Please join us for

Axel Englund

Stockholm University

“Theatres of Transgression: Bondage, Fetishism and S&M in Contemporary Opera Staging”

Monday, Nov 14, 4:30-6pm

Logan 801

Opera, it would appear, has developed a taste for sadomasochism. Much to the chagrin of those who prefer conservative stage practices, it is not unusual for contemporary mise en scene to include whips, chains, leather, handcuffs and riding crops. As flippant as this tendency may seem at a first glance, it evokes concerns that resonate deeply with both historical and contemporary discourse on opera. Borrowed from popular culture, the visual codes of kink function as a contemporary lens through which opera’s historical configuration of sex, gender, power and violence, as well as the physical interaction between singing bodies and listening audiences, can be perceived.

Axel Englund is currently a Wallenberg Academy Fellow at Stockholm University, where he also earned his PhD in Literature in 2011. His research mainly revolves around word-and-music relations: literary representations of music, the idea of musical poetry, and the interaction between music and text in opera and lieder are all among his primary interests. He has held visiting scholarships at universities across the US and Europe, and is widely published on topics ranging from figures in the German literary canon, to the little-studied poetry of W. G. Sebald, to intermediality in the music of Harrison Birtwistle. Forthcoming works include studies of operatic performance, and of music, sex and the body, following his interest in aspects of power and sexuality in contemporary opera stagings.

This event is co-sponsored with Gender and Sexuality Studies Workshop, and the Music History and Theory Study Group. Catering will be provided.

Persons who believe they may require accommodations to participate fully in this event should contact the coordinator, Anne Rebull at anner@uchicago.edu, in advance.