Sigma Alpha Iota

making reality into art Putting Modern History to Music Through Opera By Yolanda F. Johnson E   arlier this year, I had the privilege of portraying the role of Anita Hill with Underworld Productions Opera Company's outreach performances and preview of Clarence and Anita, by Ben Yarmolinsky (with the wonderful Adrienne Danrich singing the premiere).  This opera had beautiful music which encompassed a range of styles – from classical to jazz.  However, it did not require a librettist, as the lyrics were all taken directly from the thousands of pages of transcripts from one of the most well-known hearings in modern American History: The 1991 Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings with Judge Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court appointment hanging in the balance.   As an artist, my experience with Clarence and Anita was thought-provoking and invaluable.  So often, opera singers portray the role of fictional characters created in the minds of brilliant librettists. Other times, we depict real, historic characters, opera which brings its own brand of interpretation — often breathing new life into an old story.  Nonetheless, to portray modern characters, still alive today, forces the singer to thoroughly examine many things through several different perspectives. We must make a conscious decision as to how to portray the character, yet take on the mantle of leaving the door open to the interpretation of an audience that is forced to re-examine the event at hand; then relive, and decide on a "verdict" of their very own.   The Historic Event in Relation to the Popular Perception of Opera In the situation of putting modern history into operatic form, one knows they are onto something with great potential when the mere mention of an event sparks comments and memories from those to whom the project is mentioned. For me, whenever I mentioned the opera, I would often receive a very enthusiastic "Really? Oh my goodness, where was I then? I remember when…" This, closely followed by, "An opera about Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill. How are they going to do that?" Many times, my announcement about appearing in the opera was followed by my singing an oh-so-notorious line from the hearing transcripts. After the laughter stopped, this Above left, Clarence Thomas became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1991. At top right, New York Alumnae Chapter member Yolanda Johnson stands with Issac Grier, who performed as Thomas, and Ben Yarmolinsky, the composer of Clarence and Anita. Below right, Johnson performs as Anita Hill. pretty much "sealed the deal" as far as sparking interest and one-by-one, built an audience. The most interesting thing, however, was the general surprise that opera — which is so often still seen as "high art" — would be used as the medium by which to bring the spectacle of Clarence and Anita to light.   To this, I say, what better art form could there possibly be? The sheer drama of the words spoken during the Thomas-Hill hearings, further interpreted through music, was an absolute force to behold. The hearings galvanized a nation, which had finally put the spotlight on the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace in a way never seen before this instance. Not only this, but the issues of gender equality and of race were raised — especially considering that this was a case of high-profile African-American vs. African-American, which brought about an entirely new dynamic. I'll take a few moments to dissect just how effective opera was in bringing to life the tale of Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill.   The opera opens with a trio for female voices, performing as The Women's Legal Defense Fund (WLDF), proclaiming at the beginning and the end what the WLDF stated at the time of the hearing, "The Supreme Court and our nation are at a crossroads." They go on to state that. "This is a time when women, especially women of color, … face double discrimination, based on both gender and race… ."   Yarmolinsky composed a strong, jazz-like number, full of syncopated rhythms, for this selection. It set the tone for the remainder of the opera. Both the characters of Thomas and Hill were given lengthy testimonies, based upon their actual testimonies at the time. My testimony as Anita was 14 pages long and consisted of biographical information about her life, work, and education, eventually moving along into a detailed account of the sordid comments Judge Thomas allegedly made. It was here that what I perceived as "Anita's theme" began development. Beautiful, lyric variations of combinations between B-flat, and E-flat appear throughout her character's musical interpretation. REALITY continued on page 16 sai-national.org FALL 2011 PAN PIPES 15

• Cover