Vanities
BEL CANTO
Break out the cough drops and
flick open the lorgnettes—the opera
is getting a refresh
PHOTOGRAPH BY HORACIO SALINAST
he 19th-century boom of classics, from
Ve rd i ’s Otello to Puccini’s La Bohème, may
be known as the art form’s golden age, but
operas are having a modern moment. Hot
off a summer that debuted Fire Shut Up in My Bones
(Opera Theatre of Saint Louis), adapted from Charles
Blow’s memoir about growing up in segregated Loui-
siana, and the queer epic Stonewall (New York City
Opera), the upcoming season includes world pre-
mieres of Denis & Katya, based on the social-media-
centric story of two Russian teen runaways (Opera
Philadelphia), and The Lost Thing, featuring a cast with
varying physical abilities (London’s Royal Opera).
Of course, the classics still wield political relevance.
The Marriage of Figaro is an opera buffa about over-
throwing the upper classes. Verdi inspired rebellion.
Beethoven’s Fidelio celebrates human rights. So make
like it’s 1877. Phone off. Curtain up. —KEZIAH WEIRLOEWE
Lantern Bag,
£28,500.
(loewe.com)Vanities Style
34 VANITY FAIR OCTOBER 2019MAKEUP PRODUCTS BY DIOR BEAUTY; MAKEUP BY MARKPHONG TRAM; FOR DETAILS, GO TO VF.COM/CREDITS