There will come a time in our (distant?) future when filmmaker James Kicklighter can make a documentary like this when the sole focus is on the extraordinary voice of opera singer Lucia Lucas with barely a mention of the fact she is transgender. However right now we still need films like this which add so much to the burgeoning dialogue of the trans community in their fight for acceptance and rights.
Having said that the disarmingly charming Lucas is neither a martyr or pioneer to the cause. She is a human being and a extremely talented singer who just happens to also be a trans woman.
Since her transitioning she has lived with her opera singer wife in Germany where she has a successful career . She has however never sung in the US even though she is an American, and this film is about the 30 day run up to her debut performing the title role in Don Giovanni at the Tulsa Opera Company.
This may be situated in Oklahoma one of the most conservative states in the US, but it does however have Tobias Picker a remarkable queer composer as its forward thinking Artistic Director. It was Picker’s decision to cast Lucas purely on her talent but he is more than aware of the risks of his controversial choice.
We see Picker acting as Lucas’ mentor throughout the whole rehearsal period and both of them are anxious they get a sold out crowd. To enable that Lucas makes a personal commitment to make local public appearances and press interviews. So much so the Opera’s director is concerned it may be interfering too much with the rehearsal period.
The choice of Mozarts’ Don Giovanni could not be perfect. He was a libertine and seducer : a man of many disguises who had both a masculine and feminine side Lucas totally embraces the character on and off the stage and so you know watching the rehearsals, that she will be a resounding success.
Kicklighter’s camera shows us different sides of Lucas. When she talks of her craft and her love of singing she is supremely confident. However when talking of the fact that her father that she hasn’t seen since she transitioned is coming for the Opening Night, she reverts to being a young girl seeking approval.
Lucas may not see herself as a leading force in the trans community but others do. Earlier this year after singing with the English National Opera in London, PINK Magazine named her as one of 25 trans and non-binary people who’re making the world a better place.
It is impossible not to be taken up by both her charm and talent, and Kicklighter’s film makes us feel part of her great triumph too.
P.S. Lucas’s debut didn’t just result in Picker starting to compose an opera for her based on The Danish Girl but she was invited to make her debut at the Met in NY. Sadly that was before COVID 19 shut the season down, but we know she’ll be back
The film is screening as part of OUTshine Virtual Film Festival
