Opera - The Trousered Traviata

This all female version exposes the role of gender in both opera and society and examines Verdi’s classic in the context of maternal and LGBT relationships, set against the Bohemian social, sexual and creative milieu of early 1900’s Paris.

From the late nineteenth century until World War II, Paris was a centre of sexual freedom and same-sex sexual cultures. Lesbian American and European expatriates and France’s own lesbian writers and artists created a Bohemian social, sexual, and creative milieu that makes this time and place unique in the history of lesbian culture. Secret Opera re-examines Verdi’s classic in the context of maternal and LGBT relationships, with the key characters – Alfredo (now Alfreda) and Germont (now Madre Georgia Germont), portrayed as female. Reflecting the gender fluidity prevalent in this era, Alfreda is know by all but her mother as Alfredo, and in her courtship of Violetta and interaction with the Paris set, portrays herself as more masculine – to Violetta’s very feminine character. A subtext is also that, in Violetta, Alfreda finds the warmth and female love so absent from her interactions with her cold, distant mother. This gender fluidity and different presentations of Alfredo/Alfreda are reflected in the gender pronouns and use of names in the, and in Alfredo/Alfreda’s manner and interactions with other characters at different points on stage. Literary and historical references include Mathilde de Morney, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette and Natalie Barney.

SUNG IN ITALIAN - SUBITITLED IN ENGLISH