QUARTERLY VERSE
HOUSE UPON A HILL
Restoring the National Negro Opera House 63RD ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS NOMINATIONS
STYLE
FINDING THE REAL YOU AND WEARING IT COMFORTABLY
SHUT UP AND SING Marsha Thompson on artistry, advocacy and activism in America
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CON TEN TS VOL. 02
ISSUE FEB-MAR 2021 NO. 01
QUARTERLY VERSE 10 House Upon a HIll National Negro Opera House 16 Arts@Future A celebration of tomorrow's musicians in the IDAGIO Global Concert Hall, presented in cooperation with Thomas Hampson & the Hampsong Foundation 18 63rd Annual Grammy Awards • Classical Music Nominees
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24 The Best Seat in Town • Shonda Rhimes' Netflix hit Bridgerton
Feature story and Style section photography by Francisco Fernandez 8
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HEALTHY LIFESTYLE
FEATURE STORY 28 Shut Up and Sing: Marsha Thompson on artistry, advocacy and activism in America
FTINESS
36 Breaking a New Sound Barrier Drawing on the elevating power of music, three unconventional operas are breaking barriers on and offstage
59 "Eyes on the Prize" Warmup Routine
58 Healthy Lifestyle
60 "Eyes on the Prize" Workout 62 Pushup Challenge 2.0
Style & beauty Style
63 Post workout snacks
44 Finding Your Style Beauty
FOOD 65 Savory Pomegranate Molasses • Recipe 66 Pork Tenderloin with Savory Pomegranate Molasses • Recipe
54 Skin Care
67 Roasted Brussel Sprouts • Recipe 68 Blood Orange and Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail • Recipe
Encore 70 Star Pick • Leontyne Price at The Met 72 Leah Partridge Returing to the stage after the Great Pause of 2020
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FEATURE STORY
shut up and SING! Marsha Thompson on artistry, advocacy and activism in America by Richard S. Oliver, II
“Why aren’t our arts organizations ahead of the curve on this?” This was American soprano Julia Bullock’s passionate question during a virtual panel discussion on racial disparity and inequality—particularly as they pertain to Black Americans in classical music and opera—presented by LA Opera on Facebook Live last summer. It’s a simple question on the surface. But in essence it’s loaded with
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implication. Historically and culturally, artistic communities and creative circles have often been at the center of the zeitgeist, pushing social perceptions toward progressive ideas that champion inclusivity, innovation, and understanding. The sad reality is that the seemingly exclusive, esoteric world of opera and classical music is hardly removed from the path of sweeping racial acrimony poisoning the
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nation at present. It is not, by and large, identifiable by gross, blatant offenses. Instead, it is subliminal, systemic, and subtle, made manifest through microaggressions and the intimate denials of our individual senses of self and agency. A glaring example of this dissonance can be found in Marsha Thompson’s story.
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Texas-born and bayou-bred, Thompson is no stranger to the effects of micro- and macro-aggressions and implicit bias, and she has openly taken to social media to confront them. “Artists throughout history have always been active in the social movements of their time,” says Thompson. The list of musical contributions in this category is quite literally endless, and ranges from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, seething with class conflict, to Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” championing self-expression and supporting LGBTQ+ rights. So when Thompson was confronted by a major patron for her outspoken, politically charged online presence, it was disconcerting to be told that she should “be more neutral and just focus on making music.” This concept is certainly not new. I’m sure we all remember when in 2018, conservative Fox News host Laura Ingraham unleashed a bitter, racially-tinged rant toward Lebron James and Kevin Durant after they spoke openly about their experiences with the ever-growing racial tensions in America at the time. They openly disapproved of then-president Trump’s tone-deaf, often incendiary political rhetoric. Ingraham’s rebuttal was a chilling “shut up and dribble.” The direct, and frankly dismaying, correlation between that nationally regarded exchange and
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Thompson’s personal one leaves a litany of questions and fears as it pertains to the roles and rights of Black celebrities in America. We here, as Thompson puts it, are so quick to pick and choose when people should and should not speak up and speak out.
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“The real issue,” she says, “is that there is a contingency of people in the United States of America who do not want Black people to say anything, because they want you to sit back and wait until they are good and ready to give you a piece of justice, equality, and eq-
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"Artists have always been at the forefront of addressing human rights issues and political strife."
uity.” But how has this warped view of roles and responsibility been able to proliferate so thoroughly within a society in which Black individuals actively claim major successes and achievements? Thompson, for example, is re-
nowned by numerous critics for her brilliant artistry. Her operatic Abigaille has been heralded as “exquisite,” and her Sieglinde “thrilling.” These roles, as we know, are no small feats, to be sure; and her list of accomplishments and accolades stretches to include Violet-
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ta, Aida, Bess, and many others, with noteworthy houses across the globe that include New York City Opera, Teatro Municipal de São Paulo, and Opera Carolina. Like James in basketball, she has proven herself a force in her genre, and yet she is still somehow subject to
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