My Research
My current research focuses on reconstructing the life story of singer Julie d'Aubigny Maupin. You can read more in my dissertation, "Playing Queer and Performing Gender at the Turn of the Eighteenth Century: The Unconventional Life, Voice, and Body of Julie D’Aubigny Maupin."
My dissertation brings my historical research into dialogue with current views on gender-non-conforming people, including the latest research on the voice as a gendered phenomenon. The late seventeenth century in Western Europe is an intriguing period for queer historians: the imagined boundaries between genders, sexual orientations, and even biological sexes were considered far more permeable than we might expect of such a patriarchal society. I look to this era not to find a perfect reflection of my own queer non-binary identity, but to explore the culturally-contingent nature of all understandings of gender.
At the centre of my research is seventeenth-century opera singer Julie d’Aubigny Maupin. Maupin was gender- non-conforming in her outward appearance, openly involved with lovers of all genders, and was an expert fencer and duellist. Simultaneously an outstanding exception to the conventions of gender in her day, and an example of the fluid possibilities of gender at the turn of the eighteenth century, Maupin serves as the case study through which I explore the ever-shifting perceptions of queer and gender-non-conforming people in this era. Through careful review of the few available sources, I reconstruct, as far as possible, an outline of Maupin’s life—and, due to the variable reliability of these sources, I note the many vagaries, contradictions, and impossibilities along the way. As I navigate this “speculative biography,” I rely on Valerie Traub’s concept of the unknowability of history, and am therefore careful to hold space for ambiguity, uncertainty, and all too often, an unsatisfiable curiosity.
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My other research interests: gender and sexuality in the 17th and 18th centuries; depictions of gender, queer sexuality, and gender-based violence in opera; trauma-informed and wellness-focused practices in the voice studio and rehearsal room.
Above: photo by Lauren Halasz
Who was Julie d'Aubigny Maupin?
Julie d'Aubigny, more often known by her stage name "Mademoiselle Maupin," was a queer and gender-non-conforming opera singer who lived at the end of the 17th century into the beginning of the 18th century. She was a mezzo-soprano, and sang some of the first leading roles written specifically for the mezzo voice at the Paris Opéra. She was also highly skilled in swordplay, and defeated many men in duels throughout her life. Besides the dates of her performances at the Opéra, there's very little else we know for sure about Maupin's life — although there are many sensational stories, which may or may not be 100% true. . .
What kind of music did Maupin sing?
La Maupin sang in French operas, both tragic and comedic. She most often played roles that reflected her real-life adventures and skills, like warrior princesses and goddesses such as Athena and Artemis. Click below to hear what opera of that time period sounded like:
Was Maupin queer or trans?
Because the words we use today to describe gender and sexuality weren't in use in the 18th century, we don't know exactly how Maupin would have identified if she had lived today. We do know that she often wore men's clothing, but did not attempt to live or "pass" as a man. For that reason I use she/her pronouns to refer to her — although it's entirely possible that if she had lived today she might have used gender neutral pronouns such as they/them.
She was romantically involved with both men and women throughout her life, and actively sought out lovers of all genders. Today we would probably describe her as "bisexual," but that label didn't exist when she was alive. I generally use the umbrella term "queer" as a shorthand to describe her sexuality, but it's not really historically accurate either. (One of the many challenges of talking about queer history!)
Where does the text of the cantata come from?
Most of the text of the cantata is based on my translations of biographies written about Maupin in the 18th and 19th centuries. I wanted to show how historians talked about her and projected all sorts of moral panic onto her life story. Because we don't have any primary documents written by Maupin herself, I also wanted to give Maupin a chance to comment on other peoples' gossip and opinions about her — and that's where the music comes in. The composer Colin McMahon and I worked to include a lot of tongue-in-cheek moments where Maupin playfully relates her story as it has been told by others — while giving us a little musical wink to let us know that might not be exactly how it happened.
The Epilogue and Prologue as well as a few aria-like sections in the middle movements draw from the poetry of Aphra Behn, a female poet who lived in England in the 17th century. She may also have been involved romantically with women, and many of her poems and plays include sapphic themes. I wanted to include at least some text from the 17th century to give a sense of historical context, specifically around how people talked about and viewed gender and sexuality at that time.
Right: photo by Lauren Halasz
Academic Publications
Thus Do All Women (Women and Music - 2022)
"In the #MeToo era, which began in its current mainstream iteration in 2017, one might expect Così fan tutte to be among the many operas up for reevaluation. However, conventional productions still tend to present Così as a lighthearted romp, without addressing the troubling instances of coercion and misogyny.... What if we placed the opera's libretto in conversation with contemporary eighteenth-century views on women's sexuality and consent? Might we discover resonances within the text itself that give us a glimpse beyond the seductive veil of Mozart's score?"
Listening for a Queer Utopia: Unexpected Pleasures in Baroque Castrato Roles (Whatever - 2019)
This article seeks out queer resonances in the peculiar lives and sensational music of the castrati: castrated male singers who, on operatic stages of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, proved their virility not through the strength or reproductive capacity of their unusual bodies, but through the breathtaking virtuosity of their voices. Problematizing not only binaries of gender and sexuality, but also those of mind vs. body and verbal vs. non-verbal, this paper uses music as a medium through which to explore the liminal space between linguistic signification and embodied experience. Relying on Sylvia Wynter’s ‘deciphering turn’, this study investigates what the stories and music of the castrati can do rather than concentrating on what they mean: the use of auto-ethnography extends this investigation into the present, exploring how modern performances of the castrati’s music can potentially offer solace and inspiration to queer subjects of today.