Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NONORMOPERA (Sexual and Gender Non-Normativity in Opera after the Second World War)
Période du rapport: 2020-11-01 au 2022-10-31
NONORMOPERA has investigated the representation of sexual and gender non-normativity in opera by gay composers between the end of the Second World War and the end of the 20th century. Non-normativity includes all sexual and gender identities that do not conform to heteronormativity, i.e. to the paradigm of heterosexuality assumed as norm. This hegemonic paradigm generates the binarism that stereotypically defines the male and female roles and, as a consequence, the perception of all identities that transgress it as deviant. Since the late 1970s musicology began to study the issues related to sexual and gender non-normativity in contemporary opera, showing that the operatic genre is a very productive field for analysis of social issues because of its impact on a broad audience. However, sexual and gender non-normativity in opera after the Second World War by gay composers remains relatively under-examined in comparison with opera from previous ages. NONORMOPERA aims to fill this gap in current musicological scholarship, by comparatively investigating operas by 20th-century gay authors of various ages, nationalities, educational backgrounds and musical styles.
NONORMOPERA is founded on the need to integrate the gender dimension into musicological research and to properly take into consideration the issues related to non-normative sexual and gender identities in approaching contemporary opera. Since music is a cultural phenomenon and gender influences the production of culture, a gay composer, whose homosexuality does not conform to heteronormativity, can feel the need to address issues related to sexual and gender diversity in his music. Opera is the ideal genre to achieve this goal, as its representational component permits authors to communicate more easily with the audience. Through operatic performance, they critique the gender stereotypes that result in discrimination and suggest alternative ways of relating to otherness. Bringing to light this political meaning, the project helps to demolish the walls of skepticism and resistance towards the integration of the gender dimension into the European musicological research and will show its relevance for the full understanding of a musical work.
The overall objective of this project is to shed light on the expressive strategies employed by gay composers to represent sexual and gender non-normativity in selected operas premiered between 1945 and the end of the 20th century. The overall objective is reached through the developing of three specific objectives (SO): 1) the SO1 is to relate the level of encoding of the queer meanings (from disguised to overt) to the self-perception of his non-normative identity by the author, on the one hand, and to the perception of sexual and gender non-normativity by the socio- historical context where the opera was composed, on the other hand; 2) the SO2 is to identify the aspects of the libretto that refer to sexual and gender non-normativity; 3) the SO3 is to identify the musical elements that contribute to the expression of sexual and gender non-normativity.
NONORMOPERA is founded on the need to integrate the gender dimension into musicological research and to properly take into consideration the issues related to non-normative sexual and gender identities in approaching contemporary opera. Since music is a cultural phenomenon and gender influences the production of culture, a gay composer, whose homosexuality does not conform to heteronormativity, can feel the need to address issues related to sexual and gender diversity in his music. Opera is the ideal genre to achieve this goal, as its representational component permits authors to communicate more easily with the audience. Through operatic performance, they critique the gender stereotypes that result in discrimination and suggest alternative ways of relating to otherness. Bringing to light this political meaning, the project helps to demolish the walls of skepticism and resistance towards the integration of the gender dimension into the European musicological research and will show its relevance for the full understanding of a musical work.
The overall objective of this project is to shed light on the expressive strategies employed by gay composers to represent sexual and gender non-normativity in selected operas premiered between 1945 and the end of the 20th century. The overall objective is reached through the developing of three specific objectives (SO): 1) the SO1 is to relate the level of encoding of the queer meanings (from disguised to overt) to the self-perception of his non-normative identity by the author, on the one hand, and to the perception of sexual and gender non-normativity by the socio- historical context where the opera was composed, on the other hand; 2) the SO2 is to identify the aspects of the libretto that refer to sexual and gender non-normativity; 3) the SO3 is to identify the musical elements that contribute to the expression of sexual and gender non-normativity.
