‘Wournos’ is the world’s first opera about a lesbian prostitute serial killer survivor of child abuse who is now on death row. It recently debuted at the National Queer Arts Festival in – where else – San Francisco.

Serial killers may not be the most obvious material for an opera, but her sensational life, and the undeniable drama of Florida’s death row, made Aileen Wournos appealing subject matter for Carla Lucero, who wrote ‘Wournos’.

The opera follows the life story of Aileen Wournos, who grew up in an abusive and fractured home, became a sex worker and killed some of her johns. Wournos was, at the time, in love with a woman named Syrena and some sources believe that her lover was implicated in the murders. The opera ends with Syrena persuading Wournos to confess, and the media circus surrounding her trial and conviction.

Lucero said: “Aileen`s story of abuse touched me deeply.” She added: “I’m fortunate to be able to utilise my art to shed light on issues that deserve attention, however unsettling.”

In 1993, the documentary maker Nick Broomfield made ‘Aileen Wournos - The Selling Of A Serial Killer’, a film that deals with Wournos’ adoption by some shady born-again Christians who may or may not be interested in selling the rights to her story to the American television networks. ‘Wournos’ is said by those involved to “explore the lure of the media and to what extent the people seduced by its power will go to manipulate a story and exploit the subjects at the centre,” but isn’t that exactly what this opera is doing?

The opera is described by its producers as “a tragic love story of operatic proportions”. Reading like the cover of a bodice-busting romance, the press release describes ‘Wournos’ as “a portrait of love, betrayal, and a woman who makes the ultimate sacrifice for the love of her life – another woman”.

The opera is said to examine the painful journey of a woman exploited at virtually every step of her life. Lucero remarks: “The harmonic architecture of ‘Wournos’ occupies the chromatic margins of tonality.” Um, okay. It makes you wonder what Aileen Wournos herself would make of such a thing.