Joe Specter, president and general director of Arizona Opera

In recent years, Arizona Opera has been working to diversify its productions, on-stage talent and audience in a way that better represents Arizona's increasingly diverse population. People of color, not counting those who identify as mixed race, are now about 45 percent of the state's residents. Vanguardia America host James E. Garcia interviewed Specter about its production of The Copper Queen during its 2021-22 season, how the opera was made into a film because of the pandemic, and how the show reflected the opera company's commitment to inclusivity.