Tosca Tuesday
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It’s rare that opera makes it into the feed on afterellen.com, but Adrianne Pieczonka just broke the sound barrier with a Gerald Hanon interview in queer Canadian publication “xtra!” gaining a mention, including the YT video embedded.
While there are a few more out queer singers (another Northern American soprano comes to mind!), it’s true that there aren’t that many, although the entire White Shirt scene begs to differ on the point of the lack of connection between lesbians and opera. No date-night material? Clearly, that is a bit of a 19th-century-centered view that doesn’t take Baroque into account, but even among 19t century repertory, there is lesbian subtext to be found (re: “Don Carlo” on Sunday!) and even if not, as in “Tosca”, we’ll enjoy a woman in the lead with a glorious voice to boot any day and date night of the week.
Another couple, well written up in afterellen, with a pleasing story about snogging during a performance of Traviata:
http://www.afterellen.com/people/2008/4/patriciaracette_bethclayton
It’s possible to hear Tosca as her transformation from jealous fascinating woman to dominant and dangerous, while Cavaradossi shrinks into a sentimental victim. The travesti Angelotti is suggestive.
yes, I covered the afterellen article on Clayton/Racette when it first came out – Clayton/Racette are alos mentioned in the xtra! article, next to David Daniels, but no other out singer gets referenced.
Tosca as a tale of female empowering – I like that reading!
Munich/Madrid Monday
Tosca Tuesday
One wonders about Wednesday
given the alliterations, there can just be one obvious choice, right?
♥
Seeing this tomorrow.
I ADORE that she talks in that clip about having had “lovers” before Laura.
Speaking of the mezzo Laura Tucker, she will sing Orlofsky in autumn at the COC in a new production of Der Fledermaus to be directed by Christopher Alden.
I hope you’ll find time to blog about it, for all those of us who aren’t quite as lucky as you are – I’d wish you a great time, but that seems redundant somehow!