A Conversation with Naomi André

Seattle Opera Scholar in Residence

Dr. Naomi André at the 2019 Community Conversation “Black Representation in the Arts.” © Sunny Martini.

Seattle Opera appointed its first Scholar in Residence, musicologist Naomi André, back in 2019. In that role, Professor André has written program essays, given Opera Talks, and appeared on panels in our Community Conversations series. Next week, in conjunction with the opening of La traviata, Professor André will lead a new, two-part Opera Class on the works of Giuseppe Verdi. Seattle Opera recently sat down with Professor André to learn more about her time as Scholar in Residence, what audiences can expect from her upcoming class, and why it’s important to analyze the art we love.

Seattle Opera:
How do you conceptualize your role as Scholar in Residence? How do you think performing arts organizations could benefit from similar roles?

Naomi André:
Many performing arts organizations have worked with music scholars in the past, but Seattle Opera was one of the first places to make Scholar in Residence an official role. That designation has given Seattle Opera and its audiences an exciting opportunity to learn from people who have specific expertise in the field. A Scholar in Residence can provide a deep perspective on what sort of research is out there, how scholars think about certain issues, and what ideas are new and exciting. I think it’s really beneficial for performing arts institutions to foster relationships with people who love the art form and spend their lives researching it.

These sorts of relationships are moving opera in a positive direction. For a long time, I think many people thought of opera primarily as entertainment. But now, people are thinking about opera more critically and looking to the art form to push us forward socially. Now we’re asking questions like “Who’s on stage? What stories are being told?” And I think it’s really wonderful that opera is moving in this direction.

Seattle Opera:
Could you say more about why it’s important to think about the works we put on stage beyond their entertainment value? Why is it worthwhile to dig into them and understand them better?

Naomi André:
If you think about what it means to be human, so much of it has to do with complexity, with contradiction, with multi-dimensionality. Art captures those human elements beautifully. Art helps us find meaning in our lives and create better spaces for other people. Unfortunately, these days, we have fewer and fewer places where we can all sit together and experience something communally, then talk about it afterwards. Opera, and the arts more generally, provide that indispensable element of humanity. So whereas I used to say, “we should think critically about art because these are important issues,” I think more and more that it’s important to analyze art simply because it’s part of being human.

Dr. Naomi André at the 2019 Community Conversation “Decolonizing Allure.” © Sunny Martini.

Seattle Opera:
What can audiences expect from your upcoming class “Staging Difference,” which looks at issues of race and representation in Verdi’s operas?

Naomi André:
What’s really fun about this class is that, whether you’re new to opera or a seasoned veteran, Verdi offers something to love. I love Verdi. And part of the magic of opera is that there’s something new every time you dig into it. It’s kind of like baseball in that respect: you can enjoy a day at the ballpark whether you know the game or not, but once you appreciate the subtle complexities of what’s going on, it reveals an entire new dimension. I want to provide that next level of understanding for opera, to share some of the codes that will open up the art form.

These two classes will offer a deeper look into Verdi’s life and the important issues that shaped who he was as a composer. For example, why is Nabucco so different from La traviata, which is quite different from Falstaff, even though they were all written by the same composer? Learning more about these pieces can help audiences appreciate them more.

More specifically, these class sessions will investigate how race is represented in Verdi’s operas. We’ll look more deeply at the 19th-century Italian understanding of Spain through works like La traviata, Il trovatore, and Simon Boccanegra; and we’ll look at how Black characters are depicted in works like Un ballo in maschera, Aida, and Otello.

Gordon Hawkins as Amonasro in Aida (’18). © Sunny Martini.

Seattle Opera:
Why is it important to think about issues of race in Verdi’s operas?

Naomi André:
Learning about how difference is portrayed in these works gives us a richer appreciation for them. Verdi didn’t write these operas in a bubble: he was influenced by his social context and the ideas that were prevalent at the time.

Take Aida, for example: the opera was commissioned by the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo, which opened all the way back in 1869. It can be easy to forget that opera wasn’t just confined to Europe, and Europe wasn’t sealed off from the outside world. So how does the fact that Aida was written for an Egyptian opera house impact the way its characters are portrayed? What does that mean for productions of Aida today?

I’m not interested here in “blaming” Verdi for not knowing what we know now about race and cultural difference. In the 19th century, it was simply much harder to travel and see other parts of the world. Yes, he had a position of privilege to portray characters as he saw fit, but the fact that he was trying to include different voices is noteworthy. Characters like Azucena, Othello, Aida, and Amonasro are all human, interesting, three-dimensional, complicated characters. They add so much to the drama. And so I think it’s valuable to consider these characters in the full aspects of their humanity.

Dr. Naomi André at the 2019 Community Conversation “Decolonizing Allure.” © Sunny Martini.

Seattle Opera:
One last question: what has been your favorite part of working as Seattle Opera’s Scholar in Residence so far?

Naomi André:
For me, this partnership has been beneficial because I get to see the inner workings of opera and meet the people who are bringing it to life. I see the incredible devotion on the part of the staff, as well as the care and expertise that goes into making opera. Opera is so meaningful in my life, but I used to think that the machine of opera was all on the stage: it was the singers and the crew working offstage to make the machinery run. But realizing the machinery of opera is so much bigger than that has been really fun to see.

Naomi André is the David G. Frey Distinguished Professor in Music and a 2022/23 Fellow at the National Humanities Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement and a founder of the Black Opera Research Network. You can register for her upcoming course, “Staging Difference: Race and Representation in Verdi’s Operas,” at seattleopera.org/stagingdifference.