Kaite Welsh reviews a performance of “romantic duets and melancholy ayres” by new opera ensemble En Travesti

Thanks to its somewhat stuffy reputation, you’d be forgiven for not knowing that there is a long tradition of gender-bending in classical music.

Countless opera plots, for example, centre around a slim-hipped mezzo-soprano having to dress as a boy for the flimsiest of reasons, and there is a wealth of music composed for the castrati voice.

Although the sexing-up of classical music in the past 20 years has been largely heterocentric, the appearance of En Travesti Ensemble on London’s music scene is about to change that.

The chapel of King’s College was the setting for this month’s concert, ‘Love: Sacred and Profane’, and the elaborate room was a perfect backdrop for the combined talents of mezzo-soprano C.N Lester, soprano Anne Rebecca Højlund clad in a dramatic purple corset and floorlength skirt, and Philip D. Lawton on the harpsichord. Lawton’s jacket wasn’t quite as impressive as Højlund’s outfit, resembling curtains more than the gilded 18th century look he was clearly going for, but he gets points for effort.

En Travesti has managed to ground an evening of exquisite music in meticulously-researched gender theory and musical history

The company’s name comes from the theatrical term referring to the portrayal of a character in a play, opera or ballet by a performer of the opposite sex, and the company specialise in pieces written for castrati and cross-dressing or gender-neutral characters.

This gender ambiguity is given an extra layer by the fact that singer and creative director Lester is trans but doesn’t want to compromise hir velvety mezzo-soprano with the attendant surgeries or testosterone.

All three performers have an academic background as well as a musical one - Lester and Højlund originally bonded over their Masters dissertations on the role of castrati - and Lawton read classics and music at Durham.

As a result, En Travesti has managed to ground an evening of exquisite music in meticulously-researched gender theory and musical history. Luckily, the seriousness with which En Travesti takes its mission of introducing audiences both to little-known pieces and to a rich musical tradition often glossed over by the mainstream classical industry prevents it from being more than a gimmick.

The evening was billed as a mixture of “Romantic duets and Melancholy Ayres”, giving both singers the opportunity to show off their impressive dramatic and vocal range.

Lester’s smoky sensuality was best displayed in John Weldon’s haunting ‘Take, oh, Take those lips away’ and Højlund enchanted from the opening number as Monteverdi’s heroine Poppea, a choice role for any soprano.

The company plan to put on their first full-length oratorio this summer. With their stellar performances and savvy marketing, it might be wise to suggest you book your tickets well in advance.

Kaite Welsh
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Updated: 18 June 2010
Article ©Kaite Welsh. Compilation ©2001-2010 The F-Word.
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Mississippi teen Constance McMillen may have been banned from going to her high school prom with her girlfriend, but her luck is starting to turn. Appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on Friday, she was presented with a $30, 000 cheque by the openly lesbian presenter. The money was raised by digital media website Tonic.com, who wanted to contribute to her higher education.

“When I was your age, I would never have had the strength to do what you did,” confessed DeGeneres, who came out to her mother in her teens but waited two decades before announcing it to the world. The talk show host praised not only the courage of McMillen, but the tolerance and support shown by her family.

In a saga covered widely by both the mainstream and LGBT press, the Itawamba County school board had cancelled the prom following McMillen’s dual requests to bring her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo, citing “distractions cased to the educational process caused by recent events.”

Tonic, who describe themselves as “a little group of crazies trying to do a world of good,” have also offered the teenager an internship at their New York offices this summer.

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Are your L Word DVDs worn out? writes Kaite Welsh Did your ex steal your copy of Aimee et Jaguar? Never fear, the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival is on hand to provide you with some new favourites.

Forget Pride. Forget the parades and the stalls selling sex toys and dental dams, and forget snogging regrettable people in crowded dyke bars - the 24th London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival hosted by the British Film Institute is shaping up to be the best LGBT event in 2010.

Kicking off the gala opening night is a special screening (and world premiere) of the BBC’s newest period drama offering, The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister. Starring Maxine Peake, it tells the story of 18th century aristocrat Anne and her struggle to be find love with other women long before it was considered socially acceptable.

Lesbian & bi film buffs have a lot to enjoy at this year’s festival – as well as gems like And Then Came Lola, a funny, madcap day-in-the-life of dyke photographer Lola, there’s also The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls, which tells the story of a folk singing comedy duo who were lesbian twins long before Tegan and Sara made it look cool.

Family shows six African American lesbians mutually agreeing to come out over the course of a month – if preview clips are anything to go by, this could be the next Better Than Chocolate.

Guaranteed to reduce even the most hard-hearted viewer to a bit of a sniffle, Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagement is a tender documentary about the four decade long relationship between two women that has only now been legitimised thanks to growing tolerance for gay marriage. Watching a preview on Thursday night, I was left humbled by their struggle for the kind of acceptance we can so easily take for granted.

It may be a film festival, but there’s more to the LLGFF than the silver screen. 27th March is Dusty Springfield Day, complete with a lecture on La Springfield’s life and works entitled ‘We Love Dusty’. For those of you who don’t thrill with joy whenever you hear the bleache blonde bisexual chanteuse sing ‘Son of a Preacher Man’, the BFI will have a late bar and DJs throughout the festival.

There’s something for everyone, including late-night screenings of queer feminist porn and ‘I Can’t Even Draw Straight’, an evening of queer animated films. This year’s festival will also see a return of ‘My First Gay Disco’, a child-friendly disco for LGBT families

So grab the popcorn, hit the back row with your girlfriend, and settle down for a Sapphic cinematic treat.

The London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival runs 17-31 March 2010, and will be touring the UK over the summer.

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Australia has become the first country to openly acknowledge  the existence of people who feel that they do not define as male or female.

The New South Wales government recently issued a ‘Sex Not Specified’ Recognised Details Certificate to 48-year-old Norrie, who lives in Sydney. Although born male, Norrie transitioned to female at the age of 23 before deciding that gender should not necessarily be mutually exclusive. Zie now defines as neuter, saying that “many intersexual children are traumatised by the obliteration of their sexual duality…This is just one tragic result of our society’s belief in mutually exclusive genders.”

This is a step forward for Australia’s LGBT population. Up until three years ago, trans Australians were able to apply for a passport that stated their “intended sex” as opposed to their biological sex at birth. If they had not had gender reassignment surgery - whether for financial or medical reasons, or simply out of personal choice involved - then they would have to travel under the sex to which they were assigned at birth.

Norrie, who describes hirself as “an androgynous but not sexless eunuch”, was forced to leave Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby in 1993 after a failed attempt to get bisexual and transgender issues on the group’s agenda.

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