Blackface Used At Italian Festival Causes Black Soprano To Leave

By: Derick Zhang

American soprano Angel Blue withdraws after finding out that a Italian festival was using blackface. Blackface is the act of someone with lighter skin trying to make their skin darker to resemble a Black person’s face. In America this is a huge offencse, but Russian soprano Anna Netrebko used it anyway knowing that there were African Americans who performed with her.

Many people already disliked Netrebko who used to give support to the Russian president Vladimir Putin, but after the Ukrainian invasion, Netrebko said that she wasn’t allied with any leader of Russia.

What exactly happened you may ask? Well, it all began in 2018 where she was outspoken for wearing blackface, so she resorted to going to a tanning salon after the company rejected her request to use dark makeup. More recently though she has posted pictures of herself wearing blackface which is the reason why Angel Blue didn’t come to the festival.

Arena di Verona said in a statement responding to BBlue’s cancellations defending their decision and questioned why the soprano hadn’t withdrawn her performance commitment earlier. The company also said they hoped to discuss with Blue about the problem further, but it doesn’t look like they see how she feels about it. It is unlikely that Blue will come back to the festival, leaving viewers wondering how this problem will be resolved and if Netrebko will receive backlash for her actions.