I am a second-year PhD student, funded by the AHRC. In my doctoral project, I am investigating how British and Irish opera companies have performed and engaged with Orientalist operas since 2020.  

 

While opera has long been acknowledged to be problematic in its representation, both textual and performative, of Global Majority people and cultures, it is only recently – notably in the wake of the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, and the Stop Asian Hate protests in 2021-22 – that mainstage opera companies have begun to engage meaningfully with these critiques; I look at the different ways in which they go about presenting Orientalist works in this climate. My research questions address industry, audience, and academic perspectives on operatic Orientalism. I am applying these research questions to several recent productions of historical works (including Madama Butterfly, Turandot, Carmen, The Mikado, Aleko, Aida, The Pearl Fishers, and Lalla-Roukh) that showcase a variety of approaches across opera companies of differing sizes and financial circumstances. For each production, I analyse the mise-en-scène – considering in particular if it is conventional or not – the casting, promotional and educational materials, and the reception. My methodological framework draws upon postcolonial studies, scholarship on operatic exoticism, contemporary opera performance, and music and race. I am also taking an ethnographic approach, conducting interviews with people involved in these productions, such as members of the creative team, cast, and any academic consultants.  

 

I have presented my work at the SWW DTP Summer Research Festival and the III International Conference of the Associació Valenciana de Musicologia.