Four weeks ago I fell down a rabbit hole, into the Wonderland that is Folkoperan, to start rehearsals for the opera La Traviata. It's been four weeks of creativeness, craziness, sweaty hard work, and a LOT of laughter and coffee! In the middle of it all I also managed to get a flu-like cold, which kept me banned from the opera house for a few days. Last week we finally did our two premieres though, so now we can crawl out of that rabbit hole again, and only return for shows three times a week. Both premieres went really well, ending with standing ovations from the amazing audiences, so I'm really looking forward to keep doing this over and over this fall!
Photographer Markus Gårderspent two days with us during our rehearsals, to shoot some press photos. It's difficult to get a good perspective of everything going on on stage when you're actually in the middle of it all yourself. So seeing these pictures made us all aware of how beautifully staged this version of La Traviata is! Here are a few of these photos. To see more, and buy tickets, go here!
One of our two Violettas - Julia Sporsén. And yes, that's me humping one of the drag queens to the right...
Jesper Säll, one of our two Alfredos, on the horse!
On the floor - Germont, sung by Jeremy Carpenter. I feel so calm when he sings...
And this is a study in how to shake violently, while at the same time eating licorice ropes... Haha! I'm going to be SO tired of licorice after this season...
Five of the fabulous drag queens doing their thing!
Last year I told you I would be part of the opera La Traviataat Folkoperan (The People's Opera) here in Stockholm. We rehearsed for about a month. But since Folkoperan got severely water damaged and had to spend all of last fall drying up, we had to wait a whole year to actually be able to put it all on stage. Now the time has finally come though, and last week we started rehearsals again! I'm one of the nude models in act one - but clad in a transparent black dress in act two. This will be a crazy, wonderful, powerful mix of nakedness, drag queens, fabulous singers, sex, death and emotions. I can assure you La Traviata has never been done like this before... I'm really proud to be able to work with all the amazing people working so hard together to create this opera. The director, Mellika Melouani Melani'sideas are incredible, and I don't think I have ever laughed so much during the creation of anything on stage before! Like for example when Mellika told a few of us nude models to sit down on a bench, and then burst out the idea presently in her brain: "Imagine a fuck-tree. Now we're going to try to create a fuck-tree!" Haha!
As your faithful reporter I decided to sneak around the opera and take some pics to show you a bit what it looks like backstage. The bottom pic is taken by someone else though, and shows part of the second act. Last year a little trailer was also shot while we rehearsed. This one was removed from nudity-shaming Facebook though, but I've put it at the end of this post so you can see it here! The opera premieres September 16, and 17 (yes, there are TWO premieres). To read more about it, see what days it runs, and get tickets, please go here!
The stage looks really good with it's simple, yet very stylish scenery. This is the mechanical horse used in act one. Riding it naked makes me feel like Lady Godiva!
This is the hair and makeup room. We models and the drag queens do our makeup ourselves, but we get help with our hair and wigs. The pink wigs in the pick are used by the drags in the second act.
In the costume atelier you find many treasures... Here are the drag queens' shoes, and a detail of one of their costumes for act one - the white act.
After last year's water damage, the dressing rooms got a new look. The second mirror to the right is my place!
And here is a pic from the second act! The fabulous drag queens don't just entertain the audience, but also the rest of us on stage. I love this moment in the opera! And then we have the - according to Facebook - very provocative trailer... I think it's beautiful though! Enjoy...
It's a very sad fact that even today non-heterosexual people have to live in fear, behind closed doors, all around the world. That to not be what so many considers "normal" is bad and wrong... I guess we can only pray to the LGBTQ-God that one day everyone will be accepted for who and what they are... But through the ages, brave people who aren't afraid to be who they are have always existed, and today I want to show you a few photos of some of the brave transvestites and drag queens of the past - from times when these men took even bigger risks than today showing their true identities. Cheers to them!
1800s
1800s
Pictured above is Brigham Morris Young, who in the 1800s made a career in drag, performing as Madam Pattrini.
1800s
Frederick Park and Ernest Boulton were the first men who openly dared to walk the streets in women's clothing. This was very shocking in Victorian London, and made the police launch investigations that were normally reserved for extreme criminals.
1800s
As it took a long time before it was respectable for women to have a career as an actress, men in women's clothes have been playing the female roles for centuries. So on stage, it was perfectly acceptable for men to perform in drag.
Ca 1915
Around the turn of the century drag performances became a category of it's own. Above we see vaudeville performer Julian Eltinge.
1920s
During the 1920 drag balls became popular. These were huge LBGT parties, where most men dressed as women.
