Every Voice with Terrance McKnight

In this radio special of “Every Voice with Terrance McKnight,” enjoy this season’s journey into Mozart’s "The Magic Flute," its investigation into the overlooked character of Monostatos, and what his portrayal teaches us about ourselves.

With a legacy spanning over two centuries, "The Magic Flute" remains a beloved classic, captivating audiences in sold-out venues worldwide. But along with the opera’s historic success, the character of Monostatos, a Moor and chief slave to the wizard Sarastro, stands out as one of the most famous and shameful stereotypes in opera — a genre with limited representation of characters of African descent.

Monostatos’s longing for Pamina, a white woman, is meant to be a source of comedy, but his experience of loneliness and feeling othered is one that many can relate to. Could future productions of “The Magic Flute” highlight the depth and complexity of this character?

With the help of the Every Voice team, Terrance McNight investigates the history of this opera, tells stories from his own life, and enlists an ensemble of opera talents, including Chauncey Packer, Rodell Rosel, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Kevin Maynor, Sylvia McNair, and more to understand the messaging of modern stagings of this canonical work.

This episode is hosted by Terrance McKnight and produced by David Norville and Tony Phillips with help from Elizabeth Nonemaker. Our research team includes Ariel Elizabeth Davis, Pranathi Diwakar, Ian George, and Jasmine Ogiste. Sound design and engineering by Alan Goffinski. Original music composed by Jeromy Thomas and Ashley Jackson. Special thanks to The Met archives.

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

With such a dark past, what does the future look like for opera as an art form? From Verdi to Mozart, many of opera’s most celebrated works famously reduce people of African descent to racist caricatures and stereotypes with tragic fates.

In the final episode of this season of Every Voice with Terrance McKnight: we go in search of opera’s future with composers, musicians, and thinkers of today, and turn our attention one more time to Mozart's “Abduction from the Seraglio” to learn from a long-voiceless character. Joined by Dr. Sharon Willis, opera and theater director Peter Sellars, and opera greats Chauncey Packer, Limmie Pulliam, and more.

This episode is written, hosted and produced by Terrance McKnight with support from David Norville. The Executive Producer is Tony Phillips. The Executive Producer for WQXR Podcasts is Elizabeth Nonemaker. Our research team includes Ariel Elizabeth Davis, Pranathi Diwakar, Ian George, and Jasmine Ogiste. Sound design and engineering by Sapir Rosenblatt Original music composed by Jeromy Thomas and Ashley Jackson.

A transcript of this episode is available on our website: everyvoicepodcast.org

Mozart’s “The Abduction from the Seraglio” was first heard in Vienna in 1782, commissioned by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II to cater to the German-speaking audience of the capital city. Joseph II and Mozart had more in common than just their native tongue. Joseph II championed liberal ideas, equality, and religious freedom, while some experts interpret Mozart's operas as striving to be liberatory. But 1780s Europe was financially entwined with human trafficking, and the ideals of enlightenment and freedom didn’t apply to every human. In “Abduction,” those real-world restrictions — and the ramifications they have for Mozart’s characters — are on full display.

This week on Every Voice with Terrance McKnight: In “Abduction from the Seraglio,” Pasha Selim subjects both European women and men of African descent to servitude within his haram. But their dramatic treatment — which characters get to enjoy escape and victory, and which characters do not — tend to uphold stereotypes of race, class and sex. We hear from the voices of Jennifer Welch Babige as Konstanze and Blonde, Sir Willard White as Osmin, and Nathan Stark as Pasha Selim.

This episode is written, hosted and produced by Terrance McKnight with support from David Norville. The Executive Producer is Tony Phillips. The Executive Producer for WQXR Podcasts is Elizabeth Nonemaker. Our research team includes Ariel Elizabeth Davis, Pranathi Diwakar, Ian George, and Jasmine Ogiste. Sound design and engineering by Sapir Rosenblatt Original music composed by Jeromy Thomas and Ashley Jackson. Special thanks to the Livermore Valley Opera and the Metropolitan Opera for the use of their performances of “Abduction from the Seraglio.”

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

A transcript of this episode is available on our website: everyvoicepodcast.org

In the prime of his illustrious career, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ran in the realm of prominent, Black visionaries, composed the radical (unfinished) opera “Zaide” depicting a slave revolt, and even shared a home with famed Senegalese / French composer Joseph Boulogne, known as the Chevalier de Saint Georges. The Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, a supporter of Mozart, was also progressive for his time. During his reign, he was known for his religious tolerance, abolition of serfdom, and public friendship with Angelo Solimon, a man of African descent.

But having Black friends doesn’t mean you’re willing to sacrifice political standing and a payday. And though both men may have dreamed of a better world, “The Abduction from the Seraglio,'' commissioned by Joseph II, catered to the harsh reality of the times, oiling the wheels of Europe's economic engine — slavery.

This week on Every Voice with Terrance McKnight: Sir Williard White as Osmin, the enslaved eunuch, and Soprano Jennifer Welch-Babidge as Blonde navigate the fiction of race as two enslaved characters in “The Abduction from the Seraglio.”

This episode is written, hosted and produced by Terrance McKnight with support from David Norville. The Executive Producer is Tony Phillips. The Executive Producer for WQXR Podcasts is Elizabeth Nonemaker. Our research team includes Ariel Elizabeth Davis, Pranathi Diwakar, Ian George, and Jasmine Ogiste. Sound design and engineering by Alan Goffinski. Original music composed by Jeromy Thomas and Ashley Jackson. Special thanks to the Livermore Valley Opera and the Metropolitan Opera for the use of their performances of “Abduction from the Seraglio.”

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

A transcript of this episode is available on our website: everyvoicepodcast.org

At the heart of “Aida” is an African love story: the Ethiopian princess Aida is torn between loyalty to her country and passion for her captor, the Egyptian general Radamès, who loves her in return. But when “Aida” premiered in Cairo in 1871, very few Africans went to see it, let alone could afford the price of a ticket. The original audience for “Aida,” in fact, was the European elite in Egypt, whose economic fortunes and imperial ambitions were inextricably linked to the American Civil War.

Verdi’s “Aida” often portrays Egyptians as white and free and Ethiopians as Black and enslaved, reinforcing colonial stereotypes and colorism. It’s a practice still present in many modern-day productions.

What role has opera played in colonialism, empire, and capitalism? Does art imitate life, or does it obscure it? Join McKnight’s investigation in this radio special featuring WQXR’s own Nimet Habachy, as well as opera talents Limmie Pulliam, Angela Brown, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Sir Willard White and more.

“Every Voice” is hosted by Terrance McKnight. The Executive Producer is Tony Phillips. The Executive Producer for WQXR Podcasts is Elizabeth Nonemaker. Our research team includes Ariel Elizabeth Davis, Pranathi Diwakar, Ian George, and Jasmine Ogiste. Sound design and engineering by Alan Goffinski. Original music composed by Jeromy Thomas and Ashley Jackson. Special thanks to The Met archives.

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.