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SANTA FE 鈥� Ordinarily, as a critic, I would not interview an opera director.

I like my reviews to be based on the same visual, aural and written information that every audience member has access to. But after watching an opera clearly intended as children鈥檚 fare descend into what I perceived as the most vile racist iconography in our country鈥檚 history, I had to pick up the phone and ask the 62-year-old, Cambridge-educated white British director, Christopher Luscombe, what he was thinking. Did he know what he had made?

I had come to the opening night of the Santa Fe Opera鈥檚 鈥淭he Magic Flute鈥� in good spirits, anticipating a whimsical take on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart鈥檚 1791 classic. I knew the opera was being performed in English in the style of an English pantomime 鈥� a genre of participatory musical theater, popular in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, that incorporated magic tricks, sing-alongs, clowns, silly animal costumes and other elements of broad entertainment. Luscombe put those ingredients into his opera, including a scene-stealing circus seal at the end of Act I, and I probably would have been charmed by them had there not been elements that reeked of minstrelsy and anti-Black violence.

In Luscombe鈥檚 production, the comic role of Papageno is portrayed by the world-renowned baritone Will Liverman. Liverman鈥檚 singing and acting are both superlative, and I have nothing but praise for him.

However, because Liverman is also Black, I could not help but interpret certain props and costumes that framed his character within a broader context of racialized representations of Black men in American and British theater.

A painful history

Liverman is the only Black male lead in the opera, and his character is dressed as a clown, whereas the other singers are dressed respectably. Even more regrettably, his Papageno costume is creepily reminiscent of a particular blackface minstrel show character, Jim Crow, which the performer T.D. Rice brought to life in 1832. Rice鈥檚 original Jim Crow costume, like the costume for Papageno in this production, consists of yellow breeches with blue patchwork, an ill-fitting patchwork coat and a funny, soiled hat.

Not everyone is going to recognize a costume from the 1830s, even if the character, Jim Crow, was so popular among white racists that his name became synonymous with segregation. But given that blackface minstrelsy was one of the most popular forms of theatrical entertainment in the U.S. for nearly a century, and that it was a genre that habitually portrayed Black men as clowns, any director considering putting a Black clown onstage today should be aware of that racist history and take precautions to ensure that neither the character nor the clown costume itself are too similar to minstrel show models 鈥� unless the director is explicitly attempting a postmodern meta-commentary on race, as Spike Lee did in his 2000 film, 鈥淏amboozled.鈥�

Luscombe said he worked closely with the costume designer to design a period-appropriate Papageno costume based on English pantomime clowns, and minstrel-era caricatures had never entered his mind. But because American minstrel shows borrowed heavily from English pantomime iconography, and vice versa, it鈥檚 not too surprising that a pantomime-inspired Papageno might look like Jim Crow.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a tragedy, and that鈥檚 true. 鈥� I hadn鈥檛 realized ...鈥� Luscombe said. 鈥淚f you say the word 鈥榤instrel鈥� to me, I sort of thought it was more blazers and boaters and that sort of thing, bowties. So I probably would have, if that had been the design, I might have been a bit more resistant.鈥�

Well, it鈥檚 one thing to put a Black clown onstage and another thing to put him in a noose.

The lowest point of the opera, in terms of racialized imagery, comes in Act II, Scene 28, when an oversized noose slowly and ominously descends on Papageno from the top of the stage.

I know Papageno is meant to be suicidal in this scene, and a noose is called for in the stage directions. But in other productions, Papageno makes the noose himself. The slow descent of a noose from above 鈥� not just to me, but to others in the audience, whom I spoke with afterward 鈥� seemed to imply an external threat, a lynching. It was chilling.

Given the history of lynchings in America, I asked Luscombe, why not consider a different suicide method once he learned that the singer cast as Papageno would be Black? After all, other aspects of the opera had been changed.

鈥淚 suppose that because I鈥檓 seeing this as race-blind, I鈥檓 not really thinking of him as a Black singer,鈥� Luscombe said.

He later acknowledged that his race-blind attitude, coupled with the fact that he鈥檚 not American, may have kept him from realizing just how disturbing such an image might be.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e right that there鈥檚 a danger, isn鈥檛 there, that the visual image of a Black man in a noose is just controversial,鈥� Luscombe said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really interesting. Thank you for raising it. I鈥檒l talk to the team about that.鈥�

No one involved in the production had flagged the image of a Black man in a noose as potentially problematic, Luscombe said, although they had, in fact, flagged the word 鈥渟laves鈥� in the libretto, which was changed to 鈥測okels.鈥�

鈥淚 was quite surprised, you know, to be absolutely honest, coming from England (where) the word 鈥榮lave鈥� doesn鈥檛 have the same connotation 鈥︹�� Luscombe said. 鈥淭hey said to me, 鈥榃e cannot use that word.鈥� I said, 鈥極h God, of course not, if that (is offensive).鈥� 鈥� My first association with slaves is Roman slaves 鈥� So, it鈥檚 a completely different background. 鈥� I was completely wanting to avoid anything that was offensive in any way at all.鈥�

Given England鈥檚 central role in the transatlantic slave trade, I was baffled by his explanation.

Even more baffling was that Luscombe had done a great job handling another character, Monostatos, who was explicitly written as a racist caricature. Long before blackface minstrelsy became popular in the U.S., white European singers were blacking up to perform the role of the opera鈥檚 enslaved Black villain, who attempts to sexually assault a white woman before being whipped as punishment.

