APRIL 27 • 2023 | 17

form of expression. 
It is an art form that 
not only expresses 
our day-to-day 
life, but also moves 
us beyond our day-
to-day by making 
us reflect on themes 
that are innately 
human. Opera is 
thrilling, stunning, 
exciting, dramatic, beautiful, 
terrifying, delicate: All of 
these and more are possible 
in any single production. The 
beauty of the human voice, 
accompanied by musicians, 
is a form of expression that 
tugs immediately at the heart-
strings. There is no other 
medium that blends music, 
words, dance, costumes and 
lighting together in such a 
truly cohesive way. 
How does your Jewish heri-
tage influence your work? 
 Yuval: Opera, actually, has 
quite a few similarities to reli-
gion; in both, a congregation 
comes together in song to 
recite profound, usually older 
texts and investigate what 
it means to be human. My 
own brand of Judaism hews 
closely to how I view and 
create operas. In both fields, 
tradition requires constant 
examining, rather than blind 
obedience; no matter how old 
the text, the act of constant 
reinterpretation offers ever-
fresh insight; and no matter 
how tight the community, a 
broader social responsibility is 
a crucial tenet of our viability. 
Roberto: I would say that 
being Jewish has taught me 
the value of unity, resilience 
and charity. Growing up 
Jewish in a country where 
99 percent of the population 
is not — this taught me a 
sense of what it is like to be 

in the minority. The 
support within that 
community taught 
me the power of 
togetherness, and 
I attempt to show 
openness and char-
ity in my work as a 
result. 
What are some of 
the new innovations 
you are introducing in the 
upcoming season?
Yuval: This season’s 
site-specific operatic experi-
ence, pioneering composer 
John Cage’s Europeras 3 & 4, 
is created entirely of recycled 
materials — arias that every-
one is familiar with, classics 
from European repertoire. 
The only catch is that they’re 
all performed at the same 
time. Through chance oper-
ations, singers will perform 
arias that they select, while 
pianists play transcriptions of 
different operas, and phono-
graphs are playing different 
recordings. The result is 
something new and original: 
an exhilarating, bewildering, 
wonderful work. 
Roberto: We are creating 
a new community-focused 
series that will feature sym-
phonic music with our 
Detroit Opera Orchestra and 
our Resident Artists. This 
will be an opportunity for our 
orchestra to go directly to the 
community, for us to meet 
Detroit communities where 
they live. I plan for this series 
to grow, and it will provide a 
great way for our players to 
be able to perform together 
beyond the Detroit Opera 
House, and for us to be able 
to reach places in the commu-
nity that have not historically 
been embraced by arts orga-
nizations. 

Yuval Sharon

Join us for an emotional and educational evening 
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As a Roman Catholic priest he is devoted to educating the 
world about the Holocaust and antisemitism. His dedication 
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crimes against humanity has been featured on 60 Minutes.

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