I return often to this recording. Each singer is exceptional. Grundheber is a unique Monostatos-he sings the role with a fearsome fullness rather than nasal smarminess.
This is a GERMAN production. Blackface is seen as derogtory ONLY in the USA. Rest of the world have normal lives without a messy past of KKK, Jim Crow, segregation, etc. Same with some of your taboo words (N-ones) are NOT bad words in other countries. So, I guess different times but also different countries 🤷🏻♂️
I think the blackface is probably "Tradition". That doesn't make this shit okay though. I thought we were over this by the 70s. I don't think more recent productions use blackface. Or at least I hope they don't
I mean it's not exactly a minstrel show. I don't think it's necessarily a mockery of black people. Just appreciate it for what it is. Modern standards don't apply, and trying to judge this by modern standards doesn't do anything to solve racism.
