so I had no attraction to it for that reason. That’s changed for me since I started going to the opera, but my original perception was like, that’s not a space for me. And that music is not something that necessarily resonates with me. I didn’t have enough exposure to it to understand that it was something that I would enjoy. So even though I love storytelling, I don’t think I understood opera as another amazing way to tell stories.

Seattle Opera:
How did Blue change your perspective on what opera could be? What was your overall impression?

TraeAnna Holiday:
It felt intentionally created for Black audiences. There was something so special about the intricacies of the story that resonated with so many Black families. I mean, I think almost any Black family in America has experienced aspects of what those characters go through. There was so much of my family in that story. So it was the way the story really resonated with my lived experience that opened my eyes and made me ask, well, how else are they telling other stories? It really got me intrigued about how stories are told through opera.

TraeAnna interviewed bass Morris Robinson, who played King Marke in Tristan and Isolde, in October 2022. © Jordan Somers / Converge Media.

Seattle Opera:
How has your perspective shifted as you’ve seen a few more shows? You’ve seen quite a range by now—you saw The Marriage of Figaro in the spring and The Elixir of Love this summer, and then you just saw Tristan and Isolde a couple of weeks ago. How did those shows change your perspective?

TraeAnna Holiday:
I’ve been impressed by the diversity of the casting—my original sense was that opera was full of white cast members. But seeing Black cast members on stage and getting the chance to interview a few of them, I’m like, if they can feel comfortable in this arena, why don’t more Black people go?

Something that also resonates with me is characterization, which is something that I connect with as a theater person. The ways that the characters are portrayed in opera, there is such an intricacy and nuance with how they have to move and emote and allow the audience to feel their emotion. I really connect with that! I’ve really enjoyed seeing the characters emote through their vocals. There’s so much that can be done in spoken theater to change your tone when you are speaking. But with opera I’ve been experiencing that through song and I’m like, “Wow, they are doing the same thing through song.” I mean, when a character feels something, those emotions come across so strongly, right? I didn’t know that that was something opera could do.

Then with Tristan and Isolde, I was so intrigued by how slow the story was. When the opera starts and Isolde is so anguished, I didn’t understand why immediately—it took so long to really fully understand it. But following the slowness of that story was so rewarding. You come to understand slowly over time what the characters are feeling, it doesn’t come automatically. So that one right there, Tristan and Isolde, I think it really took me to another level, honestly. I came into it thinking, “What, almost five hours?” But then I was just swept away from the beginning. I was so impressed.

There’s something special about slow storytelling. I don’t think we appreciate that enough—we’re used to film and TV, where the story comes quick and we understand who the protagonist is, who the villain is. We get it really quickly. But this really allowed me to appreciate the slowness of storytelling.

Seattle Opera:
As a new opera fan, what do you tell people when you tell them you went to the opera?

TraeAnna Holiday:
I was actually just sharing this the other day with someone, because I really do talk about Tristan and Isolde! As someone who loves the way that every aspect of live performance plays into the story, the sets were fantastic. I mean, I was enthralled. That whole night scene [in Act II] changed my life. When the stars were twinkling and there were light clouds that were just blowing through the wind, it was phenomenal. And so I was just sharing with someone, you know, you would think four hours and 45 minutes is a long time, but I was so enthralled the whole time. I think until someone experiences it, it’s hard to understand that.

TraeAnna Holiday at the NW Emmy Awards in June 2022, where Converge Media received the Governor's Award.

Seattle Opera:
What are some of your least favorite aspects of opera?

TraeAnna Holiday:
I feel I’m becoming an ambassador for opera because I want Black people there. I want more shows that are written for Black audiences. I want the art form to be exposed to more urban storytelling. How great would it be to have dope opera singers portraying characters that resonate in Black communities across America? Like what Blue did for me—how do you have a non-tragic story, an uplifting comedy perhaps, that is written with these amazing voices in tune with one another, sharing a stage with great sets, great characterization, but that makes Black people feel more welcome?

Every time I’ve gone to the opera, there’s still just a handful of us in the audience. Even if there’s diversification on stage, for some reason, the barrier is still strong for Black people. I want to help break the mold a little bit, which is why I do talk about it outside of Converge. I’m just like, people should go. People should go to these shows.

But at the same time, not enough of the shows resonate. People are like, “Oh, I got to read subtitles,” or “Oh man, they’re singing in a way that doesn’t necessarily resonate with me.” That’s okay. My thing is that opera singers are so wide-ranging in terms style, how can we do more modern stories that aren’t just these same ways of singing? There’s a whole range of musical style that I think isn’t explored enough in opera.

So there’s still something that’s missing in terms of the art form being more accessible to people. It still feels like people have to make the leap to come to where opera is instead of opera going to meet people where they are. I want it to be talked about in salons and barbershops and Black communities across America. Right? Like, “Oh my God, did you see so and so in this amazing opera? They killed it, right?” Because we love art. We love culture. We love music. But there is just a strong barrier that I would love to see get broken down. Let’s re-imagine.

Seattle Opera:
I love the way you put that: we should expect the art form to meet people where they are, instead of finding ways for people to come meet the art form. What are some other ways you think the arts more broadly can try to meet people where they are?

TraeAnna Holiday:
First and foremost, the stories have to be relevant for people. People have to see themselves in the story. If they don’t, it doesn’t intrigue them enough to come out and see it. So stories have to be more reflective of the everyday man and woman. We’re never stagnant. But I think it takes brilliance to understand how to merge all of that, because you don’t want to necessarily lose the audience that is familiar with opera. You want to bring them along as well. But in order to attract others outside of that realm, the stories have to be relevant. They have to be modern. They have to feel real for people.

I also think there’s an opportunity to connect with Black groups by lowering the barriers of entry. If you say to people, “We want to sponsor you all to come and see this because we really want you guys to be exposed to it,” I think that helps. Because then people don’t have to worry about X, Y, Z. Maybe the parking is covered, so they don’t got to worry about that. We need to start thinking, what are some of those immediate barriers that we can eliminate for people, so we can be intentional about connecting with and bringing in folks that are not normally here?

TraeAnna Holiday at Converge Media’s takeover at the Paramount in October 2022. © Jordan Somers / Converge Media

Seattle Opera:
Absolutely. So what’s your next step on your opera journey? What are you hoping to learn or experience as you go forward?

TraeAnna Holiday:
Just talking to you right now, I’m realizing how much I’m actually very interested in how operas are made, how they’re created, how they’re put together. I think I’ve stayed for a couple of post-show Q&As to talk to the creators, because I was just really wanting to hear about the process. That’s what I’m intrigued by now. But it’s almost like you have to be in that world in order to create in that world. When I think about the level of modernization that can occur in the form of opera, I think about all the different steps it would take for me to learn how to write the stories that would resonate with everyday community members. I start thinking about the way operas are created, because I’m so intrigued by that.

Seattle Opera:
Last question: we think a lot about how much work there is to do to modernize opera while still acknowledging the works that made people fall in love with it in the first place. What makes opera worth saving?

TraeAnna Holiday:
That’s such a great question, honestly. I think it is because it’s a beautiful form of storytelling. There’s nothing like it, really. If opera was gone, there’s nothing that would really fill that void. Musicals won’t do it, because the story isn’t told the same way that it is in opera.

So I think that through what I’ve experienced, I can say now, as a fan, that it’s worth investing in it. We just need to keep asking, how do we engage audiences who haven’t seen these shows? How do we keep the shows here for those who want to come back and see them again? And at the same time, how do we work to tell new stories?

But ultimately, opera really is a beautiful way to tell a story. It really is. So in my mind, I think it’s worth keeping.