ALEXINA B.
Opera
Music Raquel García-Tomás
Libretto Irène Gayraud
Stage direction Marta Pazos
Musical Conductor Ernest Martinez Izquierdo
World premiere March 18, 2023, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona
10 minutes of standing ovation in each of the performances of Alexina B. at the Liceu guarantee the unanimous reception of the public and critics of this newly created opera composed by Raquel García-Tomás. The creators duo Marta Pazos – Raquel García-Tomás who signed two years ago Je suis narcissiste, repeat together this time with Irène Gayraud, the librettist, to deal with a current topic that is rarely present in the lyrical stages, that of intersex people.
Synopsis
Inspiration for this opera comes from the story of Adélaïde Herculine Barbin, also known as Alexina B., an intersex person born in France in 1838. Her testimony provides moving and fertile input for the sound universe of Raquel García Tomás, the winner of the 2020 National Award for Music.
Alexina was assigned the female sex at birth and grew up in a convent. Later, when working as a teacher, she fell in love with a female companion. In a society where accepting differences was a complex matter and heterosexuality was the norm, Alexina re-defined herself as a man and changed her legal sex and identity to become Abel Barbin. Unable to adapt, however, she was reduced to solitude and ultimately killed herself.
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