In October 2023, the Konzert und Theater St-Gallen, Switzerland, mounted the world premiere of American composer Tobias Picker’s “Lili Elbe”, whose librettist was Aryeh Lev Stollman. The world premiere starred transgender baritone Lucia Lucas as Lili and soprano Sylvia D’Eramo as Gerda Wegener. The premiere’s success led to the opera being awarded the “Best Opera World Premiere of 2023” title by the German periodical ‘Oper!’, an award ‘Oper!’ has presented each year since 2019.
The stars were aligned for the opera’s American premiere to take place at the Santa Fe Opera. Picker’s first opera “Emmeline” was successfully premiered at the company in 1996. St-Gallen’s co-stars, Lucia Lucas and Sylvia D’Eramo had both been Santa Fe Opera Apprentices.
Lucia Lucas’ Ainar Wegener and Lili Elbe
[Photo: Lucia Lucas as Ainar Wegener, soon to become Lili Elbe; edited image, based on a Bronwen Sharp photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.]
California baritone Lucia Lucas repeated her world premiere roles of Ainar Wegener, husband of Gerda Wegener, and the transgender role of Lili Elbe. The opera – both Picker’s music and Stollman’s libretto – were literally created for her.
Ainar Wegener’s quest for a new identity began when a stage actress, performing the role of Orpheus, could not afford the time to sit for Gerda Wegener’s painting. Ainar is persuaded to dress in the actress’ clothes as the model for the painting. Ainar Wegener discovers that wearing women’s clothes awakens an understanding of his sexual identity. Gerda supports her husband in his desire to transform into a woman.
Lucas was convincing, vocally and dramatically, not only in presenting a person in transition, but also in dealing with the social consequences of her character’s choices.
In transitioning, Lucas chose to preserve his sonorous baritone, rather than attempting to alter her vocal chords to concentrate on “female-presenting” roles.
Lucas continues to perform “male-presenting” baritone roles. These have included (2018) Wotan in Wagner’s “Die Walküre” in Germany’s Theatre Magdeburg, (2019) the title role of Mozart’s “Don GIovanni” at the Tulsa Opera and (2022) Cesare Angelotti in Puccini’s “Tosca” at the New York Metropolitan Opera.
Sylvia d’Eramo’s Gerda Wegener
[Photo: Gerda Wegner (Sylvia d’Eremo) is at her easel, painting; editedi image,, based on a Bronwen Sharp photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.]
Texas soprano Sylvia D’Eramo played Gerda Wegener, who begins the opera as Ainar’s wife. After her husband’s surgical changes that create Lili Elbe, her marriage is dissolved, because under Danish law at the time, two women could not be married.
D’Eramo, who created the role of Gerda at the world premiere, demonstrated vocal and dramatic mastery of the role.
A former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice playing smaller roles, D’Eramo performed the role of Micaela [Review: Strong Vocal Performances by Isabel Leonard, Michael Fabiano, Sylvia d’Eramo and Michael Sumuel for Director Miriame Clement’s Idiosyncratic Production -“Carmen”, Santa Fe Opera, August 2, 2022].
Most recently at Santa Fe Opera, D’Eramo sang the role of Mimi [Review: A Memorable “La Boheme” Led by Sylvia D’Eramo, Long Long, Szymon Mechlinski and Emma Marhefka, Santa Fe Opera, July 28, 2025].
Ryan Wolfe’s Marius Wegener, Deanna Ray Eberhart’s Dagmar Wegener and Lindsay Ammann’s Mother Wegener
[{photo: Linsay Ammann as Mother Wegner; edited image, based on a Bronwen Sharp photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.]
Picker’s opera contains a large cast performing a wide range of personalities, obviously presenting many opportunities for Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artists.
One threesome consists of Lili Elbe’s family members. His brother Marius (Illinois second-year Apprentice Ryan Wolfe), who is sympathetic to his brother’s desire to transition, connecting him with a Dresden’s Doctor Warnekros.
His sister Dagmar and mother are not sympathetic to the situation at all. Missouri second-year Apprentice Deanna Ray Eberhard) performs the skeptical sister Dagmar. South Dakota mezzo-soprano and contralto Lindsay Ammann is the hysterical mother Wegener.
The three artists effectively presented the family situation from which much of Ainar’s personality was formed.
Josh Lovell’s Claude LeJeune and Joshua Klein’s Major General Porta
[Photo: In Paris,the Wegeners each pursue new love affairs, Lili Elbe (Lucia Lucas, second from left) with perfumer Claude LeJeune (Josh Lovell, left) and Gerda (Sylvia D’Eramo, right) with Major General Porta (Joshua Klein, second from right); edited image, based on a Bronwen Sharp photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.]
Performing the role of perfumer Claude leJeune was Canadian tenor Josh Lovell.
LeJeune, enamored of Lili, has proposed marriage to her, although Lili wishes to have her second operation before any commitments are made. In the final scene LeJeune sits with Lili on her hospital bed, as she dies from the surgery’s complications.
Lovell had two assignments in Santa Fe Opera’s 2026 season. His Santa Fe Opera debut took place this season as Tamino in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”.
Porta was performed by Texas Second Year Apprentice Joshua Klein.
Andrew Harris’ Professor Warnekros and Other Cast Members
[Photo: Professor Warnekros (Andrew Harris, left) makes the acquaintance of a Young Woman (Audrey Wlash, center) who is seeking medical help, as the Matron (Alexis Seminario, right) looks on; edited image, based on a Bronwen Sharp photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.]
