we're beginning to see we can potentially cure their disease so they remain in durable met remission for many years after treatment. so there's still a great deal more to do, but we are potentially beginning to get to the point where we can cure these cancer . in some patients i why fire in southern california, i shut down a major highway leaking it with the north of the state. more than a 125 fire fighters have been battling the place in santa barbara. the flames are being fueled by wind up to a 112 kilometers and ah, logan. i'm fully battle with the headlines on al jazeera, the e u has fledged $1000000000.00 in aid for afghanistan. leaders of the world. 20 biggest economies are holding an emergency meeting to address the growing economic and humanitarian crisis. the money will be given to international organizations, but not to the taliban. speaking after the meeting, german chance,

the angler merkel said our country's not yet ready to recognize the taliban as of ganeth fans government. stephanie decker has more from cobble. the one leverage. the international community has, is this recognition recognizing the taliban as the official government here in afghanistan. so this is what they're using to put pressure on them to form an all inclusive government. at the moment the interim government is made up only of taliban members. there are a few minorities, but certainly there are no women. women also women's rights. a major issue talking about allowing particularly girls between the ages of 12 and 18 to return to school and university. that hasn't happened yet. the taliban says they are looking into it . they will do it, but it takes time to sort out the logistics in terms of segregating boys and girls from going to school. the un stop hort has rejected kenya's claims in a maritime border, disputing, the indian ocean somalia files the loss which we the international court of justice in the hague. after kenya awarded exploration rights in waters. somalia says are

within its boundary the u. k. government's delay and imposing a locked down at the start of the current of iris pandemic is one of the country's worst ever public health failures. thus the conclusion of a newly released parliamentary report, inquiry by him piece also found releasing people from hospital into care homes, cost thousands of lives. they also criticize a test and trace process and weak border controls. but praised the u. k. is rank seen program that you are state of texas has banned organizations and companies from enforcing coven 19 vaccine mandates. governor greg abbott has been one of the most vocal opponents of making jobs mandatory. the biden administration is preparing to require employees with more than a 100 workers to require vaccines or tests weekly for the virus. and in the philippines. tropical storm composite has triggered floods and lance lives in the north killing. at least 9 people. the storm swept through the most populous island of luzon on monday and intensified as it approached the island of palate on the 3rd

. for now, coming up next image is there the stream talk to al jazeera. we are what gives you hope that it is going to be peace because the situation on the ground seems to be pointing, otherwise we listen. we were never on the whatever road to off migration. we meet with global news makers and talk about the stories that matter on al jazeera, i, ah,

the music of fire shot up in my bones with its composed tenants, blanchard, on trumpet and baritone, will live, and then what you saw it is that, that is musical history at opera, history for the 1st time in a 138 years. the metropolitan opera is producing like action by an african american composer. this is why we're all hail in today's episode. we're looking at the contributions of african americans of black people around the world to the form of opera. let's me out guess hello harris. hello, kevin. hello, michael. say good to have you here on the stream at terrace. introduce yourself global audience. well, my name is terrance blanchard, i'm a jazz musician, brad trade from new orleans, louisiana. and now apparently, i'm an oper controls how far a so i was so happy about that. i know karen i room dina entities is al hello,

my name is karen sla m a soprano and i i originally originated the roll bill in the original production of our shopping, my bones, the st. louis. ah, i think to have him hallo, mount. lot like a welcome to the street. please introduce yourself to our audience around the world . i am michael mohammed. i am a director and an educator based in san francisco, california, all right, unfiltered 1st thoughts about fire shot up in my bones. what does it mean to you, michael? karen talent, michael, you saw i think the importance of it is representation representation on its deepest level of what happens when we actually get to see a black stories, black bodies on stage and in see one of the largest platforms possible for opera. and how does that welcome in a new set of people? how does that actually make space at the table for new stories and for stories that

are contemporary and stories, i mean something to the, to the bodies that are in the seats and who's getting to experience what this story i knew there fire was an incredible piece of history, when i read the libretto for the 1st time, i wept and to and i already knew terence as music by singing the opera champion, which was terence, is 1st opera. and i knew it was that it is special answers to see such a prolific story or by such an incredible musician. it welcome to what opera, what we save you more often to be in the 21st century to have the full culture as we say, for the culture on the stage of a place there is. so way i've been on that stage. you know, i've been in that company but to have it on the largest operatic platform in the world to have our story. so prolific by parents and casey and charles

