BY SYLVIE WOODS, LEAD WRITER (NSW)
Nick Galvin and Nathaneal Cooper (Sydney Morning Herald) have this week revived the topic of problematic narratives and representation in opera. So what is the future of opera? After all, it exists in a culture increasingly critical of its outdated themes.
In March, I had the following conversation with Sydney soprano Justice Jones. Justice, who graduated in classical voice from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, has performed as soloist and chorus member on stage and screen.
She is now enrolled at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts, and undertaking study in directing (one of the more male-dominated areas of the opera industry).
Justice, are you the only Masters of Directing student with a ‘niche’? Your niche, of course, is opera.
It’s quite clear that everyone has a niche, actually. In the course, we’ve been told explicitly that, as a director, you can’t have everything. You have to have a clear direction of where you want to head and then, once you establish yourself and find your ground, you should explore other things.
What do your directing compatriots think about your love for opera?
People generally are sort of like, ‘oh, you’re into opera – how weird!’. I’m not what people expect. I’m a woman, I’m a person of colour, and I’m from Western Sydney. I think that works to the benefit of both myself and opera.
How so?
For so long, opera has been this elitist, white artform. The key to making opera more relatable is getting people like me to approach it.
As a director, I want to take these well-loved operas we see performed often, and approach them through a fresh lens. I don’t think there’s any reason to make art weird and wonderful and absurd for the sake of it – in doing that, we’re isolating the audience we’re looking to reach. I think, in order for there to be longevity in opera, there needs to be diversity.
What role do you think the major players – the government, opera companies, and certain individuals – have to play in achieving diversity in opera?
Of course, we need to have a government that appreciates the arts in general. It is up to everyone who pulls strings – including big names in the industry – to identify that there is a problem in the lack of diversity in the arts, and to fix it.
What are some issues of representation in the industry that you’ve experienced?
What needs to be considered is that this art form is not just male-dominated, it’s dominated by men over the age of 50. I met [a female industry leader] recently. I ran up to her and I said, ‘I’ve just got to say hi, because you’re a female director, too!’.
She said, ‘Baby, we’re one in a million’.
What are going to be the challenges of breaking into an industry that is so male-dominated?
I have to be pushy, and I have to really show my passion and vision and excitement, otherwise nothing will happen.
I’m not delusional, I know it’s going to be difficult. I’m doing everything at the moment, particularly in the way of formal training, to present myself on paper so that people can’t say ‘no’.
Me not taking no for an answer, and being a go-getter has a lot to do with [my future]: it’s that or nothing.
People don’t take me seriously. As far as history has proven, I don’t tick any of the [opera industry] boxes: what I was finding [when travelling] in Europe was that I was not what people expected of ‘opera’. People saw I had experience, but they also said, ‘Look, you’re 21, it just doesn’t make sense’.
As a director, what would you like to bring to opera?
Having experienced the industry in Europe, I have a very clear idea of what I want opera to be in the future.
I want to communicate to a really wide net of people what we know opera to be: the epitome of art; the unity of music and theatre. So I’m passionate about approaching works that have stood the test of time through a fresh lens. Let’s include technology. I don’t see why we can’t explore our options in the digital age – live streaming, for instance.
Of course, you’ve spent quite a lot of time now developing your career in the place opera originated. You’ve been selected to take part in NIDA’s director’s program in Berlin and the Young Vic director’s program in London, among other European experiences and assistant directing at the 2018 Mediterranean Opera Festival. Do you think you want a career here, or in the operatic industry in Europe?
Opera is, in general, such an unattainable thing for so many people. But you look at places like Germany, where there are hundreds of opera houses and ticket prices vary, and we just don’t have enough here.
The sad thing is, unless something seriously changes in Australia, I’m going to have to go elsewhere to have a career; to get some work. We have an amazing opera house and we have an amazing company in Opera Australia, but there’s just not enough work and not enough opportunity.
I don’t want to give up on Australia, but we have to push to fix things in terms of the arts.
Learn more about this emerging opera director, and follow her on Instagram.
READ NEXT: What would a feminist make of Lucia di Lammermoor?
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If you like, you can say thanks to Sylvie for volunteering her time for Australian arts journalism. No amount too much or little 🙂
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Images supplied. Lucia di Lammermoor captured by Prudence Upton (Opera Australia production).
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