Transgender opera singer debuts new baritone voice

Lucas Bouk belts out challenging opera songs as a skilled baritone, even though he has only been a baritone for about nine months. 

"I wasn’t sure if I would be able to sing opera after I transitioned or if my voice would be better suited for a different style, perhaps musical theater or cabaret. I knew I’d be able to sing, but I wasn’t sure, no one can predict what the size and color of the instrument would be after the hormone therapy," said Bouk.

Bouk was formerly a mezzo-soprano known as Liz, with a successful opera career.

In 2018 this natural-born singer realized the desire to live life as a man, but the possibility of jeopardizing a hard-earned vocal career was always a fear. Bouk planned to wait until retirement one day to fully transition, but the pandemic gave him an unexpected push forward.

"I figured that with the economy as it was and with coronavirus still around that work was going to be slow for 2020 and 2021, I didn’t have any contracts, and so I thought I could take this year and take this risk and retrain," said Bouk.

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In just a short amount of time, Lucas worked hard to train his now-deep voice. This past August, just a few months into his vocal transition, Lucas made his professional debut as a baritone at a performance in Manhattan with a local company called On Site Opera.

"It was really emotional. I was actually backstage crying on and off in between the performances, just overcome with emotion because I was so happy, and I felt so much relief to just be in such a safe place and to be able to sing as myself," said Bouk.

Eric Einhorn is On Site Opera’s general and artistic director who calls it an honor to provide a platform for Lucas’ baritone debut. 

"I could just tell by listening to his work as a mezzo, this is not a voice that is going to go away, this is not something that’s hanging on by a thread, this is a solid talent, and so I could extrapolate from there that as a baritone it would only be just a different color of an already great voice," said Einhorn.

"I’m much happier, I’m much more even-keeled, I’m not angry anymore all the time, and I found like a new joy in singing. It feels easier to me because it’s the sound, and it reflects who I want to be," said Bouk.

A more authentic life that he’s waited so long for.