- Classical Music is not all by Dead White Guys
- The Forgotten Superstar
- Breaking News in the World of Opera
- Black History Month—And Opera
- Black History Month and Opera, Again
- Naxos Releases New Recording of Music by Florence Price
- How Many Black Classical Composers Can You Name?
- Edmond Dédé
- Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
- Nicholas George Julius Ballanta
- Henry Thacker Burleigh
- Ludovic Lamothe
- Ignatius Sancho
- José Silvestre White Lafitte
- Robert Nathaniel Dett
- Vincente Lusitano
A compelling and mesmerizing production of Don Giovanni, directed by Peter Sellars, and featuring the magnificent Eugene Perry as Don Giovanni, and his equally-magnificent twin brother, Herbert Perry, as Leporello, which unfortunately eclipses the wonderful Elmore James as Masetto. Make the time to watch it!
Unfortunately, some of this had to be cut to post it on YouTube. See the original if you can. I watched it decades ago and found it unforgettable, and finally had to track it down.
Incidentally, Mozart was not one to shy away from human-rights issues. This opera was shocking in its day, not because an aristocrat preyed upon servants, but because he preyed upon women of his own station. And Mozart’s unfinished opera Zaide takes on the issue of slavery itself.