Opera Parallèle Launches EXPANSIVE SHOWCASE for Transgender & Non-Binary Artists

Opera Parallèle, in collaboration with The Transgender District, will help launch the first-ever statewide Transgender History Month in August with the third edition of Expansive, an enthusiastic showcase of transgender and nonbinary classical artists in two performances at 7.30 p.m. on Thursday, August 8 and Friday, August 9 at A.C.T.'s intimate Strand Theater, 1127 Market Street. Tickets for this popular musical event are now on sale and available online at www.operaparallele.org/expansive.

The Expansive showcase brings to the forefront a trio of talented trans and nonbinary artists performing classical art songs (Giordani, Brahms, R. Strauss, Vaughan Williams) and opera arias (Mozart, Verdi, Massanet, Gershwin) to musical theater (Mulan, The Little Mermaid, Wicked, The Wiz), spirituals (Hogan) and pop music highlights, including some classic Whitney Houston. This year's Expansive artist roster features Lucas Bouk, baritone; Wilford Kelly, bass-baritone; and Queen Angelina, violinist.

New to this summer's performance, Opera Parallèle has commissioned a song by award-winning trans composer Joy Redmond, set to lyrics by renowned trans artist Kimberly Reed, that will be performed by trans singer, Lucas Bouk: Then Comes Exuberance, reimagines a religious hymn in order to queer the music, staking a claim for irrepressible trans joy.

Taylor Chan will provide the artists with piano accompaniment and San Francisco's own DIVA-Licious Dreamgirl, Afrika America, will return to the stage in grand sartorial style as the evening's exuberant host.

Opera Parallèle General & Artistic Director Nicole Paiement noted, “Opera Parallèle is excited in continuing to deepen our relationship with the Transgender District and continue to give a voice to a growing diversity of artists. Building on the success of our two previous Expansive editions, I am deeply heartened by the fruitful partnership of our two organizations at providing a meaningful platform for underrepresented artists.”

Transgender District Co-Executive Directors Breonna McCree and Carlo Gomez Arteaga said, “We are so thrilled for the third annual Expansive show in collaboration with Opera Parallèle. By featuring transgender and gender-expansive talent in the classical music field, we center these talented individuals who are making it possible for others who are often overlooked. To host two performances that showcase our talent and joy means so much to us and we hope the public will come and bask in the greatness of our trans existence.”

ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO'S TRANSGENDER DISTRICT

The Transgender District was co-founded by three black trans women in 2017, originally as Compton's Transgender Cultural District, and is the first legally recognized transgender district in the world. The district encompasses six blocks in the southeastern Tenderloin crossing over Market St. and two blocks of 6th St. The District's mission is to create and preserve an urban environment that fosters the rich history, culture, legacy, and empowerment of transgender people and its deep roots in the southeastern Tenderloin neighborhood. It aims to stabilize and economically empower the transgender community through ownership of homes, businesses, historic and cultural sites, and safe community spaces. 

What is Transgender History Month?

In August 1966, Black and Brown transgender women - alongside drag queens - bravely confronted police harassment at Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco's Tenderloin district, igniting the pivotal Compton's Cafeteria Riots. This historic event marked a bold stance of resistance within the transgender community, and is the first recognized uprising by the LGBTQ+ community years before the 1969 Stonewall Riots. In 2021, activist Jupiter Peraza and The Transgender District led the advocacy efforts to recognize the month of August as “Transgender History Month” in the City and County of San Francisco. With the support of the City and County of San Francisco's Office of Transgender Initiatives (OTI) and the Women's Foundation of California, Ms. Peraza and The Transgender District advocated to the mayor and received full support for the commemorative month, which was adopted statewide in 2023.

Starting in 2024, Transgender History Month is officially recognized statewide in California and in the City of San Francisco. Throughout August, the transgender community statewide will honor the contributions of transgender individuals, celebrating their role as history-makers, pioneers, and trailblazers.

Funding for Expansive is provided, in part, by the California Arts Council. Opera Parallèle's Bullhorn Community Programs, which includes Expansive, are supported, in part, by Gordon Getty, The Henry & Nettie Robinson Foundation, and from individual donors.

Opera Parallèle's Expansive initiative and its partnership with The Transgender District is part of the next evolution of the company's robust Bullhorn community programs. This innovation is designed to uplift and inspire, to activate and initiate, and to challenge expectations of what an opera company can be or do. The company's goal is to be a “Bullhorn” for the community and build long lasting relationships particularly within the Bay Area's LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities.

Tickets for this year's Expansive showcase are available online via www.operaparallele.org/expansive. Ticket prices are $10 (low income/community members), $25 (general admission) and $50 (Pay It Forward). At both performances, tickets for the first four rows of the theater will be held and distributed for free by the Transgender District to organizations supporting the transgender community in the Tenderloin. For further information, visit https://www.transgenderdistrictsf.com/.

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