Nixon is Black but the Chinese can’t be yellowface
NewsScottish Opera has withdrawn its production of Nixon in China from a major award after complaints of ethnic confusion.
John Adams’ Nixon in China features the African-American Eric Greene in the title role, so that’s OK.
But a composer called Julian Chou-Lambert complained that only one of the Chinese was played by an Asian and that was ‘not good enough’.
#Yellowface in opera has to stop. It’s like blackface, but applied to East & South-East Asian characters. It’s offensive and dehumanising for ESEA people. Opera folks, please learn about this and do better, our industry is so behind here! #Yellowface #Opera #Orientalism https://t.co/EulSvca3cS
— Julian Chou-Lambert (@JulesC_L) June 9, 2021
He has 341 followers, enough to make SO withdraw its show from the Sky Arts awards and effusively apologise.
A statement from Scottish Opera regarding our South Bank Sky Arts Award nomination for our 2020 production of Nixon in China: @BeatsOrg @skytv pic.twitter.com/h3VJz3gpse
— Scottish Opera (@ScottishOpera) June 11, 2021
So brave.
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