Angel Blue cancels Arena di Verona debut over blackface in Zeffirelli's Aida

American soprano Angel Blue has canceled her scheduled debut at the Arena di Verona on July 22 and 30, 2022, citing the institution's decision to stage Franco Zeffirelli's production of Verdi's Aida, which uses blackface makeup for the Ethiopian princess. Blue stated unequivocally that blackface is 'deeply wrong, offensive, humiliating, and openly racist.' The production features costumes by Anna Anni and choreography by Vladimir Vasiliev, with Anna Netrebko performing the role of Aida in blackface. The controversy has ignited debate in Italian media about political correctness and cancel culture. The article traces the history of blackface to 19th-century American minstrel shows and racist variety acts, where white actors caricatured African Americans during slavery and European imperialism. It draws a parallel to the swastika, arguing that regardless of its original auspicious meanings in ancient Indo-Mediterranean cultures, its appropriation by Nazism makes it impossible to use in the West without evoking racial oppression. The author, Edoardo Pelligra, questions why opera cannot update its staging practices to reflect contemporary ethical sensibilities, warning that treating classic repertoire as a 'museum of imaginary musical works' (philosopher Lydia Goehr's term) risks stifling its living relevance.