The Coronation of Eccentricity

Aria Umezawa, director and activist

Text : François Ulrich (translated by Amy Grainger)

Photo : Kevin Calixte

She directed a version of La Voix humaine in which the soprano role was played by a tenor. Invented a new ending for Madama Butterfly. Staged an opera in a bouncy castle. And soon, it’s The Coronation of Poppea she’ll be bringing to life for the Opéra de Montréal. This is Canadian Aria Umezawa, a dedicated artist who dares to shake up the art of opera with as much audacity as irreverence. Here’s her portrait.

Challenging the status quo

In 2016, when Aria Umezawa applied to San Francisco Opera’s advanced workshop, she was told, “That’s nice, but we don’t do that kind of thing.” A few months later, the institution called her back and offered her a place on a silver platter. What changed their mind? An article in the San Francisco Chronicle after a show staged by Aria. The journalist wrote: “Over the decades, I’ve never seen the job dispatched with the elegance, verve, and sheer theatrical imagination that Aria Umezawa brought to it on Saturday night. This young Canadian artist has […] the dexterity of an experienced master.”

Dexterity, but also guts. Last spring, she staged an unforgettable Madama Butterfly at the New Orleans Opera. For in her version, Cio-Cio-San does not take her own life at the end. She simply leaves the stage. “For over a century, we’ve been led to believe that she’s trapped and that there’s no way out but death. What a strange message for women. On the contrary, I believe there’s always a way out.”

At the premiere, the audience didn’t wait until the end of the act to react. Some cried genius, others scandal. “Shaking up classical opera can make people cringe. But ultimately, my staging aroused more enthusiasm than criticism, and I’m very proud of that.”

A dream that began with a $5 ticket

Aria Umezawa was eight years old when she discovered opera. “The Canadian Opera Company offered schools $5 tickets for rehearsals. Immediately, I wanted to become a singer.” It wasn’t until she enrolled in performance at McGill University that she realized that she preferred the shadows of the wings to the lights of the stage. “I realized that what I loved most was collaboration and imagination. This led me to directing.”

In addition to the joy of creating, directing gives Aria the power to change things. First, to make opera more accessible. “My dream is for everyone to be drawn to opera and feel comfortable going.” To realize this dream, she co-founded Opera 5, with a mandate to develop new audiences – especially younger ones. This is where she presented Edgar Allan Poe’s The Haunted Palace… in a bouncy castle!

To create is to fight

Aria’s other battle is inclusion. In 2019, together with colleagues, she launched a production company that offers a stage to marginalized communities, Amplified Opera. “Members of minorities don’t have access to opera: they don’t have roles that represent them, no place in castings. I wanted to create a space where they could assert their identity and tell their stories.” One of the company’s recent successes is The Queen in me, a show featuring trans and non-binary artists.

Also in 2019, Aria developed a training program for witnesses of harassment during rehearsals. “After the #MeToo movement in film, I thought it was only a matter of time before such a scandal broke out in the opera world, which is still very hierarchical. When a person achieves fame, they are no longer open to criticism, and this can lead to abuse of power.” When she presented her initiative at the Opera American Conference that year, people were dumbfounded. Then the Placido Domingo scandal broke. “All of a sudden, my phone started buzzing, everyone wanted my training, the fight against harassment had finally become a priority. Four years later, I’m happy to see that the situation has evolved, and that people are more inclined to talk about it and denounce it. It’s a good start.”

My work, my battles

Power is at the heart of Opéra de Montréal’s The Coronation of Poppea, directed by Aria. “This work is about what people will do to gain power. And I, in the opera world, am known for giving power to those who usually don’t have it: singers, marginalized communities… it’s undoubtedly the opera that best represents my work and my battles.” Two sold-out performances at the salle Pierre-Mercure on November 18 and 19.