CHASING ICARUS

THE PITCH

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THE MUSIC

The castrato Nero dreams of flying above his station…

Violante (they/she) dresses up as a castrato,

experiencing gender euphoria for the first time…

THE STORY

Chasing Icarus is set in 1700 Rome, during a period in History where the Vatican forbade women to sing publicly, encouraging the castration of little boys to preserve their angelic voices and produce super singers. Castrati. Considered to be a third gender, neither women nor men, Nero is one such.

Can he navigate the intrigue-riddled backstage of the Roman opera houses and claim the highest artistic laurels: the leading role in the new opera“Icarus”?

With a powerful ally, and lover, in famous writer Pietro Metastasio, it seems Nero might do just that… When a new challenger appears to interfere with his schemes of grandeur. Except this new castrato is not a castrato at all, but rather Nero’s best friend from childhood: Violante, a trans/non-binary individual born in the new era, who is disguising themselves as a castrato to escape the strictures society places on them.

Will pure childhood love win? Or will the thirst for applause and validation consume them?