美国国家公共电台 NPR 'My Voice Should Be Heard': #MeToo And The Women Of Opera

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Harvey Weinstein's arraignment¹ in New York this past week was the beginning of accountability for men in Hollywood. That industry was the catalyst² for the #MeToo movement. But one of the oldest industries that's been affected³ by #MeToo is opera. In March, James Levine, a longtime conductor of the Metropolitan⁴ Opera in New York City, was fired for allegations of sexual misconduct. And works from "Carmen" to "Don Giovanni" are being challenged for the role that women play. We're joined now by three women in the opera world. Leah Hawkins and Aleks Romano are opera singers. And Kim Witman is vice⁵ president of opera and classical programming at Wolf Trap Opera in Virginia.

Welcome to all three of you.

LEAH HAWKINS: Thank you.

ALEKS ROMANO: Thanks.

KIM WITMAN: Thanks.

HAWKINS: Great to be here.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I just want to start with your personal reactions to the movement. Where is it at in the opera world? What has surprised you and impressed you? And are these conversations that you're having amongst yourselves?

ROMANO: I think for a lot of us it's underscored...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Aleks.

ROMANO: ...Yes, individual thoughts that we've had internally or privately⁶ in a rehearsal⁷ room. And it's really made us more aware of some of maybe the shortcomings of our art form and how we can adjust our perspective as role models.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Leah.

HAWKINS: I would agree that people are more aware, and people are asking questions and checking comfort levels. And I feel that it's been that way for me my entire career, even though I'm in the beginning of it.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And Kim.

WITMAN: Also, it's been accompanied by an increased focus on gender⁸ parity⁹ and diversity. And I think it's all leading to a much healthier environment in our industry and everywhere else.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah, I have friends who are opera singers. And I saw really interesting Facebook threads when the whole #MeToo movement blew up about their own personal experiences and how difficult it had been when they were starting out. They're a bit older. And a lot of these discussions were long overdue¹⁰ in this world because even though, obviously, female artists are very important to the genre¹¹, it is men often who, as in many places still, sort of preside over these spaces. Is that something that you have felt?

ROMANO: I think that it's really come down to a power discussion in opera. And that was the discussion that I found most interesting on social media feeds - is that it came down to who was in the position of power and who was sort of subservient¹².

WITMAN: I think one of the things that makes us unique is that we are embedded¹³ with a centuries-old Western European tradition that was led by men. And it formed our industry called the classical music industry and opera, in particular, I think maybe a bit more aggressively than others. So I think this conversation is very much needed.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Kim, it's interesting that you bring that up. Earlier this year, an Italian production of "Carmen" changed the ending where she shoots her admirer and abuser Don Jose. How do you produce and handle the themes of these works that are mostly written and composed by, as you say, white men?

WITMAN: It's my favorite question to answer.

(LAUGHTER)

WITMAN: Thank you very much for that.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm glad I asked it.

WITMAN: I think there are a number of different ways you can go with these things. One is that you can produce them what we call traditionally and then develop a series of conversations around the fact that these are cautionary tales from our history. And, of course, the other extreme is to take the actual vehicle itself and change it in some way. This was a very aggressive way of doing that by changing the ending. But there are other less aggressive ways of pointing out allegories and things like that. So it's fascinating to see things happening along that whole spectrum¹⁴.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Aleks, you have performed "Carmen," actually, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. How did you approach that role that was different?

ROMANO: It's a role that's I hope to continue to encounter over and over again. It is...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: It's one of the great roles (laughter).

ROMANO: It's one of the great roles, especially for mezzos. You now, we don't get a lot of leading ladies.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANO: So you really got to make it count. But the greatest thing about "Carmen" is that it does open this conversation for how we treat gender. And what does feminism look like on stage and in the world? And who really has the power in that piece? You know, I think we typically come to "Carmen" as this sort of, like, feminist¹⁵ manifesto¹⁶ of opera. And I'm not always convinced that that's the case. She has to fight tooth and nail for every minute that she has, quote, unquote, "power." And she still gets stabbed at the end by the man that she basically just said, I don't want to date you anymore to. So it always is a conversation with the director, with the conductor, with my cast mates. And I'm very glad that opera is such a collaborative art form with so many open-minded people in it.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And I'm curious - when you have these conversations with men, what is that like? I mean, are they thinking about these things in the same way as you are?

