LILI ELBE | PIZZICATO - REVIEW
Lili Elbe as an opera character
The Danish painter Lili Elbe (1882–1931) is best known as a transgender pioneer. Born and raised as Einar Wegener, she was among the first people to undergo gender-affirming surgery in Germany in the early 1930s. After her first surgery, she began calling herself Lili Elbe. After the fourth surgery—which was presumably a uterus transplant—complications arose, likely due to graft rejection, and Lili Elbe died as a result.
Her life has been adapted into a novel, made into a film, and is also the subject of an opera by the American composer Tobias Picker (b. 1954) with a libretto by Aryeh Lev Stollman. The world premiere took place on October 22, 2023, at the Theater St. Gallen.
The libretto comprises 15 short scenes set in 1920s Copenhagen, Paris and Dresden. Einar Wegener was married to Gerda Wegener (played by Sylvia D’Eramo), an Art Deco portrait painter. Einar lived a secret life until one of Gerda’s female models stood her up and she asked Einar to pose for her instead.
The painting session led Einar to decide to identify as a woman named Lili Elbe from then on and to undergo surgery.
Composer Tobias Picker noted that his melody-driven music draws on historical Jewish liturgical music and its further development by Arnold Schoenberg, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Kurt Weill, Aaron Copland, and Leonard Bernstein.
His empathy for people who are excluded by society stems from the fact that he himself was “born Jewish, gay, and with […] Tourette syndrome” and grew up in the United States.
The music is stylistically very diverse, ranging from fluid and melodic to comically offbeat, and its atmosphere perfectly matches the moods of the individual scenes. At times, it has the character of cabaret music or even a musical.
The vocal lines are melodic, featuring several haunting arias and dramatic ensemble scenes.
Tobias Picker composed his opera specifically for the American transgender baritone Lucia Lucas, who pulls out all the stops in this role.
Sylvia D’Eramo sings the role of Gerda with great spontaneity, using her warm, powerful soprano voice.
The other roles are well cast, and the choir and orchestra from St. Gallen are fully committed to bringing the brilliant score to life.
The booklet accompanying the double album contains extensive information about the production as well as the complete libretto.