In March, the Royal Opera in London announced that it was firing soprano Deborah Voigt from a production of Ariadne auf Naxos due to her size. Spokesman Christopher Millard was quoted in an AP article as saying that casting director Peter Katona “had selected a black evening dress for the role …”
One wonders: How good are that black dress’s high notes?
Can it hope to compete with the artistry of the woman whom many acclaim as the premiere interpreter of Ariadne of our time?
It had better be one spectacular black dress.
The question for this month’s column comes not from one person, but rather a collective. I’ve heard it many times, in many forms, from many different singers. As a woman whose size also leaves me squarely out of the Royal Opera’s black dress territory, I’ve pondered it myself. It’s a question that I, and probably every other singer whose appearance doesn’t fit someone else’s image of “appropriate for the role,” think about daily, if not hourly.
How important is image in opera?
Clearly, as shown by this firing of one of the best available artists for a role because she doesn’t fit the director’s concept of beauty and elegance (and from personal experience), the answer is very, very important—sadly important, in an art form that used to be about the voice and the music.
What I find even sadder, and harder to accept, is this bizarre idea that people of size cannot be beautiful, cannot be glamorous, cannot be elegant, cannot be the objects of desire. What producers are really saying when they say that a large person would not be believable in a role that requires the character to be sexy or in love is that large people are not capable of being sexy and lovable. Not, perhaps, worthy. One has only to look at full-bodied beauties such as Kathy Najimy, Queen Latifah, the adorable Sarah Rue of the ABC sitcom Less Than Perfect, the regal and ineffably elegant Jessye Norman, Marilyn Horne, and yes, Deborah Voigt—who is acclaimed for her acting ability and beautiful carriage as well as her singing—to know that is not true. It is, in fact, as ridiculous as it is offensive.
Unfortunately, such thinking is not offensive to the people doing the casting, and it is these people we must please. I am a firm believer in dealing with reality as it is, and not as I believe it should be. I may rail against society’s prejudices against myself and my fellow fatties, but I don’t expect to change anyone’s opinion—not really. I’ve heard boards of directors getting excited over “the best looking cast we’ve ever had!” instead of “the best singers and actors we’ve ever had!” I’ve been taken aside at parties and praised to the high heavens for my performance, and then told, “Now, if you’d just lose some weight …” For every such story I can tell you, there’s another sizable talent out there who has two. That’s the reality, folks.
And that’s why, among other considerations, I have upped my exercise regime and changed my eating habits. I’m doing it mainly to safeguard my health, but also to help my career. And for those of you who aren’t physically “appropriate” for the roles you sing best, I encourage you to do the same. Love yourself, dress well, know that you are beautiful and sexy and worthy of love at any size—but also make yourself the best you can be for the sake of your career. It’s just good business.
How important is image in opera?
Sadly, my dears, it may soon be the most important thing—if it isn’t already.
