TRAILER | LILI ELBE Picker – Theater St. Gallen

The painter Lili Elbe was the first person to have gender confirmation surgery in the 1930s. The homonymous opera is a glimpse into the life of Lili Elbe and her wife Gerda Wegener (also a famous painter) through Lili’s transition at a time when such surgery was still completely uncharted territory.

American composer and Grammy winner Tobias Picker and librettist Aryeh Lev Stollman have written the world's first major opera for and about a person with a transgender background. Commissioned by Konzert und Theater St. Gallen, Lili Elbe, in the tradition of great works of the operatic repertoire, is the story of a love overcoming all obstacles. During her lifetime (1882–1931), Lili Elbe was an internationally known personality. The opera is based on historical sources including Lili Elbe's own writings, unlike the film The Danish Girl (2015) which is based on the novel of the same name. The opera’s title role is played by the celebrated heroic baritone Lucia Lucas - recently seen at Metropolitan Opera New York, Lyric Opera of Chicago and English National Opera - who also acted as dramatic advisor to the authors. Staged by Krystian Lada, the creative team includes conductor Modestas Pitrenas and choreographer Frank Fannar Pedersen. St. Gallen dance company has a central role in this world premiere.

Full performance streamed on OperaVision from 8 December 2023 at 19:00 CET to 8 June 2024: https://operavision.eu/performance/lili-elbe

CAST

Lili Elbe
Lucia Lucas

Gerda Wegener
Sylvia D’Eramo

Anna Larsen Bjørner / Mother Wegener / Young Woman
Mack Wolz

Hélène Allatini
Jennifer Panara

Claude Lejeune
Brian Michael Moore

Danish Countess / Dagmar / Matron
Théo Imart

Marius Wegener
Sam Taskinen

Christian X / Art Critic / Major Fernando Porta
Kristján Jóhannesson

Eric Allatini
David Maze

Professor Warnekros
Msimelelo Mbali

Young Lili
Elias Podolski

Dagmar’s children,
Aria Pecaj
Gustav Seyfert

Orchestra
St. Gallen Symphonic Orchestra
Metanoia Quartet

Chorus
Theater St. Gallen Symphony Chorus

Dancers
St. Gallen Dance Company

Music
Tobias Picker

Text
Aryeh Lev Stollman

Conductor
Modestas Pitrenas

Director / Sets / Video
Krystian Lada

Choreography
Frank Fannar Pedersen

Set collaborator
Łukasz Misztal

Costume
Bente Rolandsdotter

Lighting
Aleksandr Prowaliński

Dramaturg (Authors)
Lucia Lucas

Dramaturg (Production)
Caroline Damaschke

Chorus Master
Franz Obermair

Assistant Director
Marcel Orłowski
Fleur Snow

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