This page is a non-commercial research entry within the Operatic LGBTQIA+ Catalogue. It does not claim authorship, ownership, or rights over the works discussed.

All rights remain with the respective authors, composers, librettists, publishers, companies, performers, and rights holders.

For performance, purchase, licensing, recordings, or rights-related requests, please contact the official rights holders.

Entries can be corrected, updated, expanded, or removed upon request.

< Back

Pleasure

English

Synopsis

The one-act opera is set in a gay nightclub "somewhere in England" and centers on Val, a long-suffering lavatory attendant who serves as a confidante and mother figure to the club's patrons. Val is trapped in the club's hedonistic underworld by her memories, while the drag queen Anna Fewmore presides over the cabaret performances. The drama unfolds when Nathan, a tormented young man with a blade in his pocket, arrives seeking answers about his absent mother. He begins a relationship with Matthew, a hopeful hedonist. The story explores themes of pleasure as an escape from reality, rejection, and reconciliation, building to a tragic conclusion.

Composer

Mark Simpson

Lyricist / Librettist / Playwright

Melanie Challenger

Year of composition/publication / premiere

2016

Genre

Opera

LGBTQAI+ category

Gay, Queer

Level of centrality

Main character

Characters

Anna Fewmore (drag queen, presides over the club), Nathan (young gay patron, tormented), Matthew (young gay patron, hungry for love)

Voice type

Baritone, Bass, Tenor

Pronouns

Publisher / Rights holder

Boosey & Hawkes

Where to buy / access the work

Performance rights

For performance rights, please contact the composer and/or publisher to ensure legal compliance.