San Francisco Chronicle LogoHearst Newspapers Logo

Doing Donizetti in drag

By Updated
Drag artist Heklina will emcee SF Opera's "Drag Queen of the Opera"
Drag artist Heklina will emcee SF Opera's "Drag Queen of the Opera"Jos� Guzman-Colon

Do you think opera in its standard form isn’t outlandish enough? Well, SF Opera Lab, the innovative new wing of the comparatively staid San Francisco Opera, is about to bring a little cross-dressing Halloween cheer onto the musical scene.

“Drag Queen of the Opera,” the company’s latest pop-up endeavor, promises a night of musical and macabre debauchery, with “gals, ghouls and divas in drag.”

Presided over by drag artist Heklina, the lineup includes soprano Julie Adams, mezzo-soprano Renée Rapier, tenor Brenton Ryan, bass-baritone Brad Walker and pianist Jennifer Szeto.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Joshua Kosman

“Drag Queen of the Opera”: 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30. $25. Oasis, 298 11th St., S.F. (415) 864-3330. http://sfopera.com/sfoperalab

|Updated
Photo of Joshua Kosman
Classical Music Critic

Joshua Kosman has covered classical music for the San Francisco Chronicle since 1988, reviewing and reporting on the wealth of orchestral, operatic, chamber and contemporary music throughout the Bay Area.

He is the co-constructor of the weekly cryptic crossword puzzle "Out of Left Field," and has repeatedly placed among the top 20 contestants at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.