we also meet a couple of rising stars south african soprano masa bane cecilia rangwa nasha. she says opera needs greater diversity. and french tenor benjamin bernheim, who welcomes the use of technology, alongside the power of live performance. let me take you to the opera. i m keen to askjuan diego florez and cecelia bartoli, two of the most loved and respected stars in opera today, about how they re trying to ensure that opera harnesses the power of innovation to secure its future. operatic singing.
we had to start more with using technology and using streaming, for instance. during lockdowns, opera singers had to embrace new ways of performing. the popular peruvian born tenor, juan diego florez, sang in an empty theatre at the state opera house, in vienna. such concerts were streamed and broadcast. could this become a permanent way of bringing opera to wider audiences? well, singing to the masses isjuan diego s blood. he first had his heart set on becoming a pop star. his father was a famous folk singer, and his mother ran a life music bar in the peruvian capital, lima wherejuan diego would often perform.
and in 2023, she will again be the first woman in that post at monte carlo opera. as artistic director, cecelia sees how technology rushed in to save the day during lnockdowns making operatic in to save the day during lockdowns making operatic performances available online for millions to enjoy. we had to start more with using technology and using streaming, for instance. during lockdowns, opera singers had to embrace new ways of performing. the popular peruvian born tenor, juan diego florez, sang in an empty theatre at the state opera house, in vienna. such concerts were streamed and broadcast. could this become a permanent way of bringing opera to wider audiences?
at the state opera house, in vienna. such concerts were streamed and broadcast. could this become a permanent way of bringing opera to wider audiences? well, singing to the masses isjuan diego s blood. he first had his heart set on becoming a pop star. his father was a famous folk singer, and his mother ran a life music bar in the peruvian capital, lima wherejuan diego would often perform. i was young, i was a minor. but in the end, i was playing the whole night and making everybody dance until very late. i was singing peruvian music, my own songs. i was singing elvis presley, the beatles, salsa everybody was dancing. so for me,
there was some real talent coming l out of church choirs around america. these amazing sopranos, like marian anderson, . who was a real pioneer - she had to iron her own clothes before she went on stage, - because nobody would do it for her. it was seen as beneath - people to service somebody from that background. # a man who wishes she wasn t wearing slacks. # wasn t wearing slacks? # wasn t wearing slacks. cecilia would like to be seen as a role model for other black artists wanting to make it in opera. so i think, slowly but surely, we are going to have more people of colour singing in these big houses. and i think there s a future for young women like me, black women in opera. in the autumn of 2021, cecilia took a major step in her career becoming house soloist at the swiss national opera