Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen
Conducted by Modestas Pitrėnas

Tobias Picker, Composer
Aryeh Lev Stollman, Librettist
Lucia Lucas, Dramaturg

Release Date: July 31, 2026

Lili Elbe is a two-act opera by Tobias Picker with a libretto by Aryeh Lev Stollman, based on the life of Danish painter Lili Elbe, one of the earliest recipients of gender affirmation surgery. Set within the artistic partnership between Lili and her wife Gerda Wegener, the work explores identity, transformation, and enduring love. Recorded by Konzert und Theater St. Gallen this album presents an intimate portrait of courage and self-realization.

Lili Elbe

3:10

01-Overture

Tobias Picker
2:19

02-Act I Scene 1: Royal Danish Theatre, November 1925

Tobias Picker
4:07

03-Act I Scene 2: Next Morning, Wegener Apartment in Copenhagen

Tobias Picker
4:22

04-Act I Scene 2: Aria: "I see a woman, A beautiful woman."

Tobias Picker
2:29

05-Act I Scene 2: Solo: violin cadenza

Tobias Picker
5:50

06-Act I Scene 3: A Few Evenings Later. Ole Haslund Gallerie

Tobias Picker
7:41

07-Act I Scene 4: Next Morning. Wegener Apartment Bedroom

Tobias Picker
7:30

08-Act I Scene 5: Paris. Wegener apartment some weeks later

Tobias Picker
2:42

09-Act I Scene 6: Paris. A Danish Countess' Mansion

Tobias Picker
5:30

10-Act I Scene 6: Duet: Lili and Claude

Tobias Picker
2:54

11-Act I Scene 6: Chorus: "Everything everywhere transformed."

Tobias Picker
10:02

12-Act I Scene 7: Paris. Tuileries Gardens. Wegener Apartment

Tobias Picker
8:02

13-Act I Scene 8: Professor Warnekros' Paris apartment

Tobias Picker
3:28

14-Act I Scene 8: Aria: "I do not know if what he says can really be achieved."

Tobias Picker
3:12

01-Act II Scene 1: The Recovery Room in the Municipal Women's Clinic

Tobias Picker
3:48

02-Act II Scene 1: Ensemble: "Our Lili has returned from her great journey."

Tobias Picker
5:57

03-Act II Scene 2: Christian X, King of Denmark's Palace

Tobias Picker
8:03

04-Act II Scene 3: Lili's Mother's House in Vejle, Jutland

Tobias Picker
5:03

05-Act II Scene 4: Paris. Les Deux Magots

Tobias Picker
4:56

06-Act II Scene 5: The Women's Clinic in Dresden, The Garden

Tobias Picker
3:06

07-Act II Scene 6: A short while later in the clinic garden

Tobias Picker
3:02

08-Act II Scene 6: Aria: "They took my children."

Tobias Picker
6:56

09-Act II Scene 7: Lili's Hospital Room. Women's Clinic in Dresden

Tobias Picker
3:58

10-Act II Scene 7: Duet: Lili and Gerda

Tobias Picker

Lili Elbe

Sinfonieorchester St. GallenConducted by Modestas PitrėnasTobias Picker, ComposerAryeh Lev Stollman, LibrettistLucia Lucas, Dramaturg

LUCIA LUCAS, BaritoneSYLVIA D’ERAMO, SopranoMACK WOLZ, Mezzo-SopranoTHEO IMART, Male SopranoBRIAN MICHAEL MOORE, TenorSAM TASKINEN, BaritoneMSIMELELO MBALI, BassKRISTJÁN JÓHANNESSON, BassJENNIFER PANARA, Mezzo-SopranoDAVID MAZE, Baritone

Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen
Conducted by Modestas Pitrėnas

Tobias Picker, Composer
Aryeh Lev Stollman, Librettist
Lucia Lucas, Dramaturg

LUCIA LUCAS, Baritone
SYLVIA D’ERAMO, Soprano
MACK WOLZ, Mezzo-Soprano
THEO IMART, Male Soprano
BRIAN MICHAEL MOORE, Tenor
SAM TASKINEN, Baritone
MSIMELELO MBALI, Bass
KRISTJÁN JÓHANNESSON, Bass
JENNIFER PANARA, Mezzo-Soprano
DAVID MAZE, Baritone