The Santa Fe Opera is presenting the American premiere of “Lili Elbe,” an opera by composer Tobias Picker that explores the life and gender transition of Lili Elbe, one of the first known recipients of gender-affirming surgery. The production opened this weekend, marking a significant addition to contemporary opera through its focus on transgender history and identity.
“Lili Elbe” features a libretto by Arey Ih Lev Stollman, who also collaborated closely with Picker and is his husband. The narrative is based on Elbe’s life in 1920s Paris, drawing from Elbe’s memoir “Man Into Woman” alongside other historical materials. Elbe, born Einar Wegener, was a Danish landscape painter who underwent early gender-affirming surgeries, and her story is widely known through the 2015 film “The Danish Girl.” Picker’s opera traces Elbe’s evolving identity and the challenges she faced, culminating in her death in 1931 due to complications following an experimental uterine transplant at a clinic in Dresden.
Stollman’s libretto invokes the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice to frame themes of transformation and transition, a motif reflected in the opera’s musical structure. Picker emphasized that in the score, transitions are not merely connective passages but integral thematic material that convey the fluidity of Elbe’s journey. The opera opens with a play within the play, where Elbe and her wife, Gerda Wegener—also a central character portrayed as a professional artist—attend an Orpheus performance underscored by dissonant, chance-based music reflecting early 20th-century modernism.
The role of Lili Elbe is performed by baritone Lucia Lucas, a transgender woman who was specifically sought for the part. Lucas also serves as the production’s dramaturg. Picker noted her unique vocal qualities and artistic sensitivity, which bring authenticity and depth to the portrayal. Lucas, an experienced opera singer and former artistic director of Tulsa Opera, has publicly discussed the parallels between her own coming-out experience and the narrative of the character. The opera highlights the social and personal complexities of gender identity, avoiding overt advocacy by focusing on universal emotional themes such as love, marriage, and loss.
Musically, Picker describes the score as “tonal adjacent,” blending elements of tonality and non-tonality with fluid transitions, featuring memorable melodies such as the aria “I See a Woman” sung by soprano Sylvia D’Eramo, who portrays Gerda. The production follows Picker’s earlier success at Santa Fe with his 1993 opera “Emmeline,” which also drew from mythological themes and centered on a strong female protagonist facing fateful choices.
Picker insisted that for both the 2023 world premiere in Switzerland and the Santa Fe staging, the role of Lili should be sung by a transgender performer, citing the importance of lived experience in conveying the character’s story. He acknowledges that while a cisgender singer might eventually take the role, fully representing Lili’s journey would be challenging without that perspective.
The timing of “Lili Elbe” resonates amid ongoing debates about transgender rights, yet both Picker and Lucas underscore its broader, timeless appeal. The opera’s focus on human emotions and relationships seeks to transcend current political issues, inviting audiences to engage with the story on a fundamental, emotional level.