Description

Join us for Expansive - A Showcase of Transgender & Non-Binary Classical Artists, marking the beginning of the first statewide Transgender History Month in California. Presented by The Transgender District and Opera Parallèle, this vibrant celebration returns for its third year to amplify transgender and gender-expansive voices, fostering inclusivity in the classical arts scene. Taking place at the iconic ACT Strand Theater on August 8 & 9, 2024, the showcase features captivating performances by baritone Lucas Bouk (NYC), bass-baritone Wilford Kelly (SF), and violinist Queen Angelina (LA), with the effervescent Afrika America returning as host alongside Taylor Chan on piano. 

The Transgender District & Opera Parallèle present 

Expansive - A Showcase of Transgender & Non-Binary Classical Artists

August 8 & 9, 2024 - 7:30pm - ACT Strand Theater 

Lucas Bouk - Baritone 

Wilford Kelly - Bass-Baritone 

Queen Angelina - Violinist 

Afrika America - Host 

New in 2024 Expansive Song Commission - OP has commissioned composer Joy Redmond and lyricist Kimberly Reed to create a song for the showcase to be performed by Lucas Bouk.

 Tickets: On Sale now via ACT Box Office https://www.act-sf.org/whats-on/limited-engagements/expansive 

First 4 rows to be distributed as comps by The Transgender District to local transgender community orgs in the District/Bay Area. 

General Admission 'Pay What You Can' at the following prices: 

$50 Pay it forward 

$25 Full price General Admission 

$10 Discounted General Admission 

Tickets available through ACT Box Office - Link: operaparallele.org/expansive 

Quote from Transgender District:

"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 field, we center these talented individuals who are making it possible for others who are often overlooked. To host a night that showcases our talent and joy means so much to us and we hope you all will come and bask in the greatness of our trans existence." - Breonna McCree & Carlo Gomez Arteaga - Co-Executive Directors 

Lucas Bouk made their Lincoln Center debut with New York City Opera in the World Premiere of Ian Bell & Mark Campbell's Stonewall in June 2019 and has performed with opera companies across the United States. Lucas has been featured in the The New York Times, Classical Singer, and in the New Yorker's talk of the town. Whether taking the lead or bringing to life a supporting role, Bouk captivates audiences. "A performance to remember," raved OperaWire. Bouk's 2022-2023 season included Don Giovanni in Mozart's Don Giovanni with Ouroboros Opera and Teatro Grattacielo & Camerata Bardi, Baron in Verdi's La Traviata with City Lyric Opera, and Hannah in Laura Kaminsky, Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed's As One with Opera Steamboat, Lyric Opera of the North and Holy City Arts & Lyric Opera. A proud transgender man, Lucas previously sang as a mezzo-soprano before re-training as a baritone in 2021. https://www.lucasbouk.com https://www.instagram.com/lucas.bouk/ 

Wilford Kelly Florida-native bass-baritone Wilford Kelly is a multi-talented singer based in San Francisco, California under the tutelage of César Ulloa. Currently, he is a tenured member of the San Francisco Opera Chorus. He most recently graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with his Master of Music Degree in Voice. During his time at the Conservatory, Wilford performed many roles in the SFCM mainstage opera productions including Bartolo in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Gus O'Neill in John Musto's Later the Same Evening, Leone in Händel's Tamerlano, and Lackei in Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos. He also performed in multiple mainstage productions of the Musical Theater program, portraying the roles of Mr. Peachum in Weill's The Threepenny Opera and Bellomy in Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones's The Fantasticks. Wilford has also garnered attention outside of the SFCM performance community, performing in recent engagements with West Edge Opera, the Jacksonville Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, and as a Studio Artist with Wolf Trap Opera where he performed two principal roles and covered four more in their 2019 season. He has also achieved success on the competition circuit, having been named a recipient of the Encouragement Award at the San Francisco District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions this past January. He firmly believes in the power of music and seeks to inspire unity and change in the face of the many injustices that run rampant in today's society. He believes that any performance in which someone is touched by his art is one he considers successful, and seeks to continue to inspire as many people as possible with his work. https://www.instagram.com/herricanewilma/ https://www.wilfordkelly.com/ 

