New opera teaches a classical music class in the ongoing fight for civil rights

New opera teaches a classical music class in the ongoing¹ fight for civil rights

Transcript²

When people ask Tamar-kali where she's from, it can be a frustrating³ conversation.

"They want me to be able to compartmentalize it in this really neat package," she says, "like, 'Oh, well, I'm Jamaican,' or 'Oh, I'm Nigerian.' And it's like, 'No, boo, my people were literally⁴ kidnapped and enslaved and brought to America, and I'm the descendant of enslaved Africans and indigenous⁵ folk,' you know. It's like people just don't like the truth — and we're seeing that manifested so aggressively right now."

She used to channel her own aggression⁶ into rock music.

But before Tamar-kali became a singer, rocker, and now a celebrated⁷ film composer, she was going to be a teacher. Having grown up in Brooklyn, she studied education at nearby Adelphi University. Music quickly reeled her back, but she remains⁸ an educator at heart — especially on tough subjects our country is still grappling with.

"I figured out a little while ago," she says, "that whether I want to be engaged this way or not, that for certain people I'm going to be a frame of reference for my people, for who I am — whether it's women, whether it's queer folk, whether it's Black folk — and I can either just lollygag and do it by default, or I can do it with intention. And I decided⁹ to do it with intention."

Her latest intention is a digital opera short called "We Hold These Truths." The 12-minute work for voice, spoken word and small orchestra was commissioned by LA Opera as part of their Digital Shorts series. Tamar-kali used the opportunity to teach a musical class on the ongoing fight for civil rights, and to do that she picked poems by three Black intellectuals. The first is "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar, which she set to a demented waltz.

"It's pushing against the grain in certain spots, in terms of the intonation¹⁰, some rubs, some dissonant¹¹ things that are happening," she explains, "which I guess represent a manifestation¹² of what it is like to wear the mask."

For the past few years, Tamar-kali has been composing music for films like Mudbound and Shirley.

This commission gave her a chance to flip¹³ the script and have a director set a film to her music.

"I knew that she was thinking about the not-newness of this moment, she was thinking about the ahistorical way that America acts, as if each moment of racial reckoning for justice is new," says dream hampton, the Emmy-nominated director of Surviving R. Kelly and an old friend of the composer's. "She wanted to remind America, remind whoever might engage this piece, that we are on a continuum, and that there have been radical¹⁴ movements."

Initially¹⁵, Tamar-kali was just tired — tired of explaining the long and nuanced history of the philosophical¹⁶ struggle for civil rights in this country to folks who don't share her literacy on the subject.

"There is definitely a throughline to this moment, historically," she says, "and there are tons of receipts if you ever want to look at them. I was calling this [opera] 'The Receipts' out the gate, because so often I hear people talking about issues of equity¹⁷, and I'm like, 'How can you talk on these issues when you literally have no frame of reference?' So I just wanted to provide some receipts for those who might be interested."

hampton's short film is an abstract companion to the opera. It opens with sweeping¹⁸ shots of two young Black girls exploring a grove¹⁹ overlooking an unnamed coast. She was inspired by reading about the garden next to the African Grove Theatre — "they called it the 'pleasure garden, where negros could have conversation and ice cream.' I never got that description out of my mind."

In the second part of the opera, a solo violin aspires²⁰ to patriotism²¹ under the words of "I, Too" by Langston Hughes. The violin continues playing, as tenor²² Ashley Faatoalia sings words that Tamar-kali wrote herself: "Oh Elijah / oh my soul."

This was her response to the killing²³ of Elijah McClain, a Black 23-year-old, by Colorado police officers in 2019.

"It wrecked²⁴ me," she says. "You could be the most innocent, loving person in the world, playing violin for stray cats, be a masseuse who's all about just trying to achieve a higher level of consciousness and love — and they will kill you. I didn't know what I could do. But I could write something."

The final third in this time-traveling triptych is a setting of "If We Must Die" by Claude McKay.

"It's a torch song, like straight up," she says. "The thing about Claude McKay is that he so succinctly²⁵ expresses his love for himself as a man, and his commitment to his dignity."

Tamar-kali is intentionally²⁶ bridging the worlds of film and music, and excitedly entering the opera space — something she's wanted to do for years. She's currently an artist-in-residence with OPERA America, developing a full-scale work that she's had in mind since her early twenties. Back then, "the only path to opera was through conservatory²⁷ or university," she says. "There were no training programs or workshops or anything of that nature, to kind of look for talent outside of those halls."

That's partly why she first turned to the punk rock scene, where she could thrash out her "post-colonial, post-Catholic angst."

But even then, her lyrics²⁸ grappled with colonization²⁹ and genocide and other topics she's now weaving into her more classical work. "People might just be having a good time and, you know, moshin' or dancin'," she says, "but it's always been there."

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

5 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

6 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

7 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 intonation   

n.语调，声调；发声

参考例句：

• The teacher checks for pronunciation and intonation.老师在检查发音和语调。
• Questions are spoken with a rising intonation.疑问句是以升调说出来的。

11 dissonant   

adj.不和谐的；不悦耳的

参考例句：

• His voice is drowned by the dissonant scream of a siren outside.她的声音被外面杂乱刺耳的警报声吞没了。
• They chose to include all of these dissonant voices together.他们把那些不和谐的声音也放在了里面

12 manifestation   

n.表现形式；表明；现象

参考例句：

• Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
• What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。

13 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

14 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

15 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

16 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

17 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

18 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

19 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

20 aspires   

v.渴望，追求( aspire的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The fame to which he aspires was beyond his reach. 他追求的名誉乃是他所不能及的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• An old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand li. 老骥伏枥，志在千里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

22 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

23 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

24 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

25 succinctly   

adv.简洁地；简洁地，简便地

参考例句：

• He writes simply and succinctly, rarely adding too much adornment. 他的写作风格朴实简练，很少添加饰词。 来自互联网
• No matter what question you are asked, answer it honestly and succinctly. 总之，不管你在面试中被问到什么问题，回答都要诚实而简明。 来自互联网

26 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

27 conservatory   

n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的

参考例句：

• At the conservatory,he learned how to score a musical composition.在音乐学校里，他学会了怎样谱曲。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants.这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

28 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

29 colonization   

殖民地的开拓，殖民，殖民地化； 移殖

参考例句：

• Colonization took place during the Habsburg dynasty. 开拓殖民地在哈布斯堡王朝就进行过。
• These countries took part in the colonization of Africa. 这些国家参与非洲殖民地的开发。