Afton Battle, Fort Worth Opera’s first Black female director, strives for more diversity
What a year it’s been for the Fort Worth Opera.
The company’s last general director, Tuomas Hiltunen, suddenly resigned in January and the pandemic put the kibosh on its entire festival in April and May.
But FWO is back in its 75th year with a virtual fall season, and the six-month search for a new director is over.
Afton Battle is the eighth general director at FWO since 1946, effective immediately. Originally from Amarillo, she has a background in operatic voice and arts administration.
“It’s a huge responsibility and an honor during this crazy unprecedented time we are in,” said Battle, who is both the first female director in FWO’s history, as well as the first African American.
“Right now, more than ever we need art and engagement, not just for enjoyment but for mental stimulation when we are unable to gather like we used to. Music always fills in the void and makes things better,” Battle said.
“She is the whole package,” said FWO artistic director and composer John Illick, who doesn’t mind saying that the company “hasn’t had strong leadership in three years. Her business sensibilities are acute, she has a great love and understanding of opera, and she’s a great fundraiser.”
Born in Lubbock and raised in El Paso, Battle graduated from high school at 16 in Amarillo, where she fell in love with opera. Taking voice lessons and singing in a choir, she started her voice career at Amarillo Opera after experiencing opera live for the first time.
“I didn’t know what opera was,” she said. But everything changed when she saw a performance of Guiseppe Verde’s “La traviata” in North Texas. “I was completely engulfed and at the end, when she is in her death scene and having hallucinations, she has that sudden burst of joy, let’s out that big note, twirls around, and falls flat, dead. I was mortified by this rush of emotion and excitement and then catastrophe.”
She started working towards a career in opera the next day and ended up graduating from University of Houston with a degree in voice performance. Then Battle attended Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, earning a Master of Music in voice performance and pedagogy.
From there she started pursuing a professional singing career, working with industry teachers and coaches in training programs and performing in operas in Europe. But Battle started switching over to arts administration over a decade ago.
“I came out of grad school and then we entered the recession,” she said. “Opportunities were few and far between and there were the costs of living in New York City and maintaining voice lessons. A career in arts administration still connects me to my art and allows me to help others connect.”
Now moving back to Texas from Chicago, she previously worked in development and consulting for the Joffrey Ballet, New York Theatre Workshop, Red Clay Dance Company, the National Black Theatre, and the African American Policy Forum.
Battle is also one of the founders of the recently announced Black Theatre Coalition. The new organization has a mission to increase employment opportunities for black theater professionals and eliminate systemic racism in American theater. Battle’s commitment to diversity informs her plans for FWO.
“Opera companies should be engaging with communities and representation matters,” Battle said. “We have to reflect the diversity within the community, on our stage and in our offices. We have to build relationships with community leaders, faith leaders, government and educational leaders. And these relationships have to be genuine and long-lasting. I came up through young artist programs where we used to go to community centers, assisted living centers, and afterschool programs.”
Battle replaces Hiltunen, the previous director who resigned in January. Prior to that, Darren K. Woods held the position for 16 years before he was terminated in 2017.
Once FWO is able to resume live performances at Bass Performance Hall, she plans to gradually switch from the festival season format to year-round programming with a delicate balance of classic operas, newer pieces, and commissions.
In the meantime, she believes virtual programming is an opportunity to finally solve two lingering issues: Opera has long needed to rebrand itself with current technology and gain new audiences.
“Opera’s always had that cloak of an inaccessible artform for the wealthy,” Battle says. “But that’s just the aesthetics of what opera is. Now anyone has access to this artform with virtual programming.”
But she also acknowledges the significance of hearing operatic voices live, which is currently possible with socially distanced outdoor performances. Battle hopes FWO can start having these events by Thanksgiving.
Available for viewing on October 1, “Stone Soup” is the next opera for FWO’s fall virtual season. The new work is the second collaboration from Illick and Pulitzer prize winning librettist Mark Campbell, who teamed up for last year’s “Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World.” The piece is family-friendly and socially distanced, with singers appearing at separate times.
In other words, “Stone Soup” is a good fit for an outdoor performance that might arrive on a flatbed truck at a public park or a food bank in the near future.
“We aren’t going to wait to engage with our community,” Battle said. “North Texas now has temperate climate and I want to be able to capitalize on it and take what we have to offer into the communities.”
This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 6:00 AM.