Queen Angelina is a LatinX queer artist, activist, and drag performer and recently transplanted to Los Angeles, CA. She was born in the beautiful city of Aguascalientes, Mexico and is a proud DREAMer. She made history for being the first person in North America to receive their Non-Binary gender marker change to 'X' in May 2023, thanks to the Mexican Consulate in Houston. She transplanted to the west coast in January 2024 from the city of Houston because harmful bills recently passed in the state of Texas. These bills affect the way corporate companies and universities run their diversity events and programs which resulted in a loss of opportunity because of continuing discrimination against immigrant and queer communities. Queen Angelina is known for her many talents like dancing, singing, and playing the violin. She is best known for her female illusions like Lady Gaga, Selena, Ariana Grande, Celine Dion and more. She plans to merge her talents of classical music, musical theatre, and drag to be the ultimate 'final-boss' super artist to bring the world together and change it to be a better place for all. She hopes to make her next dream of being successful tv and movie actor a reality in the city of Hollywood. Follow her journey on Instagram at @iamqueenangelina. https://www.instagram.com/iamqueenangelina/ 

Afrika America Social justice warrior, activist, producer and performer. These are just a few adjectives that characterize this phenomenal 'Drag Out the Vote Ambassador' and our host for Expansive! She produces multiple shows throughout the San Francisco Bay Area under her DIVALICIOUS brand such as BQM (Black Queer Magic), DRAGtastic and Let The Games Begin: Trivia, Bingo, DRAG, WERQ and ICON! Having performed all over the world from Singapore to Cologne to Sydney and on America's Got Talent, she toured the south in 2017 with SWAG, (Singers with a Goal) and the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and was a featured performer in the documentary, Gay Chorus: Deep South. Please put your hands together for San Francisco's DIVAlicious Dreamgirl - Afrika America!!! https://www.instagram.com/afrikaamerica/ 

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, it 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. https://www.transgenderdistrictsf.com/ 

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 of 1966. This historic event marked a bold stance of resistance within the transgender community, as is the first recognized uprising by the LGBTQ+ community, before the Stonewall Riots of 1969. 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 honors the profound contributions of transgender individuals, celebrating their role as history-makers, pioneers, and trailblazers. 

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. 

Expansive Song Commission Artists

Composer and pianist Joy Redmond (she/her) was born in California in 1999 and grew up in Yonkers, New York. She is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School, where she studies with Matthias Pintscher, and where she also earned a bachelor's in 2021. Currently, Joy's musical pursuits include composing for concert, stage, and media works, collaborating with other artists as a producer and arranger, and performing on keyboards in a variety of genres. Recent projects include a chamber opera with libretto by Julia Hoch which was commissioned by and premiered at Concordia Conservatory with conductor James Lowe, an orchestra piece for the Juilliard Orchestra, and a choral work for The New York Virtuoso Singers. Joy has been recognized with honors including a Davidson Fellowship, four ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Awards, and a BMI Student Composer Award. Festivals she has participated in include Chamber Music Northwest, the National Youth Orchestra, Chelsea Music Festival, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. 

Writer and filmmaker Kimberly Reed co-wrote with Mark Campbell the libretti for Today It Rains (Opera Parallèle, 2019), Some Light Emerges (Houston Grand Opera, 2017), and As One (the American Opera Project, 2014), which is the most frequently produced new opera in North America. Her film projections for opera have been called "worthy of Fellini or Bergman" (SF Classical Voice). Ms. Reed's song cycle Fierce Grace: Jeannette Rankin premiered at the U.S. Library of Congress in 2017. She was the Librettist Mentor for the 2022 cycle of Washington National Opera's American Opera Initiative. Her nonfiction writing was published in "The Moth," a New York Times best-seller. Kim's documentary Prodigal Sons won 14 awards and was released in theaters and broadcast worldwide, and her Sundance award-winning 2018 documentary Dark Money was promptly named by Vogue magazine as one of the 66 Best Documentaries of All Time and shortlisted for the Academy Awards.

Buy Tickets Here!