Mark Bellamy: Tonkinese Woman and Characters Bellamy

mark bellamy: He says he felt strong the show should be cast in a way that accurately represented the characters, according to The Chronicle Herald. Bellamy says he resigned after being informed a white actor would play Bloody Mary, a Tonkinese woman from what is now northern Vietnam. Mark Bellamy says the production includes themes of racial intolerance and the lead characters' struggle with bringing Polynesians into their lives. He says he made several suggestions for actors he believed had a more appropriate ethnic background for the character, but whose singing abilities didn't quite satisfy the Calgary Opera. Oscar Hammerstein created this piece of theatre to have this discussion about racism, he didn't create it to showcase voices of sopranos and mezzo-sopranos necessarily, Bellamy says. Bellamy says he understood why that's the opera's focus, but that's not what the musical is about. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.