Lyric Opera of the North joins in the nationwide grief and outrage following the murder of George Floyd.
We have spent the past week listening, learning, and acknowledging some painful truths.
While we are proud of the beautiful productions we’ve created over the years, we have fallen short in our goal to create “opera for everyone”.
Opera remains less accessible and less inclusive than we want it to be, and our company still shows a lack of representation from communities we long to include.
We have work to do! We pledge to work with urgency and with focused energy. We are committed to listening, learning, and working for change. We are committed to being anti-racist.
We have identified the following ways we can change now:
- We will seek more diverse representation on our Board of Directors
- We will engage more consistently with organizations who serve and represent People of Color in our region
- We will engage more People of Color as designers and directors
- We will seek opportunities to present operas written by People of Color
- We will engage more Singers of Color.
We believe that opera has the power to unite, to elevate, and even to transform.
Our work has not been as rich or as beautiful – or as true or inclusive – as it should be. As it CAN be. We will not forget those lost to police brutality and racist acts. We will work harder to make sure more voices are heard. Opera – and the work of this opera company here in the North – will be more gorgeous when it really is for everyone.
Black Lives Matter
Black Voices Matter
Sincerely,
