On Saturday, Feb. 1, Carolina Performing Arts will host critically acclaimed opera singer and trans-activist Lucia Lucas, who will perform a show made up entirely of songs from the perspective of villains.
“Lucia Lucas is an artist who has really been making waves on the international opera circuit, but she also has a really incredible personal story,” said Christina Rodriguez, the associate director of marketing and communications for CPA.
The use of songs solely from the villain’s perspective comes in part from Lucas’ personal connection to villains, in that she too struggles with fitting in the opera world due to her identity as a transgender woman, Lucas said.
“The evening isn’t just villains doing villainous things,” Lucas said. “We have villains falling in love, villains showing compassion, villains showing inner struggle, villains showing revenge, villains who weren’t necessarily villains but were turned into villains by other people. Even the Grinch. The Grinch who stole Christmas. Well why did he steal Christmas? You know, there’s a back story.”
Playing the role of the villain is also familiar to Lucas because her voice type as a baritone makes her more likely to sing songs intended for villains.
“Often I have to convince people that I still can do my job, because of who I am, even though I’ve been doing this job full-time for 10 years,” Lucas said. “I’m not sort of a standard person for the opera world.”
Part of the show will include Lucas singing four stories in which death is personified.
“I think the most interesting villains there are, are villains we identity with, at least in part, their story," Lucas said. "I think we can empathize with them."
The show will be followed by a Q&A for those who hope to get to know Lucas better, which she hopes will be helpful for LGBTQ+ people, especially for performers.
