National Opera launches non-binary singing award
OperaWashington National Opera has given its first True Voice Award to transgender singer Katherine Goforth (pictured). The award aims to ‘support the training of transgender and nonbinary opera singers, as well as increase their visibility in the industry.’
‘Historically, opera has always played with gender,’ says WNO chief Francesca Zambello. ‘From Monteverdi on, there were contraltos playing men, men playing women. I think now, in contemporary works, the door is thrown wide open.’
Goforth, 33, has previously received a Career Advancement Award from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Women in Classical Music Symposium.
I have always enjoyed non-binary singing in opera. Only, it was never called that way.
So: Men taking singing gigs away from women?
Discuss.
Play the tape through, David. When trans women get hired for roles, what roles are they? Was Lucia Lucas stealing Angelotti from cis women when she made her Met premier in Tosca?
Do you realize how few trans women get hired at all to perform roles better than their male counterparts? Sit the fuck down.
And awards.
So: David A. Boxwell should have been swallowed?
Discuss.
So: trans men are men, trans women are women, non-binary people exist between and beyond those terms in various ways, and if you’re worried about ‘men taking women’s jobs’, your issue isn’t with trans women, it’s with cis men who are bad people.
I’m sure we’d agree that opera, in it’s beauty and frequent silliness and campery, is for everyone; this is just the next step in making sure everyone’s on the same page in that. As an NB singer, I’m really thrilled to see this!
Sorry Datta but you’re either xx or xy. You know, sciency kind of stuff. What goes on in your mind is another matter…
Trans women are women though?They face greater discrimination than cis women and have fewer opportunities, so they equally deserve platforms encouraging and supporting them in succeeding, such as this
On what grounds would you defend your claim that trans women are women?
There are a lot of traditional non-binary roles in opera called the trousers roles.
A trouser role is still a role based on a binary gendered identification, albeit where one of the two accepted genders disguises as the other gender. Non-binary is something that exists outside of that exclusive binary.
They are not non-binary roles. They are roles for women who must temporarily play the part of a man.
This labyrinth of label confusion merely shows how silly it is to label in the first place.
Interesting. One advantage the arts has over sports is more space and opportunity for gender bending.
Uh, I believe you are speaking of Francesca Zambello (not Francesco!).
My only question is, is this person a soprano, an alto, a mezzo-soprano, as tenor, a baritone, a bass?
A tenor.
I really, really look forward to the day when a trans “woman” with a baritone voice tries to sing “Un bel dì vedremo” from Madama Butterfly.
NOT!