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Dear All,
Have you seen the articles written about soprano Hope Briggs's firing from the San Francicso Opera after the dress rehearsal of Don Giovanni? First SFO said the firing was due to the fact that they couldn't get the lighting right... Ms. Briggs is a dark-skinned woman and the part that she was to play, Donna Anna, is very dark indeed. Then they said, it's not racial, she just wasn't right for the part. Never mind that she has TWICE before starred in the role of Donna Anna. By her account, she should have received warning before being fired the night before the first concert. Her part was given to an understudy.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/01/arts/NA-A-E-MUS-US-San-Francisco-Opera.php
This article makes light of the fact that the girl , regardless of where she was physically born, is white, which is of course the reason that they started out saying it's not racial. Uh... they didn't give the part to any of the other Black sopranos that have studied the role!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/02/arts/music/02oper.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
This article mentions, the very last sentence, that she performed the role TWICE before but all of a sudden she's not right for it??
Let's think about this: Ms. Briggs was hired with the old regime per the Times article. I'm no singer, but I certainly know that San Francisco Opera doesn't take slouches, so I'm quite sure that she was hired because she COULD in fact sing the role. But then the new guys, David Gockley and Donald Runnicles, came on board and did an Andrew Jackson--kicked out the old and hired who they really wanted. Mind you, the understudy hadn't even ONE rehearsal before being thrust into the role opening night.
So... Ms. Briggs, strong, went to opening night of the opera and I hear from a close personal source, that she was pleasant. Please understand that were she a megalomaniacal diva, I would still be outraged. But the fact that she's not makes it even sadder.
I don't think that this can/should be ignored. I'm not jumping on the racist bandwagon just yet just because it's too easy, but given the evidence, I can rightfully state that the San Francisco's decision was highly unfair to both Donna Anna's. I feel that if letters are written to Messrs. Gockley and Runnicles, they can see that the Black classical community is aware of the situation and supportive of our young artists. They, and other organizations, must be made to understand that they cannot mistreat those already underrepresented without repercussion... or at the very least just cause.
Community involvement and activism is key for our future success. I will write something for my site tonight, but in addition, I hope that you will also disseminate this information to show our support for Ms. Briggs and to ensure that our other rising stars aren't treated with similar malice. I don't have Gockley and Runnicles direct email addresses. (If anyone else does, please post here.) But here's the mailing address:
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301 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102 (415) 861-4008
Also, if we send letters to
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, it should be forwarded to the appropriate person. LET'S ALL SHOW OUR SUPPORT FOR MS. BRIGGS. THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE TO SLEEP ON. Correction: It has been brought to my attention that Donald Runnicles has been SFO’s music director for almost 20 years meaning he is not a new member of the administration. He is, in addition, the conductor of this present production of Don Giovanni. Pamela Rosenberg, who originally hired Ms. Briggs, is now the administrative director of the Berlin Philharmonic. Who's talking about it? http://baybuzz.blogspot.com/2007/06/she-is-african-too.html http://baybuzz.blogspot.com/2007/06/something-to-talk-about.html http://baybuzz.blogspot.com/2007/06/hopeless-giovanni-at-sfo.html
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