A Swedish orchestra has turned homophobic hate mail into an opera

A classical orchestra in Sweden has responded in the best way to homophobic hate mail it received. The Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra received a hate filled letter from an anonymous sender last month after it performed music by LGBTI composers. It said the decision made the author of the letter ‘want to vomit’. The author also accused the orchestra of ‘hopping on the fag train’.

Rather than throw the letter away, composer Fredrik Österling has used it construct lyrics in an original cantata. He’s called it, ‘The Fag Train’ (Bögtåget). A cantata is a medium-length narrative piece of music for voices with instrumental accompaniment, typically with solos, chorus, and orchestra.

The Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra will perform Bögtåget in June.

Singer Rickard Söderberg approached Österling with the idea to turn the homophobic letter into a performance piece. ‘I had no hesitation when Rickard Söderberg suggested that I should set it to music,’ Österling said on Facebook. Read more via Gay Star News