Milwaukee - Opera fans of all sexual stripes will be in their glory this weekend when the Florentine Opera Company presents the Bellini opera I Capuleti e I Montecchi to Milwaukee audiences on April 25-27 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Quest’s Mike Fitzpatrick spoke with the Florentine’s General Director William Florescu about the upcoming production, the gay love of opera and much more.

Quest: Let’s start off the the question that I think almost every gay man asks himself some time in his life: what is it with gays and opera? What makes opera so attractive to the gay male persona?

Florescu: (chuckles) I don’t know. Since I’m not a gay man I don’t know the answer to that. I only know that as an opera producer that its one of these things that you might say “that’s a myth or a stereotype,” but there seems to be some reality to it.
  I certainly know it’s there. I’ve been doing music now for over thirty years and I certainly know that it does exist. As a producer I’m glad its there because it generates interest in our product which is what I’m all about.

Quest: Well, to be real honest, it’s the costumes and in general - though it varies with the composer - the oversized drama and almost melodramatic elements of some of the greatest pieces. And obviously the music helps - and it’s a chance to dress up.

Florescu: I think it’s not by coincidence that some of the entertainment icons not in the world of opera that have become sort of identified with male gay worship are referred to as divas, which is an appropriation from the world of opera. So I think some of the elements - even if it doesn’t involve operatic pieces like you say - the larger than life aspect of it, the glamour, etc. sometimes transcends the genre itself but of course is always present in opera.

Quest: Look at the production that you’re going to be kicking off the 75th season with. There’s the message of racism and second-class citizenship that permeates Madame Butterfly, for example. And it is true that there was a stereotype that gays bumped themselves off in the last act of almost every play that they were in up until recently. But the whole concept of this wonderful relationship that was betrayed because of societal pressures.

Florescu: In my studies for my Master’s thesis it’s really interesting that all the operas of Benjamin Britten, who himself was homosexual at a time in (Great) Britain when that wasn’t necessarily a safe thing (to be) - If you look at the subjects of his operas, whether they’re serious or comic, they’re about the outsider and how they deal with a sometimes hostile world, whether its represented by Peter Grimes or society in general in Albert Herring. I think you make a good point. Madame Butterfly is probably another good analogy to that.

Quest: Let’s talk a little about the outreach the Florentine Opera is doing to the gay community.

Florescu: It struck me odd, after I had been here a couple of years, they we hadn’t done something like that. Why hadn’t we made any kind of contact in a structural way with a community that’s very supportive. So I spoke with Scott Stewart our concert master and said “Let’s try something! Let’s do something to show we are aware of this support.”
   Any time you are not a part of the community (you wish to reach out to), you’re always in danger of stepping your foot into it, in terms of making what might be viewed as a stereotyped assumption. One of the tough things is that if you’re making an outreach to the Latino community or the African-American community, that’s self evident in who that group is. Whereas with the gay community it’s something where the people involved have to let you know that they want to be identified as part of it. I’ve tried to be very sensitive to that.
 So Scott came up with what I thought is a really nice idea: contacting the folks at the Room and setting up an opportunity to meet a cast member and talk a bit about the opera. The first time we did it, it was the coldest night of the year but we had a nice turnout.
  It was successful enough that we knew we wanted to try it again. Sort of just take baby steps to show that we really have interest in doing this outreach.
  Part of the reason I’ve done this is when I lived in Columbus (Ohio) for 15 years, the gay men’s chorus and the opera did some joint fundraisers together. It was really successful.
  So I thought, “you know what, the Florentine should be doing something like this.”  It’s part of a larger, philosophical view of mine. The Florentine has always been traditionally very successful. But in my view of it, we’ve been somewhat inward-looking and not outward-looking to the community in the larger sense. To me this is a very practical and pragmatic part of that. To me, this was a logical step that was long overdue.

Quest: As for the upcoming opera I think most people would be familiar with the story source of Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi.

Florescu: It’s interesting that the Bellini story is not based on Shakespeare. It’s based on older Italian legends that Shakespeare (Romeo & Juliet) was based on. It has some key differences. One of them - not in terms of how the story is told - but one thing that people who haven’t been to an opera before need to be aware of is that the role of Romeo is a travesty role. In other words its a “pants role” -  a male role sung by a woman.
  Its something that continues to be an operatic convention.  You’ll occasionally see the role sung by a tenor, but there’s another tenor in the opera so that doesn’t work. It’s all about how the voices fit. With a tenor it doesn’t work as well.
  But the basic story is the same: they fall in love and they die. But there are slight differences from the Shakespeare.

Quest: Are tickets still on sale for I Capuleti e I Montecchi? Are limited seats available?

Florescu: Friday (April 25) is a good night. Saturday and Sunday tend to sell even bigger, so opening night is a good night to get tickets.

  Friday and Saturday performances of the Florentine Opera’s production of I Capuleti e i Montecchi will be at 7:30 PM. Curtain for the Sunday matinee performance is 2:30 PM. Single tickets start at just $25. For more information on ordering your tickets, visit the opera company’s website at: www.florentineopera.org or call 414-291-5700 Ext. 224. Limited seating may also be available the night of each performance by inquiring in person at the Marcus Center box office.
  Editor’s Note: In Quest’s May 8 issue, our interview with William Florescu will continue. Be sure to read about opera’s user-friendly innovations, the link between opera and NASCAR, how opera is truly the last “real deal,” and the Florentine’s magnificent, upcoming Diamond Jubilee season.