Performing the role of Professor Warnekros, the Dresden physician who conducted sex change surgery successfully, but who attempted with disastrous results surgery to transplant a woman’s uterus into Lili Elbe.
West Virginia bass Andrew Harris performed the sinister role of Professor Warnekros memorably.. Harris’ Santa Fe Opera debut in Adams’ “Doctor Atomic” had taken place eight years previously [Review: Ryan McKinny Excels as “Doctor Atomic’s” Oppenheimer – Santa Fe Opera, July 27, 2018].
Others in the large cast included Tennessee bass Drew Comer as Christian Xi.
First-year Santa Fe Opera Apprentices include California mezzo-soprano Lindsay Martin as Anna Larssen Bjoner and Texas mezzo-soprano Audrey Walsh as Eurydice and a Young Woman.
Second-year Santa Fe Opera Apprentices include New Hampshire bass-baritone Evan Lazdowski as an Art Critic, Georgia mezzo-soprano Anna Kelly as Helene Allatini, Michigan baritone Kyle White as Eric Allatini, Georgia soprano Lauryn Davis as the Danish Countess and New York soprano Alexis Seminario as the Matron.
Maestro Roberto Kalb and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra
[Photo: Maestro Roberto Kalb leads the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra; edited image, based on a Bronwen Sharp photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.]
Mexican-born Maestro Roberto Kalb led the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra in a passionate performance of Tobias Picker’s musical composition.
I have reviewed a Kalb performance of another adventurous opera. He conducted the world premiere of the “Frida y Diego” opera for the San Diego Opera in 2022, which I saw him conduct soon afterward in San Francisco [Review: Daniela Mack, San Francisco Opera Chorus Shine in “El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego”, San Francisco Opera, June 17, 2023].
Kalb made his Santa Fe Opera debut in 2024 in a Donizetti comedy in which two principals of the “Frida y Diego” opera cast (Yaritza Veliz and Alfredo Daza) were respectviely Adina and Dulcamara [Review]: Jonah Hoskins, Yaritza Véliz Lead Joyous “L’Elisir d’Amore” – Santa Fe Opera, July 27, 2024].
Kalb in 2022 was appointed Music Director of the Detroit Symphony.
Suzanne Sheston and the Santa Fe Opera Chorus
[Photo: the Santa Fe Opera Chorus for “Lili Elbe”; edited image, based on a Bronwen Sharp photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.]
One of the innivations of the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice programs is that the Apprentices serve as the company’s chorus, whenever choral passages occur in operas being mounted.
Utah Chorus Master Suzanne Shelton has had the role of training the choruses for each of the operas since 2008. In addition to her service with the Santa Fe Opera, she also works with the Utah Opera Chorus and Utah Symphony Chorus, dividing her time between Santa Fe and Salt Lake City.
Tobias Picker’s Composition
[Photo: Composer Tobias Picker; edited image of a photograph for Visconti Arts Management Company.]
The cheerful, bouncy rhyrhms of “Lili Elbe’s at the beginning of Tobias Picker’s overture were early confirmation that “Lili Elbe” would be another operatic triumph. The opera’s scenes, which include stage plays and elgant parties, provide the opportunity to include a wide range of musical ideas, including a violin solo and chamber music.
The opera, created in partnership with Picker’s husband, librettist Aryeh Lev Stollman, grew out of early plans to create an opera for the half-century anniversary of the New York City’s ‘Stonewall Riots’, in which transgender women were a prominent force. The desire of Picker and Stollman to create a transgender-themed opera led them to one of the most famous transgender persons of the past century, Lili Elbe. Conversations with Lucia Lucas led to an opera planned for her unique voice.
Over the past two decades I have reported on a Tobias Picker world premiere performance [World Premiere Review: Patricia Racette’s Gritty “Dolores Claiborne” at San Francisco Opera – September 18, 2013], and a performance in a world premiere run of a major revision of a previous Tobias Picker work [Review: Tobias Picker’s “American Tragedy”, Extensively Revised, Debuts at Glimmerglass Festival – July 20, 2014] as well as this second perfromance of an American premiere run of Picker’s current operatic project.
James Robinson’s Direction and Allen Moyer’s Scenic Design
[Photo: Orpheus (Lindsay Martin, front, left, carrying lyre) and Eurydice (Audrey Welsh, right) are onstage. The occupants of the boxes in the background include the Wegeners, Ainar (Lucia Lucas) and Gerda (Sylvia D’Eramo); edited image, based on a Bronwen Sharp photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.]
This is the fifth collaboration between Oklahoma director James Robinson and Pennsylvania Scenic Designer Allen Moyer at Santa Fe Opera on which I have reported.
The four previous include world premiere runs of operas by Huang Ruo [Review: Santa Fe Opera Shows its Mettle in Mounting Huang Ruo’s “Doctor Sun Yat-Sen” – July 30, 2014] and, collaboarating with David Henry Hwang, [World Premiere Run Review: Powerful Performances from Mark Stone and Kangmin Justin Kim in Ruo’s and Hwang’s Compelling “M. Butterfly”- Santa Fe Opera, August 3, 2022].
I also reported on their Santa Fe Opera collaborations on operas by Samuel Barber [Review: An Elegant Production of Barber’s “Vanessa” at Santa Fe Opera, July 30, 2016] and Giacomo Puccini [See the 2025 “La Boheme”, citation for Sylvia D’Eramo, above.]
Thoughts and Recommendation
I stsrongly recommend Picker’s “Lili Elbe” for the opera-goer who appreciates well-crafted contemporary operas.