Black Opera across the Atlantic
This chapter provides an overview of the participation of black people in opera in the United States and South Africa. Themes include the practice and legacy of minstrelsy in both countries. For the United States, the focus explores the creation of an American operatic tradition outside Europe and one that features black composers and singers. For South Africa, the focus explores the experiences of Angelo Gobbato who worked in opera through the last decades of apartheid and into the new millennium with integrated casts and Neo Muyanga (Soweto-born composer) who was educated in Europe during the last decades of apartheid and has become a leading voice in the post-apartheid black opera scene. This chapter also discusses black opera singers and the Isango Ensemble.