Genuine Spirit of Charley in Austin
It boggles my mind how easy it is to forget the hugeness of the U.S.A. when I travel. It took three hours to fly to Austin, Texas last week. The differences in terrain, climate and culture were pretty huge, too, going from Southeastern Michigan to Texas. I left humid, cool temperatures of spring, in Michigan, to dry, warm summer temperatures. Met Holden at Juan in a Million Restaurant I went to Austin to see my son, Holden, perform in an opera at the University of Texas, Austin. Good Country is a new chamber opera presented for the first time at The Cohen New Works Festival. My son sang and acted the lead part of “Charley”, the stage coach driver, based on true historical facts of Charley Parkhurst, a trans-person, who lived in the 1800s. Empty Stage Before Opera Begins I knew Holden had collaborated with writers of this opera beforehand to give the composers input on real-life experience of being trans. They also learned about his difficulties