Opera's Lesbian Divas

As a mezzo-soprano (a lower voice than soprano), Clayton sings a different range of roles, but a wide variety of them — from the fiery lead of Carmen to the upcoming world premiere of an opera based on The Fly. She often sings "pants roles," a young male character portrayed by a woman. "I love playing boys," she said. "It's just interesting to personify something completely different than yourself."

Clayton in the Opéra de Marseille production of Giulio Cesare

Racette once did a pants role as well, but her curvaceous figure didn't fit the part — literally. "We don't ever want that to happen again," said Clayton. "It was Eddie Munster with implants."

It is clear to even the casual observer that these women are very much in love. They gaze at one another, they touch, and they finish each other's sentences. Before Racette finishes a sneeze, Clayton already has a tissue ready for her. But although they do sing together on occasion, this is rare.

The subject of coordinating their schedules naturally led to the question of how they maintain their relationship despite globe-trotting careers. "We call it 'wifing,'" Clayton pointed out. Wifing is the role that one of them plays when the other is onstage. "Our real home is in New Mexico, but the truth of it is that going home is going where Pat is. So I'm happy wherever she's singing."

Racette concurred: "I have this summer off, and I would love nothing more than for us to be in Santa Fe for a big chunk of time. But Beth is working, so I'm going to go where Beth is. And I think that's a hardship because sometimes you just want to be home. But there's no way I'm going to do that and be away from Beth."

"We have to force ourselves to sit down and look at the next six months," Clayton continued, "and where's the dog going to be — what's the best situation for 'the child'? — so we base it on that and go from there."

Racette with the couple's dog, Sappho

Clayton and Racette came out professionally when Racette was the subject of a cover article in Opera News in 2002. The article didn't focus on her homosexuality, but it was simply included in a very matter-of-fact fashion. "It wasn't about that," Racette said. "Here's an article about me, and this is my life, and there's my partner."

"It was just the normal questions you would ask anyone," continued Clayton. "Do you leave your family in or out? Do you leave your personal life in or out? And in the last 10, 15, 20 years in our business, it becomes quite obvious who's not answering those questions … obviously we're not the only lesbians in opera, but we're the only lesbians who are both singing in a visible way.

"And people would say, 'Did you get backlash on that?' And honestly, no. Of course, we'd be the last people to hear that. But the positive side is that, any of us who is gay or lesbian says, 'If I help that one person …'

"Well, we've gotten so many of those one-person responses of appreciation. I wish I could volunteer at the Center or do something on a regular basis, but because of our travel schedules I feel like the best thing we can offer is our honesty, our example and our being vocal about it when and if we can."