In 2004, the Royal Opera House made headlines by dropping the dramatic soprano Deborah Voigt from the cast of Richard Strauss’ opera Ariadne auf Naxos because she couldn’t fit into the little black dress assigned as her costume for the production. That incident is more well known than one in 1996 in which Voigt auditioned for Sir Georg Solti for the lead in Tristan und Isolde, to make a CD recording, and he told her that she could only have the role if she lost weight by a certain date.
In contrast, it was not opera companies or directors but Luciano Pavarotti’s doctors that advised him in early 1993 to postpone concert performances at the Metropolitan Opera and to withdraw from directing and singing at the Opera Company of Philadelphia, so he could undertake a two-month weight-loss program.
This double standard for women and men appears at the highest levels of the opera world. It’s showcased, too, by Voigt’s return to the Royal Opera House onstage in 2008 after gastric bypass surgery for the same role that they’d previously dropped her from.
The issue goes beyond having a double standard for men and women. Even if singers manage to lose weight, which isn’t an easy or simple proposition, this can make it difficult for them to maintain a high-quality vocal sound. It took Voigt time to rebuild her voice after the surgery. Maria Callas, too, is known for both her tremendous voice and her difficulties regaining it after a large drop in her weight.
Today, the amount of weight a singer carries is still an issue in the opera industry. At least four U.S. Young Artist Programs are requesting a singer’s weight on their applications: Central City Opera Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program, El Paso Opera YAP, Virginia Opera Herndon Foundation Emerging Artists Program, and Wichita Grand Opera YAP.
Many call the request for a singer’s weight on the application discriminatory, while companies justify it as a way to work on casting and costuming the singers.
Chelsea Lamego, executive director of El Paso Opera, says that the company used one application for auditions for their entire season, for both their mainstage auditions and their Young Artist Program. Lamego is quick to clarify, “We did not consider weight when choosing the Young Artists.”
According to Lamego, asking for a singer’s weight for their Young Artist Program is incidental and not a determining factor for acceptance in El Paso’s program. So why ask about weight at all?
“Weight can be especially important in those productions in which we rent costume sets from other companies,” Lamego says. “Part of our Young Artist Program is training the singers for professional opera practices, and weight is currently a common question on those applications.”
In addition, Lamego implies that requesting a singer’s weight, even incidentally for the Young Artist Program, helps to prepare singers for the real world of “professional opera practices.” Unfortunately, Voigt’s experiences indicate that, at least several years ago, encountering a question asking for your weight on an application would’ve been the tip of the iceberg of helping you prepare for the larger opera world.
Edward Lada, development coordinator and chorusmaster at the Wichita Grand Opera, says that the request for a YAP applicant’s weight is to “give them an idea when talking about casting or costuming. The costumes fit a certain range. I don’t think we’ve turned anyone down because of it.”
Lada, too, refers to costumes as the reason for the weight question. He says that the requirement has been on applications since late 2006 and was added about three years after the YAP started in 2003. He says that YAP decisions are made by the artistic director, who was unavailable for an interview at this time due to personal circumstances.
So why, if it doesn’t carry weight (pun intended) or purpose for casting, ask for a singer’s weight on an application? “I think [the question] is to get a general idea of what people’s sizes are,” he says.
The artistic staff at the Virginia Opera Herndon Foundation Emerging Artists Program declined to comment for this article, and Central City Opera YAP didn’t respond to inquiries for comment.
Until recently, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Gerdine Young Artist Program also had the weight-listing requirement. Their artistic department has been updating the Gerdine YAP applications, however, and no height or weight listing will appear on future applications, says Sarah Thompson, OTSL public relations manager.
“OTSL had asked young artists for height/weight measurements in our application for many, many years, but it was never intended as an audition screening policy,” Thompson explains. “The question was included at a time when Gerdine Young Artists were hired much closer to the start of our season, and designers and costume shop staff needed preliminary measurements immediately to begin their build processes. The question was included on the application form to get a jump-start on costume production.”
The auditions for Gerdine Young Artists now occur in September and October, Thompson says, so the schedule is different and the question of weight and height is no longer needed on applications.
The artistic department’s reconsideration of size requirements on their Gerdine YAP application took place following a discussion on Facebook in September on this topic for Young Artist Programs in the closed group, the NEW New Forum for Classical Singers. “Singers misinterpreted why we were asking [about weight], and we were unaware the question was being misconstrued,” Thompson says. “Thankfully, dialogue put us all on the same page.”
Stephen Lord, music director for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, responded to the Facebook discussion prior to the change on the OTSL application: “As the record of our company shows, and for those who know us or read about us, there is no discrimination on size,” Lord wrote. “Those who have been with us know, and those who have not been with us are welcome to throw your hats in the ring regardless of size or any other characteristic.”
The decision by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis to alter its requirements is notable not only because the music director of that company responded to singers’ comments online, but also because social media prompted a discussion inside the organization. This internal discussion then resulted in changes made because of the concerns of those in the classical music community.
This would be quite a precedent to follow. It’s unclear if other YAPs will follow this change with their own. It does seem, however, that those companies asking for a singer’s weight are in the minority.
“A summer program can be a safe place to address concerns about a future in opera and the barriers one may encounter, such as prejudice of any kind in hiring practices,” says Robin Fisher, program director for the Lingua e Canto summer program. “If the singer brings enthusiasm and commitment to our program, we will provide the highest quality of mentorship, coaching, and career advice to all participants. By applying such an unfair qualification to our application, we might miss out on the opportunity to work with outstanding talent and insightful artistry.”
“Our program focuses on song rather than opera, so there is really no need for us to consider a singer’s physical characteristics,” says Anthony Roberts, director of the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute. “When we’re auditioning for our next class of singers, we’re not casting particular roles or trying to meet a director’s vision. We’re just looking for a variety of excellent voices and singers who will get the most out of spending three weeks immersed in song.”
Roberts’ response indicates that he sees a difference between the requirements of opera and art song, with opera focusing on the physical characteristics of a singer, as part of casting and creating a director’s vision on the stage. Art song is only about the voice, according to Roberts, and the Ravinia program looks for high-quality voices and singers who will benefit the most from the program.
Many argue that opera should also be all about the voice, just like art song, even though it certainly has more visual requirements. “Opera is indeed a visual art form as well as aural,” says Scott Uddenberg, Elmhurst Choral Union director, member of the Chicago Symphony and Grant Park choruses, adjunct and music director for theatre at Elmhurst College, and music director with Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. “However, in an era where we are looking to be blind to our differences, adding a weight listing is simply another way to construct bias. The ability to sing and act should be the criteria on which we judge a performer’s talent in an application process.”
Brenda Lualdi, voice chair at Elmhurst College agrees. “I would say that it sounds discriminatory. These programs should be based on vocal, musical, and acting abilities and not body makeup.”
Perhaps other programs will follow Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ lead and reconsider their weight question on their applications. And if not, perhaps those few Young Artist Programs are helping to prepare singers for the “real world.” After all, it won’t be the first time—or the last—that vocalists are asked to deal with the sometimes unspoken requirement that their appearance help to persuade judges that not only can they sing the part, but they can also look it.
