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Award-winning opera singer Angel Blue recently dropped out of her performance at Arena di Verona over a blackface controversy involving Russian soprano artist Anna Netrebko.
Blue was scheduled to make her debut at the venue, playing the lead role of Violetta in Verdi’s La traviata. However, she announced that she would discontinue her performance in response to the blackface allegations against Netrebko.
The latter recently shared a series of photos on Instagram wearing dark makeup to portray the role of Ethiopian princess Aida. However, the pictures were largely condemned online for their usage and utilization of blackface.
Shortly after, Arena di Verona defended their actions and said that the performance was historical and created when “these sensitive topics were not such an issue.” This prompted Angel Blue to pull out her name from the show in an attempt to condemn the use of blackface.
Twitter praises Angel Blue for standing up against blackface
As Angel Blue canceled her performance at the Arena di Verona over their usage of alleged blackface on Anna Netrebko, several people lauded the singer for taking a stand against the controversy.
Many social media users also took to Twitter to pour in their support and positive responses for Blue:
As reactions continue to pour in online, it remains to be seen if Arena di Verona will respond to Blue’s decision in the days to come.
Everything to know about Angel Blue
Angel Blue is a Grammy Award-winning opera singer who has garnered popularity as one of the most prominent soprano singers in America today. She was born on May 3, 1984, in Los Angeles, California and graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Redlands in 2005.
She also earned a Master of Music degree in Opera Performance from UCLA in 2007 and attended Los Angeles County High School for the Arts to study voice and classical piano. Blue was part of the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program at the Los Angeles Opera before moving to Europe.
Blue already debuted in the U.S. as Musetta and Mimi in La Boheme in 2007 as a member of the Young Artist Program. She also bagged the same role for Milan debut at the Teatro alla Scala.
The performer later became a member of the Artistas de la Academia del Palau de les Arts in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Blue began her international career in Spain and appeared in the female chorus of The R*pe of Lucretia at Theater an der Wien as well as in a production of William Friedkin’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann.
During the 2008-2009 season, Blue debuted as a soloist with the Valdosta Symphony under the San Francisco Opera Company as Clara in Porgy and Bess. She also sang the soprano in Arthur Honegger's King David and appeared in scenes from La Traviata (Violetta) with the Korean Symphony Orchestra Germany in Seoul and Busan, Korea.
That same year, she became a finalist in Operalia 2009 and earned the first place in the Zarzuela competition as well as the second place in the Opera competition. Blue also became part of the 17th Annual Verbier Festival in Switzerland in 2010 and presented an Operalia Tribute Concert.
The artist went on to receive awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion's Emerging Young Entertainers Award, the A.E.I.O.U Italian Educators Vocal Competition, and the Redlands Bowl Competition.
She also debuted in Frankfurt as the Dritte Norn in Gotterdammerung before returning to the U.S. with Porgy and Bess at the Seattle Opera in 2011. Angel Blue also performed as Micaela in Carmen with the Israeli Philharmonic and took part in Verdi’s Requiem with the Cincinnati Symphony.
In 2014, Blue reprised her role as Mimi at the English National Opera in London and went on to perform the role for her debut shows at the Palau de Les Arts in Valencia in 2015, the Vienna State Opera in 2016, Metropolitan Opera debut in 2017, and even the Canadian Opera Company in 2019.
Angel Blue also made history as the first African-American woman to sing a fully staged role in Italy at Teatro alla Scala in 2019. Some of her most prominent roles included her debut as Liu in Turandot at the San Diego Opera in 2018, as Marguerite in Faust at the Portland Opera in 2018 and as Bess in Porgy and Bess in Seattle in the same year.
Her other key operatic roles include Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Manon in Manon, Contessa Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Giulietta and Antonia in Tales of Hoffmann, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni.
Blue also debuted at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in the 2018-2019 season and returned to the Teatro alla Scala. The following season, she debuted as Mimi at the Hamburg State Opera and became the first African-American to receive the Beverly Sills Award from the Metropolitan Opera in 2020.
The performer also opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2019-2020 season as Bess in Porgy and Bess, which ultimately brought her the opportunity to debut at French Opera and earned her a role as Floria Tosca at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in July 2019.
In addition to her operatic talents, Angel Blue is also a former model and beauty queen. She also became the first African-American to hold the title of Miss Apple Valley, California.
The performer has also earned titles like Miss Hollywood (2005), second runner-up at Miss California (2007), first runner-up at Miss California (2006) and Miss Nevada (2007).
