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The association ‘kreaktiv-musiktheater stands up’ has a sub-group called ‘kreaktiv jeunesse’. At one of the first meetings, when asked about the most pressing issues, BODY SHAMING, especially FAT SHAMING IN OPERA, was one of the topics that most concerned, preoccupied and also burdened young singers:
- Why are there almost only ‘standard sizes’ in the normal repertoire on stage?
- Why are opera directors/managers reluctant to hire a full-figured singer?
- Why is it so difficult to understand that a “creamy” voice can usually only feel comfortable in a ‘creamy’ body?
Or – to put it bluntly:
- Is opera no longer about the voice?
- Do directors only want to work with slim people?
All statistics show that society is becoming increasingly overweight in percentage terms, i.e. there are more and more overweight people in our society, even among the under 40s.
What do we see on the musical theatre stage in works by Mozart, Donizetti and Rossini (composers whose works are often cast with young singers)? Nothing but women wearing dress sizes 38/40 at most and men wearing sizes up to 48/50.
Something is seriously wrong here!
Contemporary musical theatre attaches great importance to reflecting the state of today’s society and also seeking connections between historical material and the present day, so that historical material also touches us from today’s perspective. Many directors achieve this in an admirable way. But what we hardly ever see in the international opera circus is a cast that represents the bodies of our society. Is this part of the „ivory tower“ that opera is accused of today?
Why does Despina have to be thin?
Why does Susanna have to be a size 38?
Why can’t a countess have a few extra pounds ?
Who decides that Ferrando has to look like a model?
Is Carmen only acceptable if she has at least a C cup size?
Why can’t Cherubino be very tall – there are many 16-year-olds today who are over 180 cm tall…
And Dorabella and Fiordiligi aren’t allowed to have love handles?
Why can’t a curvy person be sexy?
Why are fuller-figured singers only cast in comic roles?
What outdated clichés are at work here?
It’s probably easier to design a costume for a clothes hanger than to cover a large bust or a belly – but that’s precisely one of the challenges. Good costume designers can do it!
Netflix is ahead of the game here: in ‘Modern Family’, for example, one of the most likeable characters is an overweight boy, and the series as a whole strives to reflect society in all its diversity.
Not so in opera…
Almost all of the young singers I work with at opera studios exercise regularly because they all realise that modern directing can be physically demanding. Well done! But those who are a little curvier are under enormous stress to meet physical standards, being more focused on their appearance than on the voice. This affects their mental health and prevents them from giving their best vocally.
THE OPERA STAGE IS NOT A CATWALK!
Singing is a whole-body process, comparable to competitive sport – rapid weight loss can be very damaging to the voice.
In terms of meals, the singing profession is not exactly easy: eating well before a performance puts strain on the stomach, makes you tired and reduces concentration. After the performance, it’s actually too late. But at some point you have to eat, and after a performance there’s nothing better than a portion of chips or spaghetti (at least that’s how I felt). Singing is stressful and eating is comforting – it’s as simple as that! It’s a constant battle and it’s really not easy to win. Especially later on in the career, when the repertoire becomes more difficult, there is something like a ‘minimum weight’ that you need to be able to handle the many high, long, loud notes. Only my vanity prevented me from gaining excessive weight, as did the stress of the final rehearsals – during this time, I always lost 2-3 kg. But there are also people who eat more rather than less when they are stressed!
My experience as a person working part time in an agency:
It often happens that directors specify a certain body type BEFORE the audition and theatres comply. The feedback to the agency is then along the lines of: ‘Phew, he/she sings beautifully and also has expression and presence, but with that weight, the director will be up in my face’ or ‘It’s important to the costume designer that the jacket hangs nicely, and that’s difficult’. Or: ‘She’s too tall – he’s too short!’ Then you try to persuade them, don’t tell the singers anything so as not to traumatise them, and sometimes you manage to change their minds, but often you don’t.
And it’s not just the „old white Cis-men“ who insist on having slim singers, especially when casting younger female roles. Young decision-makers are not one bit more flexible in their body image – quite the contrary. There is a lot of unreflective thinking at play here, but above all the cliché in the minds of decision-makers that slim equals beautiful equals desirable. Social Media isn’t really helping here either!
Personally, I’ve found it boring for many years to only see slim people in Mozart operas. The human race comes in many different shapes and colours, and it would be desirable to see this reflected on today’s opera stages!
Those who have been around for a while will remember the shitstorm that started in 2014 when a few (stupid) journalists wrote that the wonderful Tara Erraught was too fat to play Octavian. She is not a stick figure, but she is by no means fat, just a little bit heavier -just as young men sometimes are, and she sings divinely!
https://www.zeit.de/2014/23/sexismus-opernsaengerin-tara-erraught-gewicht
A week ago, there was a similar shitstorm in response to a ‘review’ in the privately run magazine ‘Der Opernfreund’. The editor-in-chief has since attempted to apologise to the singer, apologising for any harm caused by the content, not for the content itself.
About my premiere as Cherubino at the Vienna Volksoper in 1989, the critic of a major Viennese newspaper wrote that I did not have the voice and certainly not the stature for Cherubino. At the time, my BMI was 22 and I was completely taken aback. Today, the press is generally more careful about what it writes, but that doesn’t mean that body shaming of opera singers, especially female opera singers, has stopped. It’s a shame! And unnecessary! I am convinced that it would give many audience members a deep sense of satisfaction if there were characters ‘up there’ with whom people with a BMI over 25 could physically identify.
In contrast, people who don’t go to the opera still have the idea that opera singers are all fat – what a crazy world!
My wish to theatre managers/directors (and costume designers), and also to critics:
Have the courage to portray and see society as diverse as it is and cast full-figured people in the roles of lovers, not automatically in ‘comical’ roles because of their body size – or not at all!
Open your minds and reflect today’s society! There are fat people, thin people, tall people, short people; give everyone who sings and acts well in their field a chance and don’t make your selection based on Heidi Klum criteria. We’re at the opera, not on ‘Germany’s Next Top Model’!
My advice to young singers:
Face today’s reality (changes in the system take time, as we all know!), do sports and be smarter than the system, which means: dress smartly for auditions, including good (!) underwear. There are definitely some that keep us in shape without cutting off our air supply.
‘Stretch’ yourself:
V-necklines
Vertical stripes (if stripes are a must!), preferably dark and plain
Pumps WITHOUT ankle straps
Hair pinned up
Incidentally, once you’ve reached the so-called ‘heavy repertoire’, i.e. you can manage the great Wagner, Strauss and Verdi roles, then – oh wonder – your body size is suddenly hardly an issue anymore: there are fewer singers who can master these roles, and so the tolerance of directors and costume designers, and thus also that of theatre managers, widens.
We must not stop fighting for tolerance and diversity on the opera stage.
With this in mind!
See you soon,
Hedwig
PS: I received several comments saying that it is sometimes difficult even for very slim singers because the decision-makers do not believe they are feminine enough during auditions. That’s not good either, but choosing more feminine clothing and wearing push-up bras for auditions is a quicker solution than literally making yourself thin. As I said, until there is a change in thinking, we have to take a two-pronged approach: continue to campaign for BODY POSITIVITY and, at the same time, outsmart the system a little.
