The 2023 Theater St. Gallen premiere of Tobias Picker and Aryeh Lev Stollman’s Lili Elbe has won Best World Premiere at the 2024 Oper! Awards, presented on January 29, 2024 at the Dutch National Opera!
Composer Tobias Picker with Theater St. Gallen Opera Director Jan Henric Gino and the Lili Elbe Team | Photo: Milan Gino
"One might call it an old hat: transgender individuals on stage have been around nearly as long as opera itself. But never before has this topical sociopolitical subject been set to music in such a large-scale, skillfully touching way as in Lili Elbe by Tobias Picker – the production with which Theater St. Gallen courageously reopened its renovated house. In her portrayal of one of the first people to undergo gender reassignment, the female baritone Lucia Lucas in particular created a musical monument to this historical figure that also reflects the experiences of her own life."
- Oper! Award, Best World Premiere winner statement
Watch the award presentation below (54:06):
Praise for Lili Elbe
"There won't be a dry eye in there. This is of course due to the excellent performers on stage, especially baritone Lucia Lucas, who also worked on the dramaturgy of the opera... she retained her pleasant, sonorous baritone voice... Lucia Lucas is particularly touching in the extended solo scenes and the duets with Gerda, where their mutual feelings are explored."
-Oper Aktuell
"The audience reacted enthusiastically, some with a standing ovation. It seems that this piece has hit the nerve of the times..."
-Kronen Zeitung
Baritone Lucia Lucas starred in the title role and served as dramaturg. | Photo: Edyta Dufaj
