Sigma Alpha Iota

making reality into art REALITY continued from page 15   One of the most notorious statements made in the entirety of the hearing, was that of Clarence Thomas' "high tech lynching," in which he states that as a Black American, he felt the hearings were, "A high-tech lynching for uppity blacks." The composer set these words to a frantic tempo and stretches the bass-baritone voice to soar within an inch of its standard vocal range. It was very effective in conveying Thomas's anger.   One other challenge of a modern opera, performed in English, is to accurately capture speaking patterns and rhythms. To this end, one of the most pivotal musical moments I had in my portrayal of Anita came in the aria, "Vulnerable." In it, she speaks to how she truly felt that Judge Thomas enjoyed seeing her "ill at ease and vulnerable."   In order to capture the essence of Hill's actual testimony, the time signature changes a whopping 17 times throughout the aria. I would also like to note the dramatic difference between the very classical feel of the piano accompaniment vs. the orchestration for organ, piano, string bass, wind and percussion instruments. This was most clearly heard in Thomas' "Yes, I Can Heal," which, in my opinion, with orchestration changes, went from Bach to modern Church Hymn.   A Matter of Interpretation When interpreting a role, in order to give it the utmost authenticity, the artist must make a concrete decision as to how to portray the character. Of course, the performer must build an entire background for the character as well, often weaving together autobiographical elements with any fictional elements created for the sake of storytelling. When dealing with modern history, there is a wealth of material and information available to aid with making such artistic decisions. Most notably are the C-SPAN television archives and an enormous amount of material available on the internet. It is rare that performers have so many archival records of a given character we portray. Messages from Our Members 16 PAN PIPES FALL 2011 sai-national.org However, as I first began to read through the text of the opera, coming to Hill's testimony, I was floored. There were passages where it seemed I spoke of myself! For instance: 1) Hill is from Oklahoma. My grandfather's side of the family is originally from Oklahoma, and I moved to New York from Tulsa. 2) She was "raised in a religious atmosphere, in the Baptist faith." So was I! 3) She was a member of the Antioch Baptist Church in Tulsa. I attended Antioch Baptist Church in Tulsa (nearly 2 decades later, but still … .)   Knowing all of this made me truly put myself into Hill's shoes. How would I feel if I endured what she claims to have endured, and how does that come across in my dramatic and musical interpretation of the role? These types of thoughts added an edgy fire to my testimony performance and a true sadness to another aria, entitled "No Contradiction."   On the other hand, the person who portrayed Clarence to my Anita had a similar experience. He began to learn more about Thomas and found himself finding some degree of sympathy for him. It sparked a lively dialogue backstage, where we would often discuss the real-life characters and where we perceived they were coming from on many levels. It also did not hurt that Judge Thomas' wife decided to request an apology from Hill in Autumn 2010, drawing more recent attention to the issue as well.   Modern History Education Through Opera: One of the most rewarding opportunities was to take the show on the road to area colleges and universities and other organizations. At the schools, most of the students did not remember the hearings. All they know is that Thomas has a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court and that he follows in the footsteps of the highlyregarded Thurgood Marshall. The consensus was usually surprise about the allegations against him, followed by a thorough questionand-answer period about the issue of sexual harassment, interpretation of operatic roles, and vocal study. At organizations where the audience was primarily adult, the viewers developed their own aversions to and support of our characters.   In the years immediately following the 1991 hearing, a substantially higher number of women were elected to the House of Representatives, monetary awards to sexual harassment victims increased exponentially, and the number of reported harassment cases doubled. It was a groundbreaking occasion, worthy of being put to music. One can read about any part of history in a book, but to see it with real, live characters and music is a truly unique experience.   The concept is not new, seeing that various composers throughout music history have used their work to speak to social issues of their given time and Clarence and Anita is not the only recent modern history set to opera. For example, there was the Metropolitan Opera production Nixon in China, which sparked dialogue and memories of the Nixon administration. A composer has even submitted an opera on the life of O.J. Simpson to the artistic director!   Indeed, I am confident that opera will continue to be used as the medium through which to remember modern history for years to come.   Yolanda F. Johnson is a performing artist, music educator, and arts supporter.  She recently performed the role of Noemie in Cendrillon with New York Lyric Opera and the role of Anita Hill in Clarence and Anita with Underworld Productions Opera Outreach.  She is a Sigma Gamma initiate at the University of Tulsa and current member of the New York Alumnae Chapter. She holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Vocal Performance and Arts Management, respectively. She has performed in several musical venues in the U.S. and internationally, including opera, concert, oratorio and sacred music and is an active recitalist/lecturer on many musical subjects, most notably, her concert/lecture on African-American spirituals, A Spirituals Experience. In November, she will premiere her most recent recital, The Four Seasons, in New York. "Being a member of SAI is such an honor, and I enjoy keeping in touch with the fraternity through PAN PIPES." Leslie Lach Insko, Gamma Upsilon initiate

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