Lucia Lucas

Not to be confused with Lucie Lucas.

Lucia Lucas (born July 3, 1980) is an American transgender baritone.^[1][2] She made history when, in March, 2018, it was announced that she would become the first transgender person to perform a principal role on an American operatic stage.^[3]

Lucia Lucas
Lucia Lucas (2019)
Born	Lucia Lucas (1980-07-03) July 3, 1980 (age 43) Sacramento, California, U.S.
Occupation	Classical Baritone

Biography

Lucas grew up in Sacramento, California.^[4] She studied horn and voice at California State University, Sacramento and then did graduate work at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. She moved to Germany in 2009. She decided to transition in November 2013, started taking estrogen and antiandrogens in July 2014 and underwent facial feminization surgery in September. In 2016, she had her gender reassignment surgery.^[1]

The performance on May 3, 2019, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, saw Lucas playing the starring role in Mozart's Don Giovanni with the Tulsa Opera.^[5][6] The performance is the subject of the 2020 feature documentary The Sound of Identity, directed by James Kicklighter.^{[7][8][9][10][11]} Subsequently, Lucas became the first transgender baritone to appear with the English National Opera in London on 5 October 2019, playing Public Opinion in Orpheus in the Underworld at the London Coliseum.^[12]

Lucas will play Lili Elbe in the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s new opera, Lili Elbe.^[13]

Personal life

Lucia Lucas married Ariana Lucas in 2009.^[14]

References

1. "Transgender Opera Singer Makes US Debut in Don Giovanni". HuffPost. 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
2. Fisher, Neil (2 October 2019). "Lucia Lucas, the transgender female baritone who will sing at the Coliseum". The Times. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
3. "Transgender opera singer to make U.S. history — in Oklahoma". NBC News. March 2018.
4. "'If you have traditional puberty... the testosterone is high, the voice will drop. But there is no way to go the other way.' – RTÉ Radio 1 Highlights". radio.rte.ie. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
5. Veltman, Chloe (May 1, 2019). "'This opens doors': Trans woman to play Don Giovanni in a first for US opera". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
6. Cooper, Michael (July 11, 2019). "Transgender Opera Singers Find Their Voices". The New York Times.
7. "Sacramento Opera Star Lucia Lucas Pushes Industry Boundaries — and Beyond". KQED. 2019-09-15. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
8. BWW News Desk. "LUCIA'S VOICE Documentary To Feature First Transgender Lead In U.S. Opera". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
9. "Lucia's Voice". Director James Kicklighter. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
10. Ferber 5/28/2021, Lawrence. "Trailblazing Trans Opera Singer Takes Center Stage in "The Sound of Identity"". LOGO News. Retrieved 2021-06-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
11. Ramos, Dino-Ray (2020-12-21). "Shout! Studios To Distribute Docu 'The Sound Of Identity' Spotlighting Trans Opera Star Lucia Lucas". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
12. "Lucia Lucas: Making UK operatic debut at the ENO". BBC News. BBC. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
13. Charles Shafaieh. . Opera News. Archived from the original on 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
14. "Lucia Lucas Transgender Opera Singer". www.rte.ie. Retrieved 2019-11-02.