In his dissertation, Daniel X Y Fong investigates how queer opera singers, particularly those in Norway, perform, regulate, and negotiate their genders and sexualities. Through close engagement with posthumanism and its convergence with queer theory, he not only tracks how materials and discourses shape singers’ identities and opera aesthetics, but also exemplifies how these developments articulate with and through the body. In doing so, Daniel examines the nuanced ways in which singers co-constitute themselves and are coconstituted, thereby navigating many different identities. Additionally, the research becomes an aesthetic exploration of how various gender and sexuality expressions can surface via the opera performance.
To facilitate such examinations, Daniel employs autoethnography and conducts ethnographic research with members of a Norwegian queer opera company and a higher music education vocal department. Daniel’s study concludes that gender- and sexuality-related tensions persist in Norway, despite the country’s social progress. The study also elucidates how Norwegian queer opera singers, in response to the difficulties they face, are creating their own opera productions that both assert and challenge prevailing gender and sexuality concepts. Ultimately, Daniel offers critical insights into how opera can become a site for reimagining identities and enacting social change.
Trial lecture
Designated topic: A critical history of the gendered voice in opera.
Daniel X Y Fong successfully defended his dissertation on 2 December 2025.
Evaluation committee
- Dr. Freya Jarman, University of Liverpool
- Dr. Iain Campbell, University of Edinburgh
- Associate Professor Áine Mangaoang, University of Oslo (committee administrator)
Chair of the defence
- Head of Department Anja Nylund Hagen
Supervisors
- Professor Kai Arne Hansen, University of Inland Norway (INN)
- Professor Peter Edwards, University of Oslo (UiO)
- Professor Thomas Richard Hilder, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)