For the mezzo-soprano opera singer Nina Yoshida Nelsen, a reckoning has been long overdue. Following the March 2021 Atlanta spa shootings, Nelsen, a fourth-generation Japanese American, had a moment of clarity that was precipitated by the outpouring of support that she and other singers of Asian descent had received in the wake of the tragedy. As opera companies showed their support on social media, posting photos of Nelsen and other artists of Asian descent from past performances, she noticed a pattern in the images: though the group of singers was diverse, varying from fifth-generation, multiracial Asian Americans to artists living across Asia and traveling to the U.S. for work, the majority of them were shown playing only Asian characters.
Nelsen considered her own career: over the course of more than a decade, she had performed in Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly more than 150 times, but had been cast in non-Asian roles just three times. This realization both shocked and sobered her, prompting her to speak with other Asian performers in the industry, finding that many had had similar experiences of being pigeonholed in stereotypical roles (which often dealt in offensive caricatures) or being seen as the “other” and passed up for non-Asian lead roles.
Nelsen—the subject of a new TIME documentary, Beyond Butterfly, by TIME senior producer and filmmaker Diane Tsai—decided to not only seek new management but also advocate for her community by co-founding the Asian Opera Alliance in the summer of 2021. Taking inspiration from the work of the Black Opera Alliance, the organization aims to provide support for the Asian community and people of color working in the industry, advocating for racial equity. “It’s time to make change,” Nelsen says in the film. “We should not be embarrassed of our identity. We should not…
Source : time
