If There's No "Fat Lady," When Is the Opera Over? An Exploration of Changