- I sing baritone.
I play a lot of bad guys.
These characters are really dramatic,
usually more aggressive.
I thought that I might not be able to handle
the emotional weight of singing baritone
while being out.
Once I decided, like, no I can play
these masculine characters,
The week after I came out,
I had four performances
of these hyper-masculine characters.
I didn't give myself a chance to think about it.
I would take off my street makeup
and they would put on my character makeup.
I would go do the character
and then I'd put on my face again
and then everything was fine.
(group opera practice singing)
The tricky thing about voice,
and about studying in a college,
is there are some voices that don't mature
'til 30, 'til 35
'til 40, 'til 45.
People would say: "oh well you shouldn't sing Wotan
"and you shouldn't sing this, you shouldn't sing that,
"you should wait 'til you're 40, or 45."
Whenever somebody would say something like that,
I would just think:
(dramatic orchestral music)
If I have to wait another 15 years
to try out my career, to try and have a big career
and like postpone my transition for all of that
then like, what am I doing with my life?
I knew that as soon as I came out
that there was no way I could go back on that.
I would be out, and if my career was over
then my career would be over.
I was always okay with having like this
big career for like five years,
and then disappearing from the opera world
and transitioning and leading my life separate.
I've been out for about five years,
so I've hit this weird magical spot,
where my career has actually lasted longer.
I'm finally doing Don Giovanni,
and Don Giovanni is at least in the top 10,
if not the top five performed operas in the world,
and he's super hyper-masculine.
He's the quintessential womanizer.
I think that in playing these male characters
I'm able to bring other ideas
that I don't think cis men would bring to it.
I think I can amp up the emotional part of it
without scaring the other actors.
It takes people to risk things
to move anything forward.
My sort of, credo, is:
I heard it once and it stuck.
I want people who happen to be trans
to be able to pursue whatever they want.
To see people, not only surviving
but really having a good life, doing what they want,
that is important.
We want to be able to tell our friends and our family:
"I'm trans," and they go: "great, what are your pronouns?"
(dramatic orchestra music)
(operatic baritone singing)
Personally, I want to make sure
that I'm very, very prepared,
and if I can help anybody else,
know what they need to know coming out
so that there is lots of positive representation
of trans performers, so that people
can keep getting employed,
so that they don't have to give up their passion
for their authentic life.
I want to be able to show opera companies
or performing arts companies,
that, just by coming in and being extremely prepared
over-coaching everything.
If they had only had one experience
with a trans performer,
if they've only had one experience with a trans person,
that it is positive.
That's what drives me.
(operatic baritone singing)