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Opera Companies, Orchestras, Concert Halls, and More Show Support For #BlackLivesMatter

By: Jun. 02, 2020
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In the past few days, multiple opera companies, orchestras, concert halls, and other members of the industry have voiced their support for the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

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Companies that showed supported include the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, LA Phil, AGMA, and more.

Below are a sampling of some of the social media postings within the industry.

These are tragic days, made even more tragic and devastating still by the events of this week. Our hearts are broken by the senseless murder of George Floyd and by the deaths of so many other Black lives. At MDLO, we are committed to equality, diversity, inclusion and justice. We are committed to celebrating life, beauty, and all lives in this world. We welcome artists and audiences of all backgrounds, all ethnicities, all orientations and world-views. What we do not welcome and what we passionately denounce is racism and bigotry of any kind. It is detestable and it stands against everything we believe in and cherish as an organization. To our Black friends, artists, musicians, staffers, and colleagues: we stand firmly in solidarity with you today and in each day to come. #BlackLivesMatter #SayTheirNames #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd

A post shared by Maryland Lyric Opera (@marylandlyricopera) on May 31, 2020 at 5:47pm PDT

The New York Philharmonic fully supports our Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill's moving statement and video in response to the ongoing violence committed against communities of color. We post this in outrage and sadness over what has occurred in Minnesota and beyond, and for what has been a part of this nation's history. We post this in solidarity to remind ourselves that America can and should be better than this. We cannot remain silent. #TakeTwoKnees #BlackLivesMatter #Repost @mcgillclarinet with @make_repost ・・・ This "normal" isn't new. It's just easier to see what's going on now that some of the horrific hate crimes that happen every day make the national news. Complacency is rampant, and hiding behind privilege is obviously just as bad. If there were hashtag movements in the last century during America's 'good old days' one could easily have been #BlackLivesDefinitelyDontMatter. Few would have batted an eye. What the news this week and most weeks of my life demonstrates is that Black lives didn't matter in our glorified past, and still don't matter that much today. Flashback to when a football player attempted to protest the murder of black people. People said 'Let's not politicize sports,' and 'all lives matter.' Now add to that list, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, two men who clearly didn't deserve their fates. Now we don't have sports to distract us, and we are mostly at home. Now's the time to protest. Can we say #HowAboutNow? Or #ICareAboutBlackLives. If that's considered radical then we'll have really shined a light on the problem. Let's try and #TakeTwoKnees in the struggle for justice and decency. It only takes a couple of seconds to film yourself taking two knees. Let's try to put a spotlight on this evil. #howaboutnow? #icareaboutblacklives #TakeTwoKnees #loveoverhate

A post shared by New York Philharmonic (@nyphilharmonic) on May 31, 2020 at 11:41am PDT

A statement from AGMA. #blacklivesmatter

A post shared by AGMA (@musicalartistsunion) on May 31, 2020 at 8:15pm PDT

At Long Beach Opera, we believe that arts organizations and artists can and should create art that exposes the brutalities and inequities within our society. We also believe that sometimes we must make a concerted effort to make space and listen to the voices of those that are experiencing suffering and oppression. We must always strive to become better warriors of justice and understanding in the fight for change. We turn to art in times of struggle to connect with our communal humanity. For the next 4 days, we will exclusively post Black artists and performers on all our social media channels. Further, we pledge to work harder and with more determination to expose inequities and to work to repair them within our own organization and within our industry. - Jennifer Rivera, Executive Director & CEO. *Our Artists Afternoons programming will proceed as planned, and each artist will address the current situation in their own way.

A post shared by Long Beach Opera (@longbeachopera) on Jun 1, 2020 at 10:06am PDT

As we mourn the losses of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, Seattle Opera stands in solidarity with our Black artists, audience members, staff, donors, subscribers, and community. . We are committed to justice for Black Americans, and for all People of Color, and will continue to prioritize our own anti-racism work and growth, amplify the work of Black opera artists and creatives, and through dialogue and listening, create change for a more diverse and inclusive opera/classical music industry, and make amends where we have caused harm. . It is our goal to create a future where Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color are an integral part of the creation of operas on and off stage. . . #blacklivesmatter #georgefloyd #ahmaudarbery #breonnataylor

A post shared by SEATTLE OPERA (@seattleopera) on Jun 1, 2020 at 2:20pm PDT



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