Web Content: David Eliakis Interview

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1539039382357{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Tapestry:  In our marketing for the Tap This series we said that it was important to us to produce this series because “While there are a lot of gays in opera, there are very few gay operas”.  So, that being said, how did you go about programming the repertoire for Queers Crash the Opera?
David Eliakis:  I was incredibly advantaged as a vocal coach because I have a huge network to ask and also an extensive collection of my own.  When I put out the call, I was really surprised at the response because it far exceeded the number of works we are able to do in one program.  But that’s great because I really hope this will turn into an annual event.  I was also surprised at the number of works I had never encountered before.  One was a work by composer Rodney Sharman, and when I contacted him, he sent along 10 other pieces that I’d love to include on future programs.  Who knew?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”8137″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/AVwitOcr174″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1539039800743{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Tapestry:  Given that you uncovered such rich resources, how did you choose the works?
David:  Well we wanted it to be varied so we chose works that were traditional, modern, sad, funny, experimental, and of course, suited the incredible voices on the program.
Tapestry:  What has been your own experience working as a queer artist in opera?
David:  We sometimes forget that it is so recently that things have opened up, that it has been acceptable to speak about sexual orientation publicly.  I am a traditionalist when it comes to my own taste in singers.  I love listening to the greats from the 1950’s and 1960’s and I realize it was a very different world for them.  I can only imagine what it was like to audition and perform as a gay artist in that era.   Not to mention everything that has happened in the intervening years that has changed the landscape for good and bad, such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic that changed lives and the community so drastically.

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