When was the last time you went to the opera? Probably not lately, given the artform’s reputation as elite or hopelessly passé. As with many high art institutions, opera companies are struggling to appeal to younger, more diverse audiences. They’re also struggling with funding.
How does a 500-year-old institution prove its relevance to a 21st century audience? That’s a question diva Lucia Lucas thinks about a lot.
“Opera is about distilling an emotion, an event, a life, into art. It’s a heightened state of emotions,” Lucas, 45, tells me. “Through experiencing opera, we can relive the feeling we have or [what] we desire.”
Lucas, a world-renowned baritone, will be performing in San Francisco on Thursday, August 7 as part of Opera Parallèle’s fourth annual Expansive at ACT’s Toni Rembe Theater. Hosted by Bay Area drag star Afrika America, Expansive bills itself as a showcase of transgender and nonbinary classical artists.
The showcase’s lineup will include Lucas and her collaborators, performing everything from Wagner’s Die Walküre and Mozart’s Don Giovanni to more contemporary selections from Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods and Tobias Picker’s upcoming Lili Elbe opera, written specifically for Lucas.
Lucas will also perform “I’m Going Home” from The Rocky Horror Show, a number that has deep significance to the singer, who is trans. “This particular piece is special to me because it tackles bullying and finding comfort in who and whatever home is to you,” she said. “Rocky Horror was always a socially acceptable event to explore gender and sexuality.”
Raised in Sacramento, Lucas now lives in Germany. While an undergrad at California State University, Sacramento, she often attended opera performances in San Francisco. Performing at Toni Rembe is a full-circle moment for her. “This is my SF debut,” she said.
Lucas acknowledges that this debut is happening at a very uncertain time both for the arts and many artists. In the past half year, funding for culture makers has been under assault, as have the rights of trans and nonbinary folks.
That’s not to say that this week’s showcase is an intentional provocation. “Expansive is not a form of defiance,” Lucas explains. “We are trying to live and celebrate life. All theater is a form of escapism. Hopefully people can forget for an hour or two about whatever is going on in their life and just enjoy being present and in community.”
