Good Read | Missing From Podiums: Women
Women have also been barely present on the podiums of San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera and the other major American houses. “I wish I could tell you that our record was better,” the spokeswoman for Santa Fe Opera wrote me.
Orchestras have perhaps predictably had better numbers — there are more of them, and the pool of experienced talent is larger — but more than half of the 20 top ones I canvassed had no female guest leaders on their main series this season or last; only five hosted women both seasons. Just two female conductors appear on the schedules of New York’s major instrumental concert programs this season, according to WQXR. That’s absurd.