I get you - I don't really know Italian culture or the makeup of the population of the country. I think you may be reading my remarks as a criticism of the culture, but they really weren't. Just because I said "it's strange" doesn't mean I think anything in particular is wrong, I just think it's strange. I'm sure there are plenty of things about American culture that you find strange but I wouldn't think that means you think American culture is wrong.

What I'm saying is that, if you are going to have a global platform, it's at least worth considering how things might look to everyone that would be viewing your work. To an American, what's happening is objectively blackface. I personally think that blackface needs to have some element of malice to it, which this situation obviously doesn't, but I can see why Americans would look at that and say, "That's blackface."

I notice that you didn't bother to quote the second part of my comment, where I said I completely understand the viewpoint of the festival people and actually agree with their assessment of the situation and their reasoning behind the casting and makeup choices. It's an opera that's historically been done a certain way and they are showing that particular version. It's not a big deal to me. But I appreciate that the festival reps gave a thoughtful response rather than just "spare us your American 'sensitivity' ... GTFO."

Understanding why people think one way is different from supporting that viewpoint, and the festival reps gave a response that would hopefully help people understand their viewpoint rather than just saying "suck it assholes, I don't care what you think." That sort of thing only serves to keep people divided and hating each other.