The conflict-ridden and controversial have long been rich territory for artists. As such, sex work, in various guises, is often a central theme. But despite a long-standing relationship between sex work and opera – courtesans feature regularly in opera, from Madame Butterfly to Manon – any contemporary pairing seems, at first glance, to be a clashing of worlds.
“We knew that putting the words ‘sex worker’ and ‘opera’ together would grab people’s attention,” says Sex Workers’ Opera co-producer Alex Etchart of the Experimental Experience theatre company’s new project, which lets sex workers tell their stories through performance and music.
The Sex Workers’ Opera, the brainchild of Clouds Haberberg, who is co-founder of the feminist opera company Better Strangers Opera, has been buoyed by the Goldsmiths Annual Fund, supported by the Royal Opera House and funded in part on Kickstarter. The opera will be performed tonight by sex workers and their allies, the former guaranteed anonymity by the fact that no one will reveal to which group they belong.
“The production isn’t a linear story, but a journey through the various experiences of sex workers, asking audiences to challenge their stereotypes,” says co-director Siobhan Knox. “We wanted to make a bridge between some of the least-represented members of society and some of its most established, respected – and often orthodox – institutions.”
In fact, the Sex Worker’s Opera isn’t strictly operatic and will include elements of grime, hip-hop, spoken word and jazz. The Royal Opera House – the most established of institutions – is on board in an advisory role and has subsidised a training programme for the directors.
[…] “The production isn’t a linear story, but a journey through the various experiences of sex workers, asking audiences to challenge their stereotypes,” says co-director Siobhan Knox. “We wanted to make a bridge between some of …read more […]