In the first phase, library research has played an essential role. Research has focused on the historical and social context where each opera was written, with particular attention to the mainstream perception of homosexuality and to the spread of homophobia in the country where the opera premiered. Secondly, the composer’s biography has been studied, focusing on the way he experienced his homosexuality and on his relationship with the librettist. In the second phase, the libretto has been deeply analyzed to identify the thematic elements that can be interpreted as disguised messages relating to the topic of sexual and gender non-normativity. The analytical approach has been oriented to discover any intertextual references to a queer collective imaginary in the text. Regarding the analysis of the librettos taken from literary sources, the scholarly literature related to their sources has been studied, looking for gender-related existing readings. In the third phase, research has focused on score analysis. The analytical approach has been oriented to identify features both in harmonic, rhythmic and motivic discourse, and in the use of voices and instrumentation, that express power relations between two forces suggesting either oppression by the normative society or resistance by those who embody the marginalised identity.
To disseminate the research results achieved so far to a broad scientific audience, I have presented them at six international conferences. Project results achieved so far have been disseminated through 3 peer-reviewed essays in collective books.
In order to reach non-academic audience I took part to an orientation project at secondary school and I updated regularly my personal page on Ca’ Foscari and McGill websites and my publications on Ca’ Foscari Research Archive;
I published the project’s abstract in Ca’ Foscari’s website and the project’s advertisement in Ca’ Foscari Facebook. Moreover, I was interviewed during the European Researcher Night and I spread the news about the MSCA project on two occasions of presentation of my book.
To disseminate the research results achieved so far to a broad scientific audience, I have presented them at six international conferences. Project results achieved so far have been disseminated through 3 peer-reviewed essays in collective books.
In order to reach non-academic audience I took part to an orientation project at secondary school and I updated regularly my personal page on Ca’ Foscari and McGill websites and my publications on Ca’ Foscari Research Archive;
I published the project’s abstract in Ca’ Foscari’s website and the project’s advertisement in Ca’ Foscari Facebook. Moreover, I was interviewed during the European Researcher Night and I spread the news about the MSCA project on two occasions of presentation of my book.
By comparing operas by gay composers from Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, this project focuses on a coherent repertoire, putting the representation of non-normative sexual and gender identities in strong relation with the author’s biography, the social and historical context where he operated, and the perception of gayness by his surrounding community. The research results of NONORMOPERA aim to fill an existing gap in current opera studies, because a wide exploration of expression of sexual and gender non-normativity in opera after the Second World War remains to be developed.
The expected results of the project are: 1) to develop a sound interpretation of sexual and gender non-normativity in selected operas written by gay composers between 1945 and the end of the 20th century; 2) to highlight the differences and the similarities between the expressive strategies used by the chosen composers to deal with the topic of sexual and gender non-normativity; 3) to contribute new insights to the problem of interpretation of sexual and gender non-normativity in opera.
The dissemination of the results to the scholarly community and to the civil society aims to improve the social acceptance of sexual and gender diversity. Although discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited by article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, it is yet widespread in EU. NONORMOPERA will contribute to the implementation of the fourth action of the “List of actions promoted by the EC to advance LGBTI equality,” aimed to address EU citizens through communication campaigns that foster diversity and non-discrimination, making societies more inclusive throughout Europe and positively changing citizens’ attitude towards sexual and gender diversity.
The expected results of the project are: 1) to develop a sound interpretation of sexual and gender non-normativity in selected operas written by gay composers between 1945 and the end of the 20th century; 2) to highlight the differences and the similarities between the expressive strategies used by the chosen composers to deal with the topic of sexual and gender non-normativity; 3) to contribute new insights to the problem of interpretation of sexual and gender non-normativity in opera.
The dissemination of the results to the scholarly community and to the civil society aims to improve the social acceptance of sexual and gender diversity. Although discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited by article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, it is yet widespread in EU. NONORMOPERA will contribute to the implementation of the fourth action of the “List of actions promoted by the EC to advance LGBTI equality,” aimed to address EU citizens through communication campaigns that foster diversity and non-discrimination, making societies more inclusive throughout Europe and positively changing citizens’ attitude towards sexual and gender diversity.