Does it matter what opera singers look like?

[Tom Audustus]

The visual impact of a production is all part of the operatic experience. Suspension of disbelief will only go so far.

The critics are quite right to point out the fact that the size of a singer may be at odds with the role.

I think this has much more to do with political point scoring and professional feminists looking for an issue than opera.

[Mary Chambers]

It would be really nice if some knowledgeable contributor answered my query re Pavarotti - if only to tell me not to be stupid! .

I can't claim to have seen Pavarotti live, but I'm fairly sure I wouldn't have enjoyed seeing him in a romantic role - but then I'm not a fan.

[Rue Dubac]

Tom Augustus, the problem is that the critics did not merely "point out that the size of a singer may be at odds with the role", they were unnecessarily rude and personal in their remarks. But that's OK, because any objector is either politically motivated(?), or just a "professional feminist looking for an issue". Don't have to look far, do they?

[Richard Tarleton]

Was it ever suggested that Pavarotti's ample girth made him unconvincing in certain roles? I never heard/saw him on stage, but his appearance was hardly that of a romantic hero. Did it matter?

I saw him in his younger prime (1973) as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, opposite Joan Sutherland. Then he was merely well-built and could definitely pass as a romantic hero, far from the man-mountain of later years. With those voices little else mattered.

[Petrushka]

I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned the role of Siegfried in this discussion. Here's Ernest Newman in Wagner Nights:

'Think of the young Siegfried as Wagner himself imagined him, the incarnation of youthful health and beauty and active joy in life, and then recognise him if you can in some amphora Heldentenor or other who looks like an overgrown Boy Scout, and gives the spectator the impression of a man whose mental development was arrested at the age of twelve and has been in custody ever since'.

I was lucky to have been present at the Barenboim Gotterdammerung at last year's Proms and Andreas Schager was the most convincing Siegfried imaginable and would surely have delighted both Newman and Wagner.

[Demetrius]

I enjoy reading reviews because they are not clear and simple statements. I learn a lot from reviewers’ opinions and comments, and have a great respect for them. They could have restrained a little in this case but it is after all, ‘only’ newspaper reviews, not an official statement that would have made or broken this singer’s career. The comments may be personal but they are not personal attacks. I don’t really think these reviewers deserved to be called ignorant sexist bullies.

And I didn't call them that ;) - And those who did just said it here, not in an official statement, so no harm done ...
(As a matter of fact I'm sure they would be as rude to a male singer given the chance, it is just so easy being acerbic in general)

newspaper reviews (and to a lesser extend our posts, as we as a group are not professional commentors building on a trust capital under the label of "expert") are official statements, the effect of which remain to be seen. I too enjoy reviews, if they sport reasoned and thus respectable opinions.

PS: I'm male and up to now haven't considered myself a professional or even radical feminist

[Richard Tarleton]

an overgrown Boy Scout, and gives the spectator the impression of a man whose mental development was arrested at the age of twelve and has been in custody ever since'.[/I]

This would be a good description of Siegfried in the 1990's ROH Ring, where as far as I can remember Siegfried Jerusalem was wearing shorts, until he killed Fafner and stole his trousers. Which brings us neatly back to Richard Jones, stupid costumes and "thought-provoking" productions....

[Rolmill]

It would be really nice if some knowledgeable contributor answered my query re Pavarotti - if only to tell me not to be stupid! If such criticism was not thought appropriate for him, then to be so personal and judgmental about the appearance of a female singer can only be sexist - i.e. there is (again!) a double standard.

I only saw Pavarotti once (Aida at ROH in the mid-1980s) - my recollection is of a bulky figure, a stand-and-deliver style and almost no believable dramatic involvement, all redeemed by a fabulous voice. I think his size and ungainliness were commented on, even in "official" reviews.

For a more recent male example, Johan Botha has attracted personal comments not dissimilar to those under discussion here - see here for example. Note the review headline, descriptions such as "corpulent" and "acting range of a barrage balloon", and the director being congratulated for "rarely allowing this vast figure to waddle more than two or three steps at a time".

