Opera singer Angel Blue has dropped out of her performance in La Traviata and put the Arena di Verona on blast for staging a production of Aida with performers in blackface. “Let me be perfectly clear: the use of blackface under any circumstances, artistic or otherwise, is a deeply misguided practice based on archaic theatrical traditions which have no place in modern society,” Blue wrote on Instagram. “It is offensive, humiliating and outright racist.” In response, the venue said the 2002 staging it had followed was “well-known” and emphasized the importance of understanding “others’ point of view, in respect of consciously assumed artistic obligations.”