Arts & Entertainment

Opera: Girl drama

Washington opera’s spring season features plum roles for women

Published

13 years ago

February 27, 2013

Greg Marzullo

Angela Mead, Norma, Washington National Opera, gay news, Washington Blade

Angela Mead in a promo photo for ‘Norma.’ (Photo by Dario Acosta; courtesy WNO)

Kennedy Center Opera House
2700 F St., NW
Tickets: $25-$300
202-467-4600
kennedy-center.org

This spring at Washington National Opera, the fairer sex will be the talk of the capital’s operatic scene. From stars to directors and the repertoire itself, women rule the stage, with exciting company debuts as part of the stable.

First out of the gate, opening Saturday, is “Manon Lescaut,” starring Washington favorite Patricia Racette in the title role. Last seen on the Kennedy Center’s opera stage in 2011 for “Iphigenie en Tauride” and “Tosca,” Racette (a lesbian) will be tackling the role of Manon Lescaut for the first time in the revival of gay director John Pascoe’s 2007 production.

Patricia Racette in the title role for ‘Manon Lescaut.’ (Photo by Cory Weaver; courtesy WNO)

Written by Giacomo Puccini and premiered in 1893, “Manon Lescaut” was a risky undertaking for the composer. Almost a decade earlier, Frenchman Jules Massenet had unveiled a wildly popular version of the same story, simply titled “Manon.” Up to this point in his career, Puccini hadn’t been particularly successful, but “Manon Lescaut” put Puccini on the operatic map.

For many of his operas, Puccini’s heroine is the crux of the drama, and “Manon Lescaut” set the bar for this winning equation. At the opera’s start, the young and achingly beautiful Manon is on her way to a convent at her family’s insistence. Her carriage stops in a small town for a rest, where she meets the young and handsome Des Grieux. After he professes his undying love for her, she decides to run away with him, whether for love or a convenient escape is up for debate.

At the start of the second act, time has passed and Manon has cashed in her chips for money and comfort instead of love. She’s now the kept woman of an older wealthy man, and although she has everything she could ever dream of, she pines for Des Grieux. Eventually, the young pair manages to reconnect with disastrous results, including an appropriately operatic death scene for Manon.

One of the greatest tests of an operatic soprano is the titular role of “Norma.” Divas from Rosa Ponselle to Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland have made the Druid priestess their calling card, and now, rising soprano Angela Meade steps up to the plate for her first full production of this titanic role.

Audiences and critics have long been anticipating this moment with a mixture of hopeful curiosity and timidity. In July of 2010, Meade sang the role in a concert version, and while the reviews were generally kind, many felt it was too much too soon for the young soprano. Cut to February 2012 when a more seasoned Meade, on the heels of winning the Beverly Sills Artist Award, received glittering notices for her performance at the Metropolitan Opera in Verdi’s “Ernani.” Starting March 9, the soprano makes another run at Norma in a new production, directed by out theater and opera director Anne Bogart.

“Norma” is a tale of betrayed love and, ultimately, redemption, headed by the priestess of the title. The ancient Celts, under Roman occupation, are biding their time to destroy the southern interlopers until Norma gives her consent.

She’s been delaying, though, because she’s fallen deeply in love with the Roman general and has secretly born him two children.

As men are wont to do, the Roman falls in love with another priestess, leaving Norma in the emotional lurch. The opera ends in a spectacularly heartbreaking climax between Norma, her former lover and her father who is shocked to learn of Norma’s transgression. Written by Vincenzo Bellini and premiered in 1831, “Norma” has persevered in the repertoire because of its interpreters. This spring, we’ll see if Angela Meade makes it her own.

Later in spring, comes the final offering of the opera’s season, the American musical “Show Boat,” a piece that has long straddled the line between opera and musical theater. This new production, opening May 4, will be directed by Washington National Opera’s new artistic director, Francesca Zambello, who started her tenure as artistic director in January.

Jerome Kern’s musical masterpiece features songs that have become woven into America’s cultural identity, including the show stopping “Ol’ Man River.” Zambello, who is gay, is no stranger to Washington’s operatic stage, having directed much of Wagner’s Ring Cycle for the company along with another great American opera “Porgy and Bess.”

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Sports

New IOC policy bans trans women from Olympics

New regulation to be in effect at 2028 summer games in Los Angeles

Published

5 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

(Photo by Greg Martin; courtesy IOC)

The International Olympic Committee on Thursday announced it will not allow transgender women from competing in female events at the Olympics.

