Tobias Picker - LILI ELBE

Lili Elbe (2023)
an opera in two acts
libretto (Eng) by Aryeh Lev Stollman

"An emotionally charged masterpiece."
– Voralberger Zeitung

"Lili Elbe is an opera that is relevant today and worthy of remounting...this is the story of a great love that overcomes all obstacles, a universal theme that runs through all the operatic repertoire.”
– Die Welt

Note from the composer:
Lili Elbe is the first full scale opera about a transgender person and composed for a trans opera singer in the title role. Lili Elbe (1882-1931) was one of the first persons to undergo gender affirmation surgery. Lili before transition was known as the acclaimed Danish landscape painter Einar Wegener. Lili was happily married to Gerda Wegener (1886-1940), herself an important artist considered the Danish pioneer of Art Dèco and a sought-after portraitist.

MATERIALS

Press Quotes
One Sheet
Full Score
Piano-Vocal Score
Libretto
Staging Concept and Designs
Notes from the Composer

World Premiere Cast:
Lili Elbe - Lucia Lucas
Gerda Wegener - Sylvia D'Eramo
Anna Larssen Bjørner/Orpheus/Mother Wegener/Young Woman - Mack Wolz
Hélène Allatini/Eurydice - Jennifer Panara
Claude LeJeune - Brian Michael Moore
Marius Wegener - Sam Taskinen
Professor Warnekros - Msimelelo Mbali
Art Critic / Major Fernando Porta / Christian X, King of Denmark - Kristján Jóhannesson
Danish Countess/Dagmar/Matron - Theo Imart
Eric Allatini - David Maze

Roles:
LILI ELBE (historically known as Einar Wegener, pre-transition), Baritone
GERDA WEGENER, wife of Lili, Soprano
CLAUDE LEJEUNE, fiancé of Lili, Tenor
DANISH COUNTESS / DAGMAR, sister of Lili / MATRON, Soprano
ANNA LARSSEN BJØRNER, famous actress and friend of Gerda and Lili / ORPHEUS / MOTHER WEGENER / YOUNG WOMAN, Mezzo-soprano
PROFESSOR WARNEKROS, Director of Municipal Women’s Clinic in Dresden, Bass
ART CRITIC / MAJOR FERNANDO PORTA (Gerda's second husband) / CHRISTIAN X, King of Denmark, Bass
MARIUS WEGENER, Lili’s brother, Baritone
HÉLÈNE ALLATINI, wife of Eric Allatini, friends of Lili and Gerda / EURYDICE, Mezzo-soprano
ERIC ALLATINI, (husband of Hélène Allatini), Baritone 

SATB Chorus

Composer’s note on casting:
The double and triple casting choices for Theater St. Gallen’s 2023 world premiere production may be used as a guide for future productions. While Lili Elbe, Gerda Wegener and Claude LeJeune should never be doubled, there are other permutations of double or triple role assignments possible. The world premiere cast comprises ten singers in principal and supporting roles. 

Instrumentation: 
2(pic)2(ca)2(bcl)2(cbn)-4.2.2.1-timp.1perc-hp.pno-str(10.8.6.6.4)
Reduced orchestration in preparation

Duration: Full Evening

Publisher: Schott Helicon Music Corporation

World Premiere: October 22, 2023, 7:00 PM at Theater St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Additional performances: 
October 29 at 5:00 PM
November 2 at 7:30 PM
November 5 at 2:00 PM
November 11 at 7:00 PM
November 17 at 7:30 PM
December 3 at 7:00 PM

For more information on 
Tobias Picker, visit
tobiaspicker.com and
on the Schott Music website HERE.

VIDEO

Watch a complete performance of Lili Elbe on OperaVision HERE.

Stream available from December 8, 2023 - June 8, 2024.

Lili Elbe | Trailer from the world premiere production at Theater St. Gallen


“I see a woman," from Lili Elbe, sung by Sylvia D'Eramo


Introduction to the Making of Lili Elbe

PRODUCTION PHOTOS

Click here to view additional photos from the world premiere production of Lili Elbe at Theater St. Gallen, October 2023. Photos © Edyta Dufaj.