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Black History Month 2020
Black History Month 2020
The Royal Opera House shares a range of activities with audiences and staff to celebrate Black History Month.
The Royal Opera House shares a range of activities with audiences and staff to celebrate Black History Month.
This month we celebrate Black artistry and artistic diversity. We believe that opera and music, ballet and dance should belong to everyone and we are working to make the Royal Opera House a more inclusive environment in which everyone – artists, visitors, staff – can thrive.
We are proud to highlight the events and activities that we have planned, both for our audiences and for our staff (on the initiative of our internal Diversity and Inclusion Network).
We hope you will celebrate Black History Month with us.
Alex Beard
Chief Executive
Black History Month Insight
We are presenting a special event during October to celebrate Black artists working in our art forms, drawing upon their personal histories to discuss where we are today, and where we need to be in the future.
Kenneth Tharp, who has in the course of his career been director of the Africa Centre, a dance artist and Chief Executive of The Place, has kindly agreed to host this event in the Linbury Theatre, at which some of The Royal Ballet's dancers talk about the artists of African or Caribbean heritage who have influenced them.
Instagram Takeover
Stay tuned to our social media channels to learn more about the Black artists and creatives that we are celebrating this month. Our Instagram takeover is the initiative of The Royal Ballet Inclusivity Focus Group.
The Knife of Dawn
On Saturday 24 October The Royal Opera presents Hannah Kendall’s one-act chamber opera The Knife of Dawn as part of the New Dark Age programme. The Knife of Dawn tells the gripping story of Guyanese political activist and poet Martin Carter. Widely regarded as the greatest of Guyanese poets and one of the most influential voices in Caribbean literature, Carter was imprisoned in 1953 for his protest against British rule in Guyana. Kendall and librettist Tessa McWatt, who share their Guyanese heritage with Carter, have created a chamber opera of great beauty and intricacy for small Orchestra and break-through director Ola Ince has created a visionary, total theatre production for the Royal Opera House stage.
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation, a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales (Company number 480523) Charity Registered (Number 211775)