Virginia Woolf

For the First Time in its 150-year history, the Vienna State Opera is staging an opera by a woman.

Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth has written a new opera based on Virginia Woolf 's 1928 novel Orlando which deals with themes of gender fluidity and duality.

The title role is played by The Singer Kate Lindsey .

Orlando lives for centuries, beginning as A Man in Elizabethan England And Then changing into a woman.

Olga Neuwirth says androgyny and the rejection of gender stereotypes have inspired her ever since she first read Woolf's novel as a teenager.

"Not only is it A Journey through centuries, but it is A Journey of constant questioning of imposed norms by society, and society is made by man," she told the Bbc .

"Each human being is allowed to choose what they feel is inside them," She Said . "There is no binary role model anymore. "

Conductor Matthias Pintscher says the 'in-betweenness" of the story of Orlando is reflected in The Music .

"She is mixing it all up," he said. "We have a traditional orchestra in The Pit . On top of that we have three keyboards, a jazz band and a lot of pre-recorded samples that interestingly, beautifully blend into the texture of the live instruments. "

Olga Neuwirth says "it feels a little bit strange" to be The First female composer to have a work staged at the Vienna State Opera.

The Opera House cancelled her previous attempt to put on an piece with a libretto by the Nobel Prize winning author Elfriede Jelinek .

"One hundred and fifty years is a long time. But I've always said it's never Too Late . So it's good that they finally have thought about it. And at least if You 're The First , there has to be a second and a third and so on. So it's always good to have a Starting Point . "

The costumes are by Another Woman , designer Rei Kawakubo , of Commes des Garçons.

The story has been brought up into the 21St Century .

For transgender and trans-genre artist Justin Vivian Bond, who plays The Role of Orlando's child, this opera has a personal significance.

"Conceptually, I Am The Legacy of what the novel Orlando began to express about gender and transgression and about the difference between what it's actually like to be A Man or a woman, if indeed there is that much of a difference," said Bond.

"And since I'm a non-binary person who's trans-feminine, I guess You could say I Am happily stepping into a moment and I'm the sort of representation of where we've Come . "

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Source of news: bbc.com