For many artists there are barriers that go much deeper than the gender binary, but how can we ensure people of every gender have real access and are genuinely welcomed in the opera world? Trailblazing American baritone Lucia Lucas reveals the highs and lows of inhabiting a role close to her heart; Lili Elbe at the Theater St. Gallen, about the eponymous painter who was the first person to have gender confirmation surgery in the 1930s. Meanwhile, Spanish director, designer and visual artist Marta Pazos explores the world of intersexuality through her production of Alexina B at the Gran Teatre del Liceu In Barcelona; she shares how she brought the story of Herculine Barbin vividly to life.
Additional voiceovers by Celia Grau
Translation supervised by Joan Soley
View the OperaVision website here
Watch now on Opera Vision
Lili Elbe by composer Tobias Picker & librettist Aryeh Lev Stollman
Oper Frankfurt documentary From Studio to Stage
Il Viaggio a Reims (Rossini), Rossini Opera Festival Accademia Rossiniana
Masterclass with Sarah Connolly
More here about Alexina B
Music extracts
Introduction and closing from Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart): Overture
All other extracts from Lili Elbe Theater St. Gallen featuring baritone Lucia Lucas, soprano Sylvia D’Eramo and bass Msimelelo Mbali