I think the "sexism" accusations are misguided, this is primarily an issue of failing to express legitimate criticism with courtesy, respect and clarity - and in some cases of directing them at the wrong target.

[doversoul1]

If they would not comment in similar terms on a male singer, they are sexist bullies. End of.

Can you prove this, or is it just that you are simply assuming that they wouldn’t? If you are assuming, is it because you personally haven’t noticed reviews that make similar comments about a male singer?

Demetrius
No you didn’t but I bet you thought of it Anyway, glad to know that you enjoy reading reviews, too. I enjoy it because they are not always reasonable and respectable which would be terribly boring.

[Pianorak]

I saw Pavarotti only once on stage at the ROH in Un ballo in maschera (in the 90s?). Mainly stand-and-deliver and disappearing in the wings inbetween arias for a sit-down. Memorable event only because it was Pavarotti.

[amateur51]

I saw Pavarotti only once on stage at the ROH in Un ballo in maschera (in the 90s?). Mainly stand-and-deliver and disappearing in the wings inbetween arias for a sit-down. Memorable event only because it was Pavarotti.

Was it a Saturday matinée Pianorak? Pavarotti seemed to have dissociated himself completely from the performance but his voice was fine

[Pianorak]

Sorry, I really cannot remember, but somehow doubt it was a Saturday matinee. TBH I didn't know they did matinees.

[Richard Tarleton]

A good, informative, "rising above the fray" review from Hugh Canning in the ST. In a nuanced discussion he blames the costume and the wig, certainly, but also Richard Jones for "infantilising" Octavian ('barely a hint of the randy 17-year-old...') and for conceiving "her" [Erraught] 'as a feminine-acting and -looking "principal boy" from a Christmas panto...there's more depth to Octavian than Prince Charming'. Mentions Erraught's previous roles in Munich. Worth a read.

[amateur51]

A good, informative, "rising above the fray" review from Hugh Canning in the ST. In a nuanced discussion he blames the costume and the wig, certainly, but also Richard Jones for "infantilising" Octavian ('barely a hint of the randy 17-year-old...') and for conceiving "her" [Erraught] 'as a feminine-acting and -looking "principal boy" from a Christmas panto...there's more depth to Octavian than Prince Charming'. Mentions Erraught's previous roles in Munich. Worth a read.

Interesting points RT. I wonder if there's more to this though. Octavian is presumably meant to be passably feminine enough in disguise to convince the rampantly heterosexual Ochs that Mariandl is female? By starting with a singer who makes this transition more convincing, was the production perhaps just giving us another side to the opera's high-jinks? The whole opera is built on 'travesty' and disguise and illusion after all.

[Richard Tarleton]

Interesting points RT. I wonder if there's more to this though. Octavian is presumably meant to be passably feminine enough in disguise to convince the rampantly heterosexual Ochs that Mariandl is female? By starting with a singer who makes this transition more convincing, was the production perhaps just giving us another side to the opera's high-jinks? The whole opera is built on 'travesty' and disguise and illusion after all.

Ams, Canning describes the Act 1 Mariandl scene as the only bit in which Erraught looks comfortable, and suggests there is barely a hint of the "randy 17-year old who is bedding a married woman old enough to be her [sic] mother...". None of us has so far seen this production - I just pass this on!

My three live Octavians (in what is one of my favourite operas) have all passed the disbelief-suspending test in this gender-bending role with flying colours - Susan Graham, Katerina Karnéus and Diana Montague.

PS - just spotted - on p 26 of the main section of the Sunday Times, a longish article by Dame Anne Evans (who is going to see this production next month) coming down on the side of the critics. Key sentence: "During a long career in opera I have always found how you look to be a key part of the experience. Indeed, it is important to choose people of the right body type to play the roles. If you don't think opera is about theatre, then you're in the wrong business". Further down she says that "the myth of the fat soprano is exactly that - a myth..." Agreeing with Beef Oven, she says "Who wants to see a Mimi...dying of consumption at 20 stone?".