A new film, titled The Sound of Identity, focuses on the life and career of trans opera singer Lucia Lucas. Lucas is the first openly prominent opera singer and the first trans person to star in the famed Italian opera, Don Giovanni.
The documentary begins as Lucia Lucas prepares for her performance of Don Giovanni at the Tulsa Opera. There’s an obvious tension in the air since Tulsa, Oklahoma is a conservative town. However, Lucas and her fellow performers are determined to change opera forever and breathe new life into the dying art form.
The film’s director, James Kicklighter, said in a statement, “Our work as artists is both informed by our life experiences, and the times we live in. By profiling the professional journey of Lucia Lucas, I believe I have also made the most personal film of my own career, a universal story of all the experiences that make up the people we choose to become. Through telling the story of Lucia Lucas today, in an era where trans visibility is unprecedented, we examine the strides that have been made, but also, the long road ahead for this marginalized community.”
The Sound of Identity has been met with rave reviews and has even gone on to be given an Award for Excellence at the Outshine LGBTQ Film Festival, which is held yearly in South Florida.
The film is set to premiere in digital and on-demand formats on June 1, 2021.
For more information, you can visit ‘The Sound of Identity’s’ website here.
