Arizona Opera looks to make an impact with diverse, representative casting

It took George Floyd’s murder two years ago and the social justice protests that followed in the summer of 2020 for American arts organizations nationwide to realize what African-American tenor Terrence Chin-Loy has known all his life.

For people of color, art doesn’t necessarily imitate life.

For far too long, arts organizations have not done a good enough job representing communities of color and other marginalized communities.

It was a call to action that Tucson classical music organizations are starting to answer.

Tucson Symphony Orchestra under Music Director José Luis Gomez has programmed composers and artists of color throughout this season, something that Gomez has actually been doing since he took over the podium six years ago.

Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, under board President Joseph Tolliver, has made a more concerted effort to program works by composers of color and bring in more diverse artists.

Arizona Opera in December 2020 hired a director of community alliances as part of its “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resources” initiative to figure out ways to be more impactful and better represent the communities of Phoenix and Tucson, where they mount their productions.

“There is so much work to do but the most important thing is that we are on the pathway and moving forward,” said Arizona Opera’s president and general director Joseph Specter.

This weekend, Chin-Loy will sing the role of Henrik Egerman in Arizona Opera’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s musical “A Little Night Music.” It is a role that has historically been filled by a white tenor.

“A lot of times we can often think of white as the default of things, especially in this production, which is about families in Sweden,” said Chin-Loy, a member of Arizona Opera’s Marion Roose Pullin Studio. “But it doesn’t give audiences enough credit a lot of times. … People have a lot of space when they come to the theater to sort of expand their vision of what they expect to see on stage.”

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Specter said Chin-Loy earned the role because of his voice and talent, not his skin color, which Chin-Loy said was “exciting news to receive.”

“I hadn’t really seen people like me doing this role,” said the 30-year-old, who appeared in “Carmen” in February and will appear in the season finale of Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” in April. “For them to give me this opportunity really felt … so wonderful to be in a place where they really see my talent.”

Arizona Opera’s cast also includes Hispanic bass-baritone Brandon Morales and soprano Patricia Racette and her wife, mezzo-soprano Beth Clayton.

The couple, who has been married since 2005 and has been together since 1997, said they have noticed a dramatic change in the opera world since George Floyd.

“It’s been a huge shift, a drastic shift, and long overdue. … There is a very visible and noticeable adjustment in the profession in terms of women, people of color, the LGBTQ community,” said Racette, who is singing the role of Desirée Armfeldt. Her character has the show’s signature song “Send in the Clowns.”

This is Clayton’s first opera role since retiring in 2013 to pursue a degree in clinical mental health counseling and launch her own mental wellness counseling practice for singers.

Clayton, who sings the role of the cynical and funny adulterous Countess Charlotte Malcolm, said she was drawn to the production in part because of the diverse cast.

“Let’s tell the story; let’s just tell it and it doesn’t have to be in this perceived tight-knit box of heteronormative white people,” she said.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 12, and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 13, at Tucson Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets are $30 to $125 through tickets.azopera.org COVID protocols require proof of full vaccination and booster shot or a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of the performance. Masks will be required.