Margot Guilleaume was a German operatic soprano, a member of the Hamburgische Staatsoper. She was an academic teacher at the Musikhochschule Hamburg from 1950 to 1978, was known beyond Germany as a singer in oratorio and concert. Born in Hamburg to a family that had moved from Brittany in 1789, she first was a commercial apprentice, she passed the exam to enter the Vogt'sches Konservatorium, was trained for two years to be an opera choir singer. From 1931, she was a member of the choir of the Schilleroper in Hamburg, she studied voice with Lilli Schmitt de Georgi. In 1933, she was engaged at the Theater Lübeck as Chormitglied mit Soloverpflichtung, she was a member of the chorus of the Bayreuth Festival in 1934 and was engaged at the Hamburgische Staatsoper for smaller solo parts in 1936. In 1937 she suffered from a severe traffic accident, she recovered, was able to step in as Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Deutsches Theater Göttingen, which gained her an engagement there, followed by the Theater Wilhelmshaven and the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, where she performed major roles such as Konstanze in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss, Micaela in Bizet's Carmen, Mimi in Puccini's La Bohème and Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.

After World War II, Guilleaume sang at the Hamburgische Staatsoper from 1946 to 1949. She was a soloist in radio concerts and recordings of Radio Hamburg, the Norddeutscher Rundfunk which made her known and led to concerts and recordings for the labels Polydor and Deutsche Grammophon, she performed Lieder all over Germany and in neighbouring countries in France. In 1948, she performed the part of Marzelline in Beethoven's Fidelio in a complete live recording but without dialogue, with Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt conducting radio choir and orchestra in Hamburg; the same year, she recorded the title role in Verdi's La Traviata in German, conducted by Hans Müller-Kray She recorded in 1950 the title role of Mozart's Die Gärtnerin aus Liebe in a complete recording conducted by Rolf Reinhardt. The same year, she was Nedda in a recording of Pagliacci, Anna in Marschner's Hans Heiling, both with Wilhelm Schüchter conducting the Hamburg radio forces. In 1951, she recorded, again with Reinhardt, the part Mlle.

Silberklang in Mozart's Der Schauspieldirektor. In 1952, she was Juliette in a recording of Korngold's Die tote Stadt, conducted by Fritz Lehmann, she sang in 1955 in a complete recording of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo the parts of Proserpina. August Wenzinger conducted the orchestra of the festival Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker, singers included Helmut Krebs in the title role, Jeanne Deroubaix as Speranza and Messagera, Fritz Wunderlich as Apollo in his first studio recording. Guilleaume was a lecturer at the Musikhochschule Hamburg from 1950. In 1962, she was appointed professor, she retired from the post in 1978. Official website Literature by and about Margot Guilleaume in the German National Library catalogue Margot Guilleaume Bach-Cantatas Margot Guilleaume Operissimo Margot Guilleaume discography at Discogs Margot Guilleaume AllMusic

Alan Bray was a British historian and gay rights activist. He was a Roman Catholic and had a particular interest in Christianity's relationship to homosexuality. Bray was born in Leeds, to a working-class family, his mother died when he was an event that profoundly affected his relationships. He attended Leeds Central High School, he attended Bangor University and spent a year at an Anglican seminary before beginning a career in civil service. He became involved with the Gay Liberation Front in the 1970s and campaigned for gay rights, his interest in sexual politics influenced his work on history. His second book, The Friend, was published posthumously; the Roman Catholic Caucus of the Gay and Lesbian Christian Movement, of which Bray was a member, instituted a series of Alan Bray Memorial Lectures on Catholic theology and homosexuality. British historians Michael Hunter, Miri Rubin, Laura Gowing co-edited the book Love and Faith in Europe, 1300–1800, a collection of essays inspired by Bray's idea of finding some universal component of homosexuality within the experiences of intimacy and friendship without "locating a discourse that identifies persons as homosexual."

Nick Rumens's Queer Company: The Role and Meaning of Friendship in Gay Men's Work Lives, is inspired by Alan Bray's scholarship. Homosexuality in Renaissance England The Friend The Clandestine Reformer: A Study Of The Rayner Scrutinies Media related to Alan Bray at Wikimedia Commons