Very interesting topic and a real food for thought for me, because I usually find the reactions of how this or that music is age/culturally etc. inappropriate rather exaggerated, but in this case I have to agree.
How are they going to portray this? Is she going to skate in a pretty dress with a naive expression on her face ignoring the meaning of the song completely, or are they going to take it seriously and very realistically, which might make it even worse in the end?
All the possible scenarios I can imagine feel totally wrong.
However, generally speaking, I agree with TontoK that music and art are for everyone and not only to enjoy, but also to perform, if the interprets know and respect the original context.
Lynching for exapmle, is not something experienced only by the African-Americans during that horrible period in history, but by lots of other people all around the world even today.
If somebody has had some kind of personal experience e.g. of such a thing happening in their family, hometown or just simply studying about this period extensively, feeling very strongly about it and finding this song a perfect vehicle for sending out a message or drawing attention to such atrocities happening, should it matter that they are e.g. Chinese?
I repeat I'm NOT talking about this particular case, beacuse trying to convey something so deep and important in a figure skating competition is absolutely ridiculous.
On the other hand, I don't like the notion that teenagers shouldn't skate to anything that's not rainbows and unicorns.
They go through hard times and emotional turmoils too, and should be able to express them on the ice, if they choose so.
I absolutely disagree here. The opera characters are just larger-than-life representations of emotions we ALL experience on everyday basis at any age, and it is actually very easy to identify with them without necessarily having to go to the very extremes like they do.
Don't teenagers even today fall madly in love, thinking no-one had ever experienced such strong feelings before, that this one particular person is the only one in the entire universe they could possibly love, and that they'd rather die than be without them? No-one has ever suffered so much, right? How about controlling, possessive or cheating boyfriends? Parents being against your relationship? Add some betrayal, thirst for revenge and desire to rule the world into the mix and you might have just covered most of what opera is actually about. Definitely much more so than prostitution, and I think it is entirely possible to totally identify with e.g. Violetta's feelings without giving prostitution a single thought.
I also don't agree at all that opera is misogynist. Actually, I've always found it fascinating that given the status of women in history, the central characters in operas are mostly females, and usually very strong and spirited ones that make their male counterparts look rather incompetent and weak in comparison. Yes, the male characters often ruin their lives, but it is never depicted as something positive or OK, cause they are just women, so who cares.
Carmen might have been stabbed to death, but she is still the heroin and I wonder how many people even know the name of the guy who killed her. The same goes for Madama Butterfly.
There is also a fair share of women characters, who enjoy torturing men, kill them or just make their life hell in general and yet somehow come accross as rather likeable.
They cheat on them too, by the way.
So no, I think opera is a genre that feminists might actually enjoy quite a lot!
This was my point. Opera, no matter the theme, should not be restricted for teens/junior skaters. Its music goes beyond the original story. I don't find outrageous that a german is skating to Schindler's List music, a sublime violin piece that transcends the movie and I'm not gonna add gratuitously to the vicious circle of blame.
I don't find outrageous that a 14 yo is skating to Big Spender - I mean let's not pretend that these teenagers are not listening to Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Becky G. etc whose lyrics are not "age appropriate". If they are not explicite, their hidden meaning is suggested so it's pointless and hypocritical for us to frown upon it. As for the infamous "aboriginal song" of Domnina and Shabalin, it was not the music per se, but the offensive costumes and choreo that ruined it. So it's a key point how a skater use certain music. I think Medvedeva performed with utmost respect the 9/11 program, and had a sensitive choreo, completely understanting the message of that song.
But, Strange Fruit is in a whole other dimension, I don't know what Benoît Richaud wants to convey, I assume he chose the music and suggested to Moa Iwano. I'm not gonna say it's not Moa Iwano's story to tell. It's just too particular to the black community in US, and there’s just no way to divorce the song from its context. War and terrorism are universal themes, this is more than just a song, is an important part of the United States civil war movement.
It's different than let's say a Japanese girl doing a program to Schindler’s List. Spielberg said that a major modern point he tried to make with this film was against Holocaust deniers and they are so many today - so I don't find tasteful SL programs extremely inappropriate.
Strange Fruit should be reconsidered and dropped.