By Michael Barbieri****The music rose up! The lights began to flash and strobe! We heard the thunderous sounds of “Ride of the Valkyries” from Die Walküre, the second of the four operas in Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. And then, taking the stage so powerfully… was it one of the god Odin’s female messengers coming to take our souls to Valhalla?! Nope! It was the powerful—and FABULOUS— Gilda Wabbit!!
Thus began Gilda Wabbit’s Big Gay Opera Show at The Duplex. I had known the name Gilda Wabbit from social media, and being a lover of a great, clever drag name, I confess that the first time I read the name I fell on the floor! Then I began seeing advertisements for her show and being one who loves drag queens who sing in their own voices, I thought the show looked like fun. Finally, while I was covering RuPaul’s DragCon NYC at the Javits Center, I befriended a couple of glamorous queens in the Press Room, one of whom turned out to be Gilda Wabbit herself! Now I knew I had to see her show!
Gilda is the creation of Samuel Themer, a singer who was classically trained at the University of Kentucky. Gilda has been appearing and performing in the New York area since December of 2105. A versatile singer, she’s able to handle everything from Puccini to P!nk to Sondheim and everything in between! She’s also an activist, speaking out on subjects like diversity, immigration, politics and the need for drag in today’s society. She’s been called “divine” by Time Out New York and Vice described her work as “A blend of lip sync, opera, and sexy banter.”
So, Gilda began her evening of opera with that famous moment from Wagner’s Ring. Looking stunning in a lacy, ruffled black gown, sheer black opera gloves and a beautifully coiffed, fire-engine red wig, she belted out the “ho-yo-to-ho-OH!” war cry of Brünnhilde and her Valkyrie sisters. She was also kind enough to translate the phrase, which apparently means “God, it’s so HI-IGH!” She then introduced herself by way of telling us that like an angry cat, she was here to knock opera off its pedestal! She excused herself for having a bit of a cold, saying she was phlegmy. Not FLEMING, she said, referencing opera’s Renée Fleming, but just plain phlegmy. That didn’t stop her, however, and her next selection, “Quando m’en vo” (The Musetta Waltz) from Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème, was, to my ear, nearly pitch perfect. Additionally, her powerful countertenor vocals were strong and quite impres
sive, especially considering her head cold! I also enjoyed Gilda’s take on “Habanera,” from Georges Bizet’s Carmen. What made her version of the aria fresh for me was the way she sang it once through in French, and then, after a quick mention of Carmen Jones, the Americanized film version of the opera, she incorporated some of the English lyrics as well.
Gilda invited her special guest, Jennifer Martina, to join her onstage and the two performed the duet “Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour” (Barcarolle) from the opera Les Contes D’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach. Their voices were beautifully matched and it was a lovely, lyrical, standout number in the show. This piece was followed by Gilda delivering a nearly flawless rendition of “Think of Me” from The Phantom of the Opera—nearly flawless, but only so because the final note went a bit askew, again most likely due to her being under the weather.
Two comedic high points involved medleys, one being the classical pieces used in television commercials. Two of the funiest of these being the jingle for J.G. Wentworth (877-Cash-Now!) and the ubiquitous “O mio babbino caro”(Gianni Schicchi by Puccini) for the Grand Theft Auto III video game. Equally amusing was the medley of 1980s hits she did as a tribute to her father, but sung in a classical style! Who knew that A-Ha’s “Take On Me” and Heart’s “Alone” could be so funny?
Towards the show’s conclusion, Gilda explained that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro had played an important role in her career as a fabulous drag opera diva. While she was still a student, she filled in for the soprano during a rehearsal of the Mozart opera. That moment was what convinced her that she could not only do drag, but be an opera singer as well. Just before telling the story, she downed a shot of tequila—something I’ve been known to do myself—but she then sucked on a large slice of lime… as you do, you know? Unfortunately, this may have caused the finale, “Deh vieni, non tardar,” Susanna’s famous aria from Le nozze di Figaro to suffer, as the notes just weren’t there. My feeling was that the acid from the lime may have affected her vocal cords a bit. But this was a tiny glitch in an otherwise wonderful evening!
Gilda Wabbit’s Big Gay Opera Show is a bit r
ough around the edges, but I mean that in a positive way. That roughness adds a lot of humor to the proceedings. The patter between songs is clearly not scripted; it’s very off the cuff, often wonderfully vulgar and yes, very funny. And while it would’ve been nice to have an actual pianist providing the music, rather than pre-recorded tracks, those tracks never detracted from Gilda’s talent. It’s evident that she takes her singing very seriously. I must say that I’m looking forward to seeing this show evolve with new arias, more funny stories, and maybe somewhere down the line, live music—perhaps from a fabulous drag queen accompanist!
The next time you see Gilda appearing near you, make sure you drag your cottontail out to see her and get a dose of big gay culture! You’re sure to say “Brava, Diva! Brava, Gilda Wabbit!”
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