Published in: March-April 2023 issue.
THE HOURS
Directed by Phelim McDermott
Metropolitan Opera House, NYC
Nov. 22–Dec. 15, 2022
Kelli O’Hara, Renée Fleming, and Joyce DiDonato in The Hours.
Publicity photo courtesy Metropolitan Opera. The opera The Hours brings to the stage the LGBT love lives (including their failures) of Laura Brown, Kitty, Clarissa and Sally, and Richard and Louis. Indeed it adds one same-sex relationship to the mix. A key incident in both Mrs Dalloway and in the 1990s Clarissa story involves Clarissa buying flowers for the party. In the opera, the florist, Barbara (sung beautifully by Kathleen Kim), has an extended coloratura flirtation with Clarissa as well.
Publicity photo courtesy Metropolitan Opera. The opera The Hours brings to the stage the LGBT love lives (including their failures) of Laura Brown, Kitty, Clarissa and Sally, and Richard and Louis. Indeed it adds one same-sex relationship to the mix. A key incident in both Mrs Dalloway and in the 1990s Clarissa story involves Clarissa buying flowers for the party. In the opera, the florist, Barbara (sung beautifully by Kathleen Kim), has an extended coloratura flirtation with Clarissa as well.
Andrew Lear, a scholar on ancient Greek sexuality, is the founder of Oscar Wilde Tours, an LGBT art and history tour company.
