2025
Trans Voicing and the Illegible Seductions of Operatic Backstage
KRAMÁR, Richie LuxBasic information
Original name
Trans Voicing and the Illegible Seductions of Operatic Backstage
Authors
Edition
The Culture of Attractions: Past and Present, International Conference organized by the Research Group "Performance Studies and Drama Translation", Toruň, Polsko, 2025
Other information
Language
English
Type of outcome
Presentations at conferences
Field of Study
60400 6.4 Arts
Country of publisher
Poland
Confidentiality degree
is not subject to a state or trade secret
References:
Marked to be transferred to RIV
Yes
Organization unit
Theatre Faculty
Keywords in English
Artistic research; opera prompter; trans* voicing; media archaeology; performance studies; operatic backstage; queer aesthetics; cultural techniques; resonance; attraction
Tags
Tags
International impact
Changed: 20/3/2026 14:01, Mgr. Jana Kořínková, Ph.D.
Abstract
In the original language
This contribution investigates the operatic prompter’s voice as a unique site of sonic and performative attraction, existing at the intersection of presence and absence. Drawing on artistic research grounded in trans* embodiment and operatic labour, the paper frames prompting as a "technology of voice" that functions between discretion and spectacle. The author examines the prompter’s "minor, ghosted performance" through a queer lens, utilizing perspectives from media archaeology and performance studies to echo early traditions of stage illusion and sonic trickery. The research explores the backstage as a charged zone where seduction, support, monstrosity, and care coexist. By analyzing the affective textures of operatic prompting, the text proposes a rethinking of the trans* voice as an "ever-shifting site of becoming" that is persistently off-script. Ultimately, the prompter is framed as a "figure of attraction"—technological, queer, and monstrous—offering a new model for understanding voice as a resonant interface and prompting as a cultural technique of transition.