Courtesy/SFO

SFO News:

The Santa Fe Opera (SFO) invites the community to attend a series of events in Santa Fe and Albuquerque in celebration of the American premiere of Tobias Picker and Aryeh Lev Stollman’s Lili Elbe on Aug. 1.

Set in Copenhagen, Paris and Dresden, Lili Elbe is a two-act opera based on the true story of a Danish landscape painter who was one of the first transgender women to undergo gender affirmation surgery in the early 20th century, with the support of her wife, artist Gerda Wegener. Recipient of the 2023 OPER! Award for “Best World Premiere”, Lili Elbe is the first full-scale opera about a transgender protagonist and written for a transgender singer, former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Lucia Lucasin the title role.

Film Series: Documenting Musical Lives

A series of films focused on the lives of trans and non-binary performers, featuring after-screening conversations and cocktails.

• Jean Cocteau Cinema (Santa Fe)
  • 7 p.m., Thursday, July 9: No Ordinary Man 
  • 7 p.m., Thursday, July 16: Keyboard Fantasies 
  •  7 p.m., Thursday, July 23: The Sound of Identity
    (Pre-screening panel with Lucia Lucas and post screening DJ hosted by 505omatic)
  • 7 p.m., Thursday, July 30: Any Other Way
• Guild Cinema (Albuquerque)
  • 1 p.m., Saturday, July 25: The Sound of Identity 

CHATTER: Del Sol Quartet

Centering Tobias Picker’s Lili Elbe opera, the program explores the inner and outer landscapes of transformation, with chamber music by Picker, initi figgis-vizueta and world premieres by Aeryn Santillan & Andromeda Wen.

• CHATTER North (Santa Fe)
  • 10:30–11:30 a.m., Saturday, July 18
• CHATTER (Albuquerque)
  • 10:30–11:30 a.m., Sunday, July 19 

Culture and Cabaret at Center for Contemporary Arts (Santa Fe) 

This night of art and celebration begins with a conversational panel about trans, non-binary and two-spirit culture work, culminates in a series of musical performances and ends with everybody on the dance floor.

• Saturday, July 25
  • 6:15–7 p.m., Panel 
  • 7:15–8:45 p.m., Transformative Voices Cabaret 
  • 9–10 p.m., DJ and Dancing

Lili Elbe: Art, Life and Opera at The Lensic Performing Arts Center (Santa Fe)

An all-day event kicks off with a talk by the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico, followed by a panel with the creative team of the opera including composer Tobias Picker, librettist Aryeh Lev Stollman, director James Robinson, set designer Allen Moyer, and performances by singers Lucia Lucas (Lili Elbe) and Sylvia D’Eramo (Gerda Wegener). The day ends with a panel of scholars reflecting on the life of Lili Elbe, the paintings of Lili and her wife, Gerda Wegener, and the gender fluidity of the operatic voice. 

• Sunday, July 26
  • 10–10:30 a.m., Transgender Cultural Fluency 
  • 11 a.m.–1 p.m., Panel: Featuring the Creative Team of Lili Elbe
  • 2–3:30 p.m., Panel: Scholars Respond to Lili Elbe
    • Pamela Caughie (Loyola University Chicago) Editor of Lili Elbe’s autobiography, Man Into Woman: A Comparative Scholarly Edition
    • Kirstin Ringelberg (Elon University) on the paintings of Lili Elbe & Gerda Wegener
    • Sasha Geffen author of Glitter Up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary
      

Edward and Maria Gale, Presenting Sponsors