is incredible for our brennan think that they even understand how great it the movement is. parents south. well, i think for me, you know, what this means is we get a chance to see our culture, you know, i meg karen and because of karen, i had this conversation with the cast here. we talked about it a while ago can remembers this when we are in my home in new orleans, when we were doing champion, we talked about how so many african american operating as grew up in a church. i grew up singing rhythm and blues, some of them even grow up, sing, and jazz. but when they enter into the operative world, they are told to throw all of that and put it aside. and what i've wanted people to do in this production is to bring all that back to this format, you know, and allowed them give them space to, to experience and express themselves. you know, angel blue. she took it very seriously while everybody has. but angel was the 1st

approach. ready me and dad, she said, you know, do you mind if i take some liberties and i'm like, please enter the one that, you know, he's one of the characters in the production 5 set up in my bag. yes, he's one of the principal. she plays 3 character. she plays loneliness, bethany, and now granted the child's dates. but she sings this area peculiar grace, which is about charles. and you can hear her bringing in her background as i am a spiritually based performer. you know, you can hear it. and as she marries that with her training as an opera, singer, and for me and create something very unique but distinctly our own. you know, and the other thing about it too, is that because we have an all black task, which was something we didn't set out to do with just wound up happening to be that way. is that the world gets a chance to see this level of talent that existed in our community because, you know, i did one interview and a journalist asked me, he said, man, do you think your op has gone inspired people to sing opera in black community

dabbling dude, they've been ha, ha, ha, ha ha. all right, sick parents and karen and michael, i am going to share you with that international audience. if you want to right now, you're on youtube. jump into the comments section. our conversation today is black artists, flipping the libretto, see what i did there in opera comment section is clear. please join our discussion . to see the message, authorize storytelling, and pre with coin. the offer that happened form, we're really composed by one demographic, which ignores the narrative and stories of people like me. we also have to tell stories that are romantic, tragic, funny, sad, joyful. so that i need to be told on the contrary stage to this beautiful medium

of opera, the production irish am i wrong, says are stories k and should be endured anymore. because we have math to say many i have to ask you that, hey, hey, hey kevin, i have to ask you what you are playing billing, which is the mom in fi shell up in my band. did that? did it feel different from other productions that you were in? you? you were an experienced soprano. you you've what the world over. did it feel different? absolutely. first of all, terrence knew my voice very well, because i had sung his 1st opera, so he crafted the piece for my instrument particularly, but i didn't have to get into the skin. i was playing my aunt's. i mean, my, my mom, my, my cousin women that i saw in my church in the, you know, it, there's something about getting into oscar trying to turn yourself into and,

you know, and 18th century italians operate soprano. you know what i mean? that's one thing. but to say something like billy to, to live her and i were, i know who i represent it on that stage. it was important for women who looked like meets us to see themselves when i walked out. be even before open my mouth. that comment, michael came from earlier from shown e aka bolo, he's a composer anna conductor, and he talked about that being relate to pull stories. is this a time now where operate is realizing that you have to encompass the diversity of the community? you can't just be eurocentric. i think from last summer with the reckoning, as i keep calling it from the reckoning a last summer as realizing that our institutions have to reflect the, the bodies. but people who, who, who are around it. i think. and i think because as, as oper is an institution that is old and it's slow to change. so i think

that we as good current living people trying to live and work and create in this media. i think that we're seeing that more and more. it's gotta open up and we gotta be hospitable to people who want to explore this as, as a storytelling media. because i think, as he said in the video that, that it's once theater story telling it's narrative. well, one of the things i want to add to what michael is talking about is that, you know, what's the definition of insanity doing the same thing and expecting a different result, right? so that's what the art world has been doing when it's trying to sell this art form . and people have gotten to the point, you know, where we start to realize now that has to change. and i think when george floyd was, was murdered on on television at video was sent around the world. it opened up a lot of people's ad as to what we would have been complaining about in this

country for generations. and people have sought to make a difference in our give peter go all the credit for, for saying that we need to not only do stories that are related to our generation, but we need to do stories like this to let people know that there are other voices out there that needs to be heard. and here's the thing that's most important. it's a universal story. it's not a store. it is just unique to the african american community, but it's a story that's told through our lands. and by and being told through our lands, you know, there's so many people who can come and relate. one journalist said this is the most diverse audience he seen at the met in his 20 some years of covering the met. that i want to tell people who don't know the so fire shut up in my bones. it is based on the memoir of charl was blow. it was a really well known new york times columnist and a writer. it is an extraordinary story, but is also a story about an african american man. and you're hearing karen and michael and

carrots, talking about stories being relate to boy and stories from our community. what would that look like, for instance, in rehab? so a practice session, i love this video. this is a movement excise. the fire shot up in my beds. i look, i told you not to dance. ah .

