City Opera reaches to minorities.

This article illustrates City Opera’s attempt at reaching to the black community.  An excerpt:

One prong is their Opera-for-All festival, now in its third year, which offers $25 tickets for all seats in the theater on three evenings. This year’s festival includes a concert on September 6, showcasing the 2007-2008 season, and performances on September 7 and è of “La Boheme” and ” Don Giovanni.” City Opera’s executive director, Jane Gullong, said the company has surveyed its Opera-for-All audience, and 20% are people of color, a segment that breaks down to 10% Asian and 10% African-American, Hispanic, and everything else.The second prong of the effort includes productions such as ” Margaret Garner” that address the cultural heritage of groups who aren’t well-represented in the audience. The third prong, which City Opera’s new artisticé director, Gerard Mortier, has spoken about in his plans for the company, will be to take productions — most likely not of African-American-themed operas, but of European ones — to venues such as the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

I am greatly excited by their efforts to showcase operas without African American themes in their programs. At the risk of sounding snotty, I’ll admit that I run away from all such heritage concerts and shows. As a friend pointed out, some organizations think the only thing black audiences want to hear or see are slave stories and sprituals. We have a sophisticated palate to enjoy a little of everything just as next audience member, and like them, we get tired of spirituals every five minutes. How many renditions of “Porgy and Bess” and “Amazing Grace” can someone spit out? I thought these organizations knew their limits, and I commend them for the effort. As my friend said, it’s refreshing to go to an all-black choir performance and hear them belt out a nice show tune.