ST. LOUIS — It's less than a week before the September 7 performance of "Three Decembers" by the St. Louis Opera Collective at the Kranzberg Arts Center. Alex Dragojevich is one of the performers.
"I contacted the director of the opera collective. He offered me to play the role of Charlie who is a gay man. The story is actually about a family relationships," said Dragojevich. "It's a relevant story because, me as a gay person, I can correlate myself with the character I’m playing. And that's really, really very enjoyable."
Dragojevich said a role like this in his native Bosnia would not have been possible. Opera is not a popular art form in his native country, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in Bosnia often face stigma, discrimination, and legal challenges.
"I wasn't be able to come out, even with my family. I really needed to wait a long time to do that," said Dragojevich. "And that was really, really hard."
Alex married his husband Jason Suljetovic after they moved from Bosnia to Columbia, Missouri several years ago. Suljetovic was an LGBT activist in Bosnia, risking his personal safety by speaking out on gay rights.
"If you went to the police for being attacked you would get beaten by the police," said Suljetovic. "We met online on like a dating site back home because there are no safe spaces for LGBT community, also for women as well in Bosnia, it's very homophobic."
Suljetovic said he knew as a child that he eventually would come to the United States.
"This is where I'm supposed to be. I was just born in the wrong place," said Suljetovic.
While Dragojevich is still looking for fulltime employment in St. Louis, he's able to advance his opera career. Five thousand miles in search of the American Dream.
"There are so many more opportunities than back in my country," said Dragojevich. "So I'm pursuing my dream slowly and singing with some really nice companies here."