Monostatos presents a conundrum for contemporary directors hoping to preserve the spirit of the original opera without reproducing harmful stereotypes. Luscombe鈥檚 solution, simple but smart, was to make Monostatos a mustache-twirling pantomime villain in a top hat. It works.

Let me be clear: race-blind casting in opera is a good thing. The solution to the problems I鈥檝e been describing must never be to exclude Black people from singing certain roles. But just because the casting is race-blind, the directing cannot be. To bury one鈥檚 head in the sand as a director and assume that just because you don鈥檛 see race, the audience won鈥檛 either, is a dangerous mistake.

Luscombe seemed genuinely concerned that certain costumes and props might upset people not steeped in 鈥淢agic Flute鈥� performance conventions, particularly if they viewed such 鈥渦nhappy accidents,鈥� as he called them, through the lens of race. Luscombe assured me that he took my concerns seriously.

鈥淚 will now talk to the management about these things, because I think it鈥檚 something we鈥檝e got to acknowledge,鈥� he said.

When I spoke to Luscombe, it was as a critic and arts reporter, not an activist. My intention was only to understand his creative decisions, not to change them. And even if he found my critique valid, which he seemed to, I figured it would be too late, from a logistical standpoint, to make any significant changes to an ongoing production.

That鈥檚 why I was so surprised by what happened next.

A change for good

Luscombe spoke with representatives of the Santa Fe Opera immediately after our call, and the opera鈥檚 director of media and public relations, Emily Doyle Moore, emailed me: 鈥淲e鈥檝e spoken with Christopher following your conversation and are very concerned.鈥�

Over the next two days, members of opera management and the production team held a series of meetings. In the end, they agreed that the racial implications of a Black man in a noose were simply too potent to be ignored.

Moore sent the following statement: 鈥淔ollowing continued internal dialogue, we have made an adjustment to the staging of Papageno鈥檚 鈥楽uicide Aria鈥� in 鈥楾he Magic Flute.鈥� The scene no longer includes the use of a rope; all other artistic elements of the production remain unchanged.

鈥淭his refinement does not reflect a change in the Santa Fe Opera鈥檚 artistic vision. We remain proud of this new production, our creative team鈥檚 work and the extraordinary artists who bring it to life on our stage,鈥� Moore continued. 鈥淓very artistic decision has been developed with great care, and we remain committed to presenting opera that is both artistically rigorous and thoughtfully considered for today鈥檚 audiences.鈥�

I felt tension release from my body as I read the announcement. It meant that a world-class singer would no longer have to face a noose onstage while dressed as a clown, and audiences of all ages would no longer be subjected to such a disturbing and easily misconstrued image. Luscombe, Moore and everyone else at SFO are deserving of the highest praise, not only for having the humility to listen to criticism but also for having the courage to make such a meaningful change.

So, I returned to SFO on July 10 to see the new version of 鈥淭he Magic Flute鈥� without the noose. To what extent would the elimination of a single prop change my experience of the opera? In fact, it transformed it completely.

The production team opted to keep Papageno鈥檚 oversized ladder, which he still stands on while fantasizing about killing himself. But without the noose, his 鈥淪uicide Aria鈥� is allowed to become just as humorous as originally intended. We in the audience assume that Papageno is threatening to kill himself by jumping off a ladder, which is funny because it would be utterly ineffectual. At worst, he might break an ankle. I felt perfectly comfortable laughing at Papageno鈥檚 woe-is-me, attention-seeking histrionics, knowing that his suicide threat cannot be taken seriously. By eliminating the noose but keeping the ladder, SFO not only eliminated a racially insensitive prop: they made the scene exponentially funnier.

Liverman is not only a great singer but an extremely charismatic actor. So, even when his Papageno acts impulsively or foolishly, he makes those actions feel relatable 鈥� a loveable, self-assured goofball more than a clown to be laughed at, regardless of how he鈥檚 dressed.

Breathing easier

It was striking how much I enjoyed the opera the second time around, without the noose. Although I stand by my critique of the clown costume, its potential to be read as a minstrel show costume was greatly reduced by the elimination of the noose. I am happy to recommend the updated 鈥淢agic Flute鈥� to all audiences, even children. It鈥檚 a buoyantly amusing, whimsical, well-sung opera that deserves to be seen and heard.

At the same time, I hope the conversation about race that I accidentally sparked can extend beyond this one particular case study. For decades, opera companies have grappled with how to approach racist, sexist and otherwise problematic characters from the operatic canon 鈥� characters like Monostatos. But there has been far less attention paid to addressing the unintended consequences of race-blind casting and directing. If an opera company can鈥檛 see race, they can鈥檛 see racism, either.

On the phone, Luscombe came across as a kind, gentle soul. But kindness and gentleness are clearly not sufficient to prevent incidents of accidental racism. As one of the temple brotherhood characters sings in Act I of 鈥淭he Magic Flute,鈥� 鈥淏e kind, be gentle, but be wise.鈥� 

Thankfully, in this case, SFO had the wisdom to dispense with an objectionable prop, and we can all breathe easier for it. Let鈥檚 hope other opera companies learn from their example.

Logan Royce Beitmen is an arts writer for the sa国际传媒官网网页入口. He covers visual art, music, fashion, theater and more. Reach him at lbeitmen@abqjournal.com or on Instagram at .