Royal Opera House accused of ‘whitewashing’

An advocacy group for British East and South East Asians working in the screen and stage industries has accused the Royal Opera House (ROH) of "whitewashing" its new production of a Puccini opera.

The Beats group said the casting for the ROH's Turandot, currently running at the Covent Garden venue, was "simply unacceptable" and that it was "very concerned" at the "highly limited representation".

It said in a statement: "We fail to see why there are only two British East and South East Asians singers in a production that is set in China." 

The group has called on the ROH to "undertake a thorough review of its casting processes to ensure that its productions have much better and more appropriate representation on and off stage".

It added that the ROH's approach to casting "limits the ability of artists of colour to participate in the telling of their own stories on stage".

Responding to the criticism, the ROH said: "We are opposed to pigeonholing singers into certain roles based on ethnicity, recognising that to do so would be limiting and reductive. 

"At the same time, we do not ignore ethnicity entirely. Instead, we are committed to colour-conscious casting, an approach which considers the nuance required to authentically and respectfully portray each and every story."

It added that the new production "presents an outstanding and diverse cast".