Opéra de Paris opens season with Joséphine Baker tribute

The Opéra de Paris has opened its season with ‘Perle noire, méditations pour Joséphine’, a production directed by Peter Sellars. Featuring soprano Julia Bullock, composer Tyshawn Sorey, and poet Claudia Rankine, the performance uses the figure of Joséphine Baker to explore the internal struggles of Black artists and their relationship with white audiences.

Critics have noted a tension in the production’s approach. While Julia Bullock’s performance is described as impressive, the work has been criticized for applying contemporary American social perspectives to the historical context of 1920s and 1930s France. Some reviewers suggest the production focuses more on modern anxieties than on the specific historical reality of Baker’s life, during which France offered a degree of emancipation and freedom for Black artists compared to the United States.