+++
author = ["authors/greg.md"]
categories = "News"
date = "2015-06-17T16:27:00-04:00"
lastmod = "2015-06-19T12:53:00-04:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1434573126606/Breanna.jpg.jpg"
publishDate = "2015-06-17T16:42:00-04:00"
related_articles = ["articles/remember-me-but-ah-forget-my-fate.md"]
short_description = "There&#039;s a lot going on these days with 25 year-old soprano Breanna Sinclairé. On June 17th, she will sing the US national anthem at the opening of the Oakland Athletics game against the San Diego Padres. A look at her YouTube page shows an aspiring young soprano with her head in the right places. Lots of Leontyne Price and Beyoncé. "
slug = "trans-opera-singer-to-sing-national-anthem-at-oakland-as-game"
title = "Trans opera singer to sing national anthem at Oakland A&#039;s game"
+++

There's a lot going on these days with 25 year-old soprano [Breanna Sinclairé](https://twitter.com/bronzequeen2911). On June 17th, she will sing the US national anthem at the opening of the Oakland Athletics game against the San Diego Padres. A look at her YouTube page shows an aspiring young soprano with her head in the right places. Lots of Leontyne Price and Beyoncé. 

A stunning, young black woman singing the national anthem? So she has great taste in singers? So what? Why are you telling me this, Greg?

Well, Ms. Sinclairé has the singular honour of being the first transgender woman to sing the national anthem at any major league sporting event. 

This brave young lady also has a thirst for the work. She used her talents in a fundraising concert called "Opera's Greatest Tits" (HOT DAMN! I love a good pun!) and successfully raised the over $8K needed for an obviously important surgery, and completed her reassignment surgeries a few months ago - not that it's really any of our business, but this beautiful Valkyrie mentions it openly. '“I feel very complete,” she says. “Psychologically and emotionally, I’m singing in front of people as my complete self.”'

I'd love to chat with her about her *fach*, though... I think it would be incredibly interesting. She mentions in her [interview](http://www.out.com/music/2015/6/17/opera-singer-breanna-sinclaire-1st-trans-woman-sing-national-anthem-professional) with out.com the havoc the hormone therapy wreaked on her studies. I think this would be an really interesting examination in finding your voice. Vocal Peds? Interrologues? (Yeah, I think I made that up, but I like it.)

At times when I worry about what's going on politically south of the border ([Donald Trump](http://globalnews.ca/video/2057394/donald-trump-announces-hes-running-for-president-of-the-united-states) running for president, the fact that [Mexico](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/15/world/americas/with-little-fanfare-mexican-supreme-court-effectively-legalizes-same-sex-marriage.html) beat the US at universally legalizing same-sex marriage) as well as here in Canada (Bill C-24 that turned a bunch of my friends into [second-class citizens](http://www.thestar.com/news/immigration/2014/06/27/immigration_experts_say_bill_c24_discriminatory_and_weakens_citizenship.html)) it's deeply thrilling to see that socially, we are growing up and growing to love a lot of different kinds of people. 

With faces like Laverne Cox, Caitlyn Jenner, and now Ms. Sinclairé raising their voices to bring love and education into the world, I really can sleep at night knowing, maybe, we might be able to turn this whole mess of a planet around. 

Follow Breanna on Twitter [@bronzequeen2911](https://twitter.com/bronzequeen2911).

Digestif: George Hearn sings "I Am What I Am" from *La Cage aux Folles* for the 1993 concert *Jerry Herman's Broadway at The Hollywood Bowl*.

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