"Queer adaptation" of classic opera brings diverse experiences to the stage

A new opera is coming to Traverse City this week (6/21), and it has everything audiences might expect from an opera.

Love, intrigue and mistaken identity. It also has drag queens, glitter and gender dysphoria.

Actually, it's not quite what most audiences might expect from an opera.

In one scene during the second act, a character is shocked to walk in on a wedding officiated by a drag queen, in which their own partner is dressed in drag as a man and getting married to their aunt.

D[x]n Pasquale is being presented by the Detroit-based Opera MODO in collaboration with Grand Rapids Opera.

Don Pasquale was composed by Gaetano Donizetti in the 19th century.

In the original, the wealthy Don Pasquale disinherits his nephew Ernesto for declining an arranged marriage that would secure the family fortune.

In this production, the “Don” is now "Dawn." Ernesto is now the nonbinary Ernie, who is being disinherited by their millionaire aunt Dawn for refusing to be in a heteronormative romantic relationship.

In both versions, everybody winds up with a moderately happy ending through a comic series of disguises, misunderstandings and foiled plots.

pattyroache.com

Patty Roache is the director of what they call this “queer adaptation” of the opera Don Pasquale.

Roache said that they conceived this version of Don Pasquale so that people of any gender and any voice type could play any role.

Musicians can sing at the notated pitch, or they can take lines up or down an octave as needed.

Roache also included many different options for characters’ pronouns in the text, which is now in English instead of the original Italian.

That's why the title of Opera MODO's production is now D[x]n Pasquale. It's still pronounced "Don," but the X doesn't specify any gender.

Sofia Kirkman

In this particular production, the title character is portrayed by Danielle Wright, who is also the founder and managing director of Opera MODO.

Wright, who is nonbinary, sings the now-female role of Dawn Pasquale in the original bass register.

This approach, Wright explained, allows them to cast shows based solely on who is best for the role musically instead of just by what voice part they are.

Both Danielle Wright and Patty Roache said this inclusive approach allows them to explore identities and experiences that don’t often get shown on opera stages.

In D[x]n Pasquale, for example, the character of Ernie is facing being disowned by Pasquale and losing their romantic partner, but with added dimensions like gender dysphoria and polyamory.

This particular approach to opera has helped Opera MODO bring new audiences to the medium, especially audiences that are under 40, Danielle Wright said.

But it’s not just younger audiences that are attending this production - it’s also opera lovers who want to hear new interpretations of music that they already know.

According to Wright, many of these older audience members are also LGBTQ and are seeing characters like themselves onstage perhaps for the first time.

Sofia Kirkman

To Patty Roache, this production is all about joy and celebrating queer identities of all types.

"It's a Pride party," they said. "We want people to have the time of their lives. There's confetti and rainbows and wine. Come get lit with us for opera."

Opera MODO's production of D[x]n Pasquale, presented in collaboration with Opera Grand Rapids, will be at the Alluvion in Traverse City Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

The production is recommended for mature audiences.

Learn more and get tickets HERE.

Richa Boppuri, Ed Ronco and Emilee Syrewicze provided additional support for this story.