“For all disciplines on the Sports Program of an IOC event, including individual and team sports, eligibility for any Female Category is limited to biological females,” reads the new policy.

The policy states “eligibility for the Female Category is to be determined in the first instance by SRY Gene screening to detect the absence or presence of the SRY Gene.”

“On the basis of the scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the SRY (sex-determining Region Y) Gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced or will experience male sex development,” it reads. “Furthermore, the IOC considers that SRY Gene screening via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample is unintrusive compared to other possible methods. Athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene permanently satisfy this policy’s eligibility criteria for competition in the Female Category.”

The policy states the test “will be a once-in-a-lifetime test” unless “there is reason to believe a negative reading is in error.”

The new regulation will be in place for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

“I understand that this a very sensitive topic,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry on Thursday in a video. “As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition.”

“The policy that we have announced is based on science and it has been led by medical experts with the best interests of athletes at its heart. The scientific evidence is very clear: male chromosomes give performance advances in sport that rely on strength, power, or endurance,” she added. “At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”

(Video courtesy of the IOC)

Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter from New Zealand, in 2021 became the first trans woman to compete at the Olympics.

Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Khelif later sued JK Rowling and Elon Musk for cyberstalking after they questioned her gender identity.

Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, this year became the first openly trans athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics when he participated in Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.

President Donald Trump in February 2025 issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee last July banned trans women from competing in female sporting events. Republican lawmakers have demanded the IOC ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.

“I’m grateful the Olympics finally embraced the common sense policy that women’s sports are for women, not for men,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on X.

An IOC spokesperson on Thursday referred the Washington Blade to the press release that announced the new policy.

a&e features

Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people

Meet the Legends and Illuminators lighting new paths

Published

5 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Staff reports

The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.

This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.

This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward.

Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis

Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers

ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES

Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
— U.S. House of Representatives
Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
— Executive Director, United We Dream
Paola Ramos (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent
Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent
Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
— Founder / Producer, Play Play DC
Savannah Wade (she/her)
— Founder, OAR Agency
Suhad Babaa (she/her)
— Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision
Ashlee Davis (she/her)
— Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry
Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
— Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine
Queen Adesuyi (she/they)
— Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice
Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
— Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives)
Gaby Vincent (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader
Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
— Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra
Denice Frohman (she/her)
— Independent Artist, Poet / Performer
Vida Rangel (she/her)
— Founder, Our Trans Capital
Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
— Executive Director, Our Space
Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
— Co-Founder & President, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center)
Diana Rodriques (she/her)
— Co-Founder & CEO, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center)
Wendi Cooper (she/her)
— Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women
Toya Matthews (she/her)
— City of San Antonio, Texas
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader
Charity Blackwell (she/her)
— Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader
Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
— Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation
Em Chadwick (she/her)
— CMO, For Them & Autostraddle
Kylo Freeman (they/he)
— CEO, For Them & Autostraddle

LEGEND AWARDEES

Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
— Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
— Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP
leigh h. mosley (she/her)
— Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography
Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
— Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University
Jordyn White (she/her)
— COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation
AJ Hikes (they/them)
— Deputy Executive Director, ACLU
RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
— Digital Creator, RL Lockhart
Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
— Educator, EEO Specialist, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign
Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
— Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group
Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
— Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame
Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
— Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction)
Letitia Gomez (she/her)
— The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Formerly of Voto Latino
Lynne Brown (she/her)
— Publisher, Washington Blade
Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
— Political Strategist and Organizer
Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
— Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures
Meghann Burke (she/her)
— Executive Director, NWSL Players Association
Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
— Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Coalition
Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
— CEO, Center on Halsted
Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
— CEO, Moxie Strategies
Alice Wu (she/her)
— Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter
Storme Webber (she/her)
— Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington
Kim Stone
— CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit
Mickalene Thomas
— American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio
Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
— Executive Director, interACT
J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
— Co-Executive Director, GSA Network

Celebrity News

D.C. goes gaga for Gaga

Bisexual icon brought ‘The Mayhem Ball’ tour to Washington this week

Published

1 day ago

March 25, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

Lady Gaga brought "The Mayhem Ball" tour to Capital One Arena this week. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Lady Gaga this week took D.C. by storm.

The bisexual icon and LGBTQ rights champion brought “The Mayhem Ball” tour to Capital One Arena on Monday and Tuesday.

“Abracadabra,” “Paparazzi,” “Applause,” and “Bad Romance” are among the songs Lady Gaga performed during the 2 1/2-hour long concert. Lady Gaga also celebrated her many queer fans.

“You are precious to us,” she said on Tuesday night before she performed “Born This Way.”