For transgender conductor, opera ‘As One’ is personal
Alexandra Enyart has conducted plenty of music, but there’s one opera that holds a special place in her heart.
“I have a really deep connection to the piece,” she says of “As One,” Laura Kaminsky’s one-act chamber opera about the coming of age of Hannah, a transgender woman. “The story is so meaningful and beautiful.”
Opera Orlando will present the show May 21 and 23, and Enyart will conduct.
She encountered the work at a particularly meaningful moment in her own journey through gender transition.
“I was doing my master’s degree in Louisville,” Enyart said. “I had just transitioned so it was a big deal. It really mirrored a lot of my life.”
Enyart completed her master’s in orchestral composing at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, in 2016. Afterward, she headed to Chicago, where she is music director of the Thompson Street Opera Company and guest conducts with multiple organizations.
Adding to her special connection with “As One”:
It was the first piece she professionally conducted. This will be her fifth time raising the baton on the work, which she says in its specificity has universal appeal.
“Anyone can see themselves in Hannah,” Enyart said. “It’s the story of a young woman finding herself. It’s just in a different way than we’re used to.”
The opera, with a libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed, is constructed so that two singers split the role of Hannah on her journey. Baritone Michael Kelly plays “Hannah Before,” while mezzo-soprano Elise Quagliata is “Hannah After.”
Both have performed in “As One” before with Enyart conducting — though not together.
“I can’t stress enough how wonderful they are,” Enyart said. “There’s a little bit of an ‘As One’ family.”
Opera Orlando’s production, featuring a string
OPERA ORLANDO quartet of Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra musicians, will be stage directed by Jessica Hanna.
Enyart describes the narrative, sung in English, as “very episodic. You get glimpses into moments in her life.” For Enyart, experiencing those ordinary bits of Hannah’s life is critical.
“I think there’s real significance in seeing Hannah as the same as everybody else,” she said. “She just comes from a