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That effort to make the
arts “truly relevant and inclusive for everyone” took a
dramatic turn in 2014 when the Toledo Opera Board added
Thomas Winston, then the chief financial officer of the
Toledo Lucas County Port Authority, as the board’s
co-treasurer.
Winston, recalls Rorick,
urged the Opera to focus on increasing the number of Black
artists and Black-themed works. So, the recent uptick in
such performances, she adds “has been intentional – a call
to action.”
When Winston joined the
board, he was the only Black member at that time. The
ensuing years have seen an expansion in those numbers as
well. Currently other Black members include John Jones of
HOPE Toledo; Willie McKether, PhD, vice president for
diversity at the University of Toledo; Ashley Futrell, an
attorney with Shumaker Loop & Kendrick, LLP; Adrienne Green,
operations leader in Building Solutions at Owens Corning
(and a 2016 Milestones honoree for Volunteerism) and Zahra
Collins of the Toledo Urban Federal Credit Union.
“My joining the board
certainly was part of a strategic emphasis for all the right
reasons,” says Thomas, who is now CEO of the Port Authority.
“It weas unequivocally and unabashedly good for the Opera to
review its strategic focus. A requirement for sustainability
is expanding our bandwidth to promote diverse operas and
artists in order to expand subscribership.”
The recent surge in Black
artistic presence began in 2015. “Porgy and Bess
really started it,” says Rorick of that Gershwin classic.
But the 2019 rhythm and blues I Dream opera, music
and libretto by Douglas Tappin, kicked the Opera’s efforts
at cultural expansion into high gear. Tappin is a black
composer and former barrister from the United Kingdom who
relocated with his family to Atlanta 18 years ago to attend
Mercer University and immerse himself in the spiritual
aspect of composing.
“I Dream forever
changed our idea of what we can do and what we should do,”
says Rorick. The aftermath of the I Dream production
saw the creation of a Community Engagement Committee, a
diverse group of community members to provide input into the
inclusion effort.
The organization’s Toledo Opera on Wheels, which takes the
arts to youth in the area, is also part of the effort to
broaden the overall appeal of opera to the community at
large.
As Rorick explains, opera has such universal appeal if the
community can be made aware. “Opera take us on a journey
outside of ourselves,” she adds in her acceptance speech.
“By bringing us together and inviting us to immerse
ourselves in its powerful storytelling together, opera can
expand our collective imagination in ways that endure long
after we leave the theatre.”
Recent years have brought
to the Toledo Opera not only Black-themed productions but
also a bevy of Black singers. Derrick Davis, Victor Ryan
Robertson and Ken Overton sang the parts of Martin, Hosea
and Ralph, respectively, in I Dream. Overton also
sang the part of Jake in Porgy and Bess. Brian Major has
been on stage for Magic Flute, Carmen and La
Boheme.
Alicia Russell was the
resident soprano during the 2018-19 season and appeared in
Magic Flute, The Ballad of Baby Doe and had a major
role in Carmen, Frusetta. She returned for La
Boheme, the Opera’s last production before the pandemic
hit, in the role of Musetta.
Darren Stokes, a prominent
bass-baritone appeared in the 2016-17 season production of
The Marriage of Figaro in the title role.
Laquita Mitchell has been
a virtual regular in lead roles on the Valentine stage. This
soprano sang Bess in Porgy and Bess, Countess Rosina
in The Marriage of Figaro and Coretta in I Dream.
Now comes Blue.
Next February, during the
2021-22 season, the Toledo Opera, says Rorick, will bring
this very acclaimed opera to town. The two-act work, with
music by Jeanine Tesori and libretto by Tazewell Thompson
was first performed at the Glimmerglass Festival in 2019 and
received the Music Critics Association of North America 2020
Award for Best New Opera.
Blue is about a Black family
in Harlem who lose their teenage son as the result of a
police shooting. The cast members will include Krysty Swann
and Allen Michael Jones; Chelsea Tipton II, the former
resident director with the Toledo Symphony, will return to
Toledo to conduct and Tazewell Thompson, the librettist who
is first and foremost a renowned stage director, will be the
director.
The Toledo Opera has taken
such action “not just by chance” says Rorick. It’s part of
the plan these days.
“The mission of the YWCA
is to eliminate racism,” says Rorick. “That has to be all
our mission.”
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