The first transgender Wotan

The first transgender Wotan

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norman lebrecht

October 18, 2018

Lucia Lucas is a trans woman who sings baritone roles.

Lucia was originally identified as a male until her change five years ago.

She is now singing Wotan at Magdeburg Opera.

Watch here.

Comments

  • Rich Patina says:

    Oh, great! Now let’s find some additional forms of mental illness that can also be celebrated!

  • Robert Groen says:

    Powerful light baritone, maybe a tad light for Wotan. I’ll still listen to her/his performance with my usual interest. Gender is of no importance. Is Lucia going to sing the Wanderer as well? She’ll need to darken her voice a shade for that.

  • boringfileclerk says:

    But this Wotan is still white, and we don’t know if Wotan is asexual, or a vegan, or if this Wotan avoids all animal products, including fur. This Wotan therefore perpetuates White Supremacy.

  • Ted says:

    Ten years ago I chorused in a performance of Un Ballo in Maschera, produced by the now-defunct company Brooklyn Repertory Opera, in which, instead of Ulrica the female gypsy fortune teller, we had Ulrico the male gypsy fortune teller, played by countertenor Nicholas Tamagna.

    Nicholas is now an up-and-coming international star, based in Germany, with opera companies flying him all over the world to perform. You can look him up on You Tube.

    • Hella says:

      I could imagine that worked quite well. I have also seen a countertenor sing Marcellina in Mozart’s Figaro – hardly anybody realized that it was in actual fact a man singing the role

    • Hella says:

      I could imagine that would work quite well. Clara Butt often sounded like a man in her chest voice region.
      I once saw a countertenor sing Marcellina in Mozart’s Figaro – hardly anybody realized it was in actual fact a man.

  • Olassus says:

    She describes herself as a “Heldenbaritonistin” yet is singing bass roles.

  • Brian says:

    For an art form that features trouser roles and countertenors, it’s not such a big conceptual stretch.

  • I applaud her continuing career but if she’s still singing bass roles she should get a refund on the sex change procedure.

  • CYM says:

    What did Wotan’s wife say !? Did she ‘Fricka’ out ??

  • Hella says:

    I am not quite sure that female hormone treatment she is getting will not have an effect on her voice. Although having said that, I cant really say that I have noticed Caitlyn Jenner’s voice to be any different since she has transitioned. Female to Male transgenders have notable changes when they commence testosterone treatment

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