DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Cecile Cooper newspaper clippings, 1966-1987 | ""Estes says funding for arts in '85 will be critical"" Page 1

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Cecile Cooper newspaper clippings, 1966-1987

""Estes says funding for arts in '85 will be critical"" Page 1

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how much pressure we'll be able to exert in trying to get people interested in trying to influence the government to give more money to the arts."
Yet Estes says that more and more people -- particularly younger people -- are becoming interested in opera because of television.
"More people are being made aware of opera and the classical arts, due mainly to PBS," he said.
"Yet many people, when they look at a TV guide, they just look right over the PBS station ... I think it would be great if the major networks would get more interested because they reach a greater number of people."
An important trend in opera that Estes sees as "improving, but not improving enough" is the opportunity for blacks, particularly black men, in the opera world.
"People are more aware of the great void of black artists that there has been in the past," he said. "We have a few black artists on the scene. But the percentage is minimal; it's very small.
"And that's speaking of the singers. If you talk about conductors, stage directors, critics, managers, it's non-existent."
Estes says that many people still feel threatened by the notion of a black man in an important role in the operatic stage.
"People don't want to see a romantic involvement between a black male and a white female," he said, "It is getting better, but there's such a long way to go. What makes me sad is that there's so much talent being lost, being wasted."
This barrier to blacks in opera is caused not only by backward thinking, but job competition as well, Estes says.
"There are not that many job openings. And whenever a group of people in the majority are being threatened, the first thing they want to do obviously is eliminate a minority group -- whether it be blacks or the Italians or the Polish or the Spanish or the Jews."

P-C
ca. 1984
p. 1 (of 2)

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Continued from page 1A how much pressure we'll be able to exert in trying to get people interested in trying to influence the government to give more money to the arts." Yet Estes says that more and more people -- particularly younger people -- are becoming interested in opera because of television. "More people are being made aware of opera and the classical arts, due mainly to PBS," he said. "Yet many people, when they look at a TV guide, they just look right over the PBS station ... I think it would be great if the major networks would get more interested because they reach a greater number of people." An important trend in opera that Estes sees as "improving, but not improving enough" is the opportunity for blacks, particularly black men, in the opera world. "People are more aware of the great void of black artists that there has been in the past," he said. "We have a few black artists on the scene. But the percentage is minimal; it's very small. "And that's speaking of the singers. If you talk about conductors, stage directors, critics, managers, it's non-existent." Estes says that many people still feel threatened by the notion of a black man in an important role in the operatic stage. "People don't want to see a romantic involvement between a black male and a white female," he said, "It is getting better, but there's such a long way to go. What makes me sad is that there's so much talent being lost, being wasted." This barrier to blacks in opera is caused not only by backward thinking, but job competition as well, Estes says. "There are not that many job openings. And whenever a group of people in the majority are being threatened, the first thing they want to do obviously is eliminate a minority group -- whether it be blacks or the Italians or the Polish or the Spanish or the Jews." P-C ca. 1984 p. 1 (of 2)