![]() But in other institutions, there appears to be a certain amount of tokenism involved, just to be blunt about it. ![]() There are some presenters who genuinely seem to have a vision for what they're doing in terms of women composers and composers of color the Philadelphia Orchestra has really turned itself around in that way. Statistically, if we look at the entire history of the Met - and I'm just using them as shorthand here, as this applies to almost every classical music institution in this country - the numbers of women performed are still alarmingly low. But I'm cautious about saying something that would lead people to think that I'm communicating that everything's great now. And yes, it's very promising that it didn't just start and end with myself and Jeanine Tesori - they're starting to talk to other female composers, and composers who are not white. We'll see a change in a couple of years if the Met continues to commission women at the rate that they have been. I feel like that's not really the question to ask. Does it feel like a groundbreaking moment? Or is it more of a "Well, what took them so long?" I feel like this is an opportunity to really reinvent ourselves.Īs you mentioned, you and Jeanine Tesori recently became the first two women to receive commissions from the 140-year-old Metropolitan Opera. I hope that other organizations, orchestras, institutions follow suit, because it could go one of two ways: They can either really embrace the new, or retreat into what is old and familiar, in a sort of misguided attempt to cling to an audience that they feel will come back at pre-pandemic levels. They are really supporting new work and new voices. They're commissioning not just me and Jeanine Tesori, but composers like Valerie Coleman and Jessie Montgomery in the Met and Lincoln Center's New Works Program. I'm writing a piece for the Met right now - they seem to have a renewed commitment to new work, and they're putting their money where their mouth is. These were ideas that were in my head because of the way that the field is and the way that society is - and when you can identify these fears and look them in the eye, it's very easy to let them go.īack in 2015 you told NPR, "I feel like I have more opportunities than I would have had, say, 20 years ago." Aside from the blows dealt by the pandemic, are you still upbeat about the state of things for classical musicians and presenters these days? It was not something that had anything to do with my ability or my commitment. I have been lucky enough to have a lot of performances and a lot of opportunities, and to look back and see the way the system works. I'm 42 now and have been in this career every day for over 20 years. ![]() I always felt like I was sneaking in, or someone had made a mistake and I was there by accident, because it felt so alien to my childhood. Being a young woman, growing up in a rural part of Pennsylvania, growing up in a working-class household, these are not the things that would lead to a career writing opera at the Met. ![]() Missy Mazzoli: There's the whole idea of impostor syndrome, which I think is especially common if you're not a typical person's idea of what a composer looks like. Tom Huizenga: I was watching your new opera, The Listeners, and it reminded me of something you once said about the early years of your career: "I always just felt like an impostor, which is not an uncommon way to feel in classical music." Why did you feel that way? (Mazzoli's, based on the George Saunders novel Lincoln in the Bardo, is slated for production in 2025.) Her instrumental works are routinely performed by the world's top orchestras and chamber ensembles. Two years later, she and fellow composer Jeanine Tesori became the first two women to ever have a new work commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. In 2016, her opera Breaking the Waves found a breakthrough level of critical attention, introducing her to new audiences. From piano lessons and punk gigs to composition classes and Carnegie Hall debuts, her career has risen steadily. The adults in her life figured she'd get over it. Instead, she announced at age 10 that she was a composer - even though she hadn't yet written a note. Missy Mazzoli's next opera, Lincoln in the Bardo, was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera and is slated for a 2025 production.Īs a youngster in rural Pennsylvania, Missy Mazzoli knew she didn't want to become an astronaut or a nurse. ![]()
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