my so many people around the world are now going to go see. all right, what about? i'm going to bring in another voice voice say, this is juliana historian, who, who really gets to the matter of why it has been challenging for african americans for people of color to be involved in opera patients. i think the thing with black roses contributions to our brush is not necessarily that they are treated better or worse, but the del always treated is somehow different. this is not just oprah, but black, oprah or indigenous oprah or or any other names that are used to describe these

contributions. so black versus work always comes with a qualifier which implies that it somehow falls outside the norm, or that it's not normal. and because of this, i don't think it is treated on an equal footing, no hurry. you're looking for your thoughts 1st and then michael me that handles thought. well, i also think it is a lack of education with the administrators and a, a lack of courage with those who get to make decisions. you know, people, we hear a lot about gay keeping because of the time that we were in with the racial racial reckoning. but it is the administrators, the general directors intern dance, who get to dictate what culture is, where the community to come to the the come to the opera. and we can change that. this is not 1930 by it's 2021. and i think every organization

has a responsibility to the community, the show them the granted of what's available. yeah, and i also think it even begins even beyond that with them. the pipeline in and who it's, it's a reaching forward and are reaching back and we're reaching forward. we're moving things forward, but we're also reaching back to bring people along with us. and i think that's an part of the gate keeping. and how do we break open the gates? how do we disrupt the any of the systems that are there, have kept what the ideas are normal and not normal and who gets to be part of the conversation? and who does it? i think the more that we can disrupt and break those doors open and bring people along, and that's the part. and, and they, they, they ante sort of colonial mindset of opera and that we're really trying to learn to, to widen the conversation, democratize the space. so that most more people get

a chance to, to be in the space and to talk about in the hell these stories be till i have questions for you from you cheer. i'm gonna fire them at you. come back with instant artists or we can get in as many as possible. i parents, i'm going to get this wanting. this is donovan, and he wanted to know about their met opera and quoting doors at dark donovan. he, it's racist history. making a black op or is big, but it's a hell, a sad that he took this long to do this. ah 138. yes. that me and now on the resident donovan, doris in south. well, here's the thing you know about this, you know, wow, i'm very proud of my heritage. i'm very proud of everybody lives in this production . we made oper, you know, we're not trying to be separate us in our up. and i think that's really important. karen is my sister and we know we've had a lot of conversations and one of the things that we've never talked about is her being a black soprano. we talked about her being an amazing soprano. it just so happens

that she's african american just so happens that the story is told through the lens of the african american community. but you know, there are other communities, asia commute ever all people's or what different walks of life who have stores towel. and i think that's where i think we start to fall short. you know, one guy asked me, did it, did i think dad, why people will gone a com listen to this opera and i told him, i said your question implies that we shouldn't go to opera. that's done by verity or pro jeannie. you know, i think, you know, at the end of the day we are trying to be the most accomplished artist that we could be. we're trying to bring all of our communities are a background, are up bringing our experiences to the stage. and if we're really trying to be artist dot business, people are politicians. if we're trying to be artists, then everybody should be welcome. everybody should have

a form to tell stories. i'm going to get back to you chief in a moment because i some really good questions and you chiefly gas, but fast. we take a pause to bring in the gorgeous life of parents flat. he singing, he admitted, say to output productions. dad mom walking based on the book of the same name, his miss sack ah . 2 ah oh, i got out there and i get one is if you're okay want me to call you kiki because i've been watching your 2 key conversations and you are how they have a look here on my laptop or karen. those is,