HAWKINS: Certainly, men in my generation are. But when you have conversations with older men, they don't always understand. And they sort of - they make fun of the movement. And say, oh, I'm sorry. Am I allowed to say that to you? #MeToo? So you're fighting with those kinds of attitudes. But I would say, like, my colleagues are absolutely open to it. And I'm actually very inspired by their understanding and wanting to be - wanting to make us comfortable.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Part of the thing that any performance-based career has is that you're given this message all the time that, hey, there are a million people who would love to be where you are, so count yourself lucky. You should just accept whatever comes your way because there are a lot of other people who will do whatever it takes to get where you are. I mean, you guys are not in your head like...

ROMANO: I mean, I'll tell you. Like, this whole experience being part of a production of "Carmen" and being able to have these conversations is equal parts empowering and absolutely terrifying. Will I ever sing another production of "Carmen" again if people know that I take issue with the fact that she's abused and murdered? It's a huge risk to speak your mind as an artist in some ways. But I also think that it's being bolstered¹⁷. And people really care to know my thoughts about the character, just speaking from my own personal experience.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm going to ask you because you are, Kim, a woman in power, a woman in authority. Where do you see your role in this?

WITMAN: My role in this - and thank you very much. I - power and authority are not two things that I think of. But my role at this is to - I feel as if I said this too many times - but is to keep the conversations going and keep them public. And I think I'm also responsible for helping¹⁸ to identify women to put, as we say, in the pipeline¹⁹, to make sure that if I see someone whose work deserves to have a light shone on it, that I can participate in doing that.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And I'm going to give the last word to you.

HAWKINS: I take comfort in knowing that, yes, I'm very lucky to be in the position I'm in. But also, I work really hard. So I feel like my voice should be heard, in my opinion should be valued. And I feel very lucky in this position that I'm in and at the time that I'm entering the business that I'm allowed in many ways to do that because of women who came before me and because of the conversations that were had and are being had.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Leah Hawkins, Kim Witman, Aleks Romano, thank you all very much for joining me.

WITMAN: Thank you so much.

ROMANO: Thank you so much.

HAWKINS: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF ORCHESTRA OF THE STATE HERMITAGE, TBILISI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ET. AL'S "CARMEN, SUITE²⁰, NO.2 NOCTURNE")

1 arraignment   

n.提问，传讯，责难

参考例句：

• She was remanded to juvenile detention at her arraignment yesterday. 她昨天被送回了对少年拘留在她的传讯。 来自互联网
• Wyatt asks the desk clerk which courthouse he is being transferred to for arraignment. 他向接待警员询问了马宏将在哪个法庭接受传讯。 来自互联网

2 catalyst   

n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
• The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

7 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

8 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

9 parity   

n.平价，等价，比价，对等

参考例句：

• The two currencies have now reached parity.这两种货币现已达到同等价值。
• Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.女性在很多领域还没能争取到薪金、职位方面的平等。

10 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

11 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

12 subservient   

adj.卑屈的，阿谀的

参考例句：

• He was subservient and servile.他低声下气、卑躬屈膝。
• It was horrible to have to be affable and subservient.不得不强作欢颜卖弄风骚，真是太可怕了。

13 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

14 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

15 feminist   

adj.主张男女平等的，女权主义的

参考例句：

• She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
• From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起，男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。

16 manifesto   

n.宣言，声明

参考例句：

• I was involved in the preparation of Labour's manifesto.我参与了工党宣言的起草工作。
• His manifesto promised measures to protect them.他在宣言里保证要为他们采取保护措施。

17 bolstered   

v.支持( bolster的过去式和过去分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He bolstered his plea with new evidence. 他举出新的证据来支持他的抗辩。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The data must be bolstered by inferences and indirect estimates of varying degrees of reliability. 这些资料必须借助于推理及可靠程度不同的间接估计。 来自辞典例句

18 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

19 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

20 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。