Making Opera Accessible

A discussion for the pandemic and beyond

On December 1, 2020, Opera Mariposa was delighted to host a discussion about disability, accessibility and inclusion in the operatic art form. Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, as well as a worldwide reckoning with systemic inequities, our panel delved into everything from bringing music to high-risk audiences, to how a historic art form can embrace the future of storytelling. Featuring nationally-recognized panelists such as multi-award-winning Disabled writer-performer-producer Ophira Calof, award-winning Deaf artist and opera creator Landon Krentz, pianist/performer/producer and Health Arts Society of BC artistic director Karen Lee-Morlang and more, this timely conversation brought together diverse artists and advocates to grapple with crucial questions – and share solutions for a more inclusive future. 

Accessibility: Run time approx. 90 minutes. Presented in English and ASL, with English captions and ASL interpretation, and visual descriptions of participants. Content warnings in video description.

Moderated by
Robin Hahn

Panelists
Ophira Calof
Stephanie Ko
Landon Krentz
Karen Lee-Morlang
Guest Panelist
Christie A. Pollock

ASL-English interpreters
Ava Hawkins
Robert Azevedo (rehearsal)

Moderator Cover
Jeanine Fynn

Technical Department
Daniel Amaya (live event technician)
Natasha Blatchford
Jacqueline Ko
Stephanie Ko

Communications
Natasha Blatchford
Katie Gillespie
Stephanie Ko
Christie A. Pollock

Graphic Design + Video Editing
Stephanie Ko

First broadcast live on December 1, 2020 as part of #IndieFest (formerly #IndieOperaWeek), presented by re:Naissance Opera.


Supported by Creative BC
and the City of Vancouver

The pink Creative BC logo is shown over the blue and green City of Vancouver logo

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