she's been having during during lockdown during the pandemic. she's, she has been bringing to the opera community together. here she is. this is my favorite one with soprano angela brown. and there was a moment where angela told her story, you were really good cuz she let her tell the story about how she didn't get a row, because the dress wasn't big, the right size for her. but then she went to see the production and the woman playing the part who won the part was exactly the same size of angela brown. so there's this sense of unfairness in the upper world or at what point does the fact that this impact your ability to play and sing a fictional kite oftentimes? oh my goodness. yeah. that, yeah. a questionnaire for you. yeah, exactly. that was the conversation, but or black or color. yeah. about size, you know that there were void is one of the most prolific germanic sopranos the

word time. and she had had this gigantic career, and because she couldn't fit a dresser, covent garden, that they wanted to have a smaller woman, she was hired. and so the know at the common denominator or that we don't get rules unless i, i guess they are the, the leon, teen price rules. ideally, if you are not just singing the bed, the, that watching me as if, you know, black people can sing german musical french music. you know, i mean, it does matter in this, in that, but again, it goes back to the people who get to decide who gets to have a career, who doesn't, what rolls, what offers, get shown and produce. we have to change the people who make the decision. we have to make that more inclusive, you know, because again, we want people to come to the theater to see themselves in every, every oper, every role we present, you know, not just then people make love. not just then people fall in love, not just white people. you know, have, happily, ever, after, when you were, you know, poison a death, whatever that is, you know, and, you know,

just shot me with that. the a walking i was, i was beautiful on, on youtube, where, where we're at, this is a reading. if you could question mike, i'm going to get this one to you want to do in op, if he want to be much more diverse. but the funding comes from white don't who that's a rich question. iraq, actually, i mean, it's placed in because you know, and, and funding in the united states is so not tied to a government. it's not, it's, it's untethered to any sort of real system of support, so it does rely on donors. so there's always this, this balancing act between what do you expect the donors to want to support and what do you expect audiences, because audiences rely on, you know, companies relying on ticket sales. so it's, it's

a delicate dance that companies have to do. am yes, i am. i'm sorry, i'm sorry, go ahead. good. well, no, i think, i think there's a misconception about that too. you know, it's just like anything else because what i was very, very proud of with the production of fire should've been my bones were, was that darren walker, who's an african american who runs the ford foundation, was a big supporter of this production. sheila johnson, who's also african american and loves classical music, was also a big supporter of this production. so we made history in that regard as well. and i think, you know, we have people in our community who have money, you know, who have been raising dollars and they need to understand that they can have a say so. and what goes on the stage at these performance theaters, you know, and i think darren walker and sheila johnson have set a precedent by doing so at the mit, i'm tense, i want to pick up on, on

a point that you made early about the universality of opera and, and stories that they can be for all people or around the world. so for this last coming, i'm going to count town to an up per student who is a soprano. and she took that universality of, of, for, it's not just a white people. is he, him, papa itself is as, as, as a european half form bad. the stories that have been told in his office require universal, which is why we find different annotations of the stories done all over the world are relating to the culture, experiences of those areas. for instance, there was once a production of i am that was done here in this production me and died because of i shall be in a sling tv. and you do also get um about companies who go even

further, even all tub illustration ways not. you know, more on test drive issue and getting those big houses. so terrence, i'm just looking at a picture him on my laptop and i, i love this picture so much. i'm just gonna do this on here. never saw this pub in . oh, i know a so much when i was a kid, i used to go to the rule upper house in covent garden. in london, i used to place the other black person if there was another black messen, i'd be like looking we'd have oh dorothy van. i would be looking out of i didn't know that i know what all 3 of you doing in the community of black performers. i think because i think that game of smoke they have a black person is going to be less rewarding. now that they're going to be so many that it will no longer be a game talents, closing thoughts. go ahead. well i think it's a shame when i listen to the young lady talk to think that in order to have a black task, we need to do

a retake arm coaching. and i love watching. i love libel one's one of my favorite offers, but i'm so proud of the fact that we're doing stuff that can read to people's last a day. and hopefully that will open the door for that young lady. and now the people just like her to tell their stories, the way they see fit. because i know with what the level of success we've had with fire should have been my bones at the met gibson it's. it's been a reckoning for people who understand that they are people who will come to oper if they will see themselves on the cell like it is, is, is a perfect segue into the closing video. i'm going to show you is the famous step down from fire shot up in my bones. michael. karen parents. thank you so much. i will leave you with 5. shut my bens, the step downs. thanks for watching everybody. oh, okay.

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