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 in our opera we 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.  We generally use the umbrella term "queer" as a shorthand to describe her sexuality, but that's not really historically accurate either.  (One of the many challenges of talking about queer history!)

Where does the text of the film come from?

Most of the text of the film is based on translations of biographies written about Maupin in the 19th and early 20th centuries. We 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, we 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.  Composer Colin McMahon 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 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.  We included her poetry to give a sense of the historical context of the 17th century, specifically around how people talked about and viewed gender and sexuality at that time.