Customer Reviews

Aida's Brothers and Sisters: Black Voices in Opera

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Buy this great dvd, I did and am extremely pleased. I bought the videocassette recording before the dvd became available and now have both in my library. You won't regret it!!

The writer (and he/she receives my applause) of this magnificent editorial is unaware of an earlier well known (recorded in history) opera singer whose name was Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield. This diva was born in Natchez, Mississippi 1809; before Sissieretta Jones who was so eloquently written of by the Editor. There were many others, male and female, before and later who didn't receive the deserved recognition in history.

Please read the following about Ms. Greenfield:

The story of the black struggle for a place in the American sun began not with the significant in-roads made in jazz, sports, or politics in the 20th century. Its real start came with a singer who was born a slave in the South nearly 40 years before the outbreak of the Civil War. Her name was Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield; she crowned her career with a command performance before Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace.

Elizabeth was born in Natchez, Mississippi 1809 and was reared in Philadelphia by "a Quaker lady named Greenfield" whose name she adopted. After Ms. Greenfield's death in 1844, Elizabeth moved to Buffalo, New York. Seven years later she appeared before the Buffalo Musical Association at Corinthian Hall. She began singing to packed houses "... of respectable, cultured and fashionable people", observed the Buffalo Press, and was critically acclaimed for her vocal artistry. She frequently performed before government officials, heads of state, and visiting dignitaries in Boston and New York.

In 1853, Elizabeth went to Europe with the aid of Harriet Beecher Stowe. She was befriended by the Duchess of Sutherland who arranged many concerts patronized by royalty. May, 1854 she gave a command performance at Buckingham Palace for Queen Victoria and was accompanied by Her Majesty's royal organist and composer, Sir George Smart.

Elizabeth returned to the United States July, 1854; and, as usual, was well received by audiences and critics alike. She received favorable reviews from newspapers that were pro-slavery. As so appropriately stated by the Provincial Freeman, a black antislavery press, "...not a few gentlemen and ladies conquered their prejudices and made call upon the gifted vocalist during the few days she stayed in their midst".

After the Civil War she settled in Philadelphia and opened a voice studio. In 1866 she and her students performed at the National Hall, "Festival of the Friends of Freedom", sponsored by the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. Elizabeth Taylor-Greenfield received world-wide acclaim as a most gifted vocalist with an "astonishing" range easily embracing 27 notes, which represents 3 octaves plus. She passed away in 1876 at the age of 67. AFRO-American Almanac

There is so much history left out by mistake, intentionally, lost, etc. I could go on and on...

Black students almost fell on the floor laughing when they saw that I was a Mathlete. Instead of being ashamed, I had to giggle too because I no Black folk wouldn't expect one of our own to join that. I met a brother in college who said people are shocked that he played water polo at Amherst. Notice that Condi Rice with her conservative self majored in Russian, or something. Dr. Angela Davis discussed how people deemed her inauthentic for having studied in Germany. You don't have to be an opera fan to be fascinated by this documentary. It's really a meditation about when African Americans do things that are not deemed "typical."

Interviewees speak of universal concerns to our group. They spoke about having to be better than the majority to get a job. They spoke of being paid less. They spoke about their discomfort in having to play that one role designated for a Black performer. A great thing is how they honor the past. The work pays attention to Marian Anderson and Paul Robeson. The singers fight the idea that opera is Eurocentic. In a time when Obama is now president, there is a message of healing here. The Daughters of the American Revolution, who banned Anderson, invited Leontyne Price to perform decades later and she praised Anderson before her performance. This work focuses on the sisters, but then speaks to the brothers. They speak of being denied roles solely because decision makers refused to pair them with white female love interests.

There were several times when I would unexpectedly shout, "Work, girl!" when seeing some of these people hit those high notes. I simply loved that this DVD offered many foreign language subtitle options. This work is actually old; at one point an interviewee refers to the 1990s only. This had the late Dr. Edward Said in it. I know he's famous for his thoughts on orientalism, but I didn't know he had so much knowledge on African-American cultural productions. May he rest in peace. Some performers said, "I can tell when a Black person is singing." Many may not like the essentialism of that statement. Some may feel that the work shows too many performance scenes while others will deem it to have shown too few.

I really liked this work and encourage all those interested in African-American expressive culture to view it.