“The Trans Lady Sings!”
Written and Performed by Alice d’Lumiere
Original Composition by Tina Gooding, with additional music by Alice d’Lumiere
To gender fluid spoken word artist Alice d’Lumiere, classical music has always seemed terrifyingly stratified: Soprano, Contralto, Tenor, Bass; is the role you play always ordained by the limits of your vocal physiology? However, in the superficially respectable world of Opera, gender seems temptingly bendy at times…
For Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival 2021 Alice staged a “Spoken Word Overture”. At this evening of new experimental opera she laid down a challenge to herself in prose and verse; a pledge to try and overcome her deep, childhood inability to sing…
Two years, one ACE funded DYCP, numerous singing lessons with 6 different practitioners, scripting, composing, rehearsing and furiously attempting to relearn how to play to piano later, this self-confessed outsider in gender, and 51 year old late-starter in opera, returned to Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival 2023 to reveal if she was finally able to hold a note.
“Trans Lady Sings!” is the result of this eccentric endeavour…
Themes of vocal identity, gender fluidity, life-long learning and the individual’s need for self-expression are humorously explored by a beguiling communicator in a 90 minute show; combining prose, verse, comedy, a dash of performance art and yes, perhaps this time some actual singing! Contains original music and possibly some foolhardy attempts at the classical repertoire.
“This humorous, heart-warming overture presents us with a promising work-in-progress; a project that I would love to see come to fruition. Hopefully, d’Lumiere’s quest will lead to her returning to the festival in 2022 with a a full show. Because of course, ‘the score isn’t settled until the Trans Lady Sings.” 
– A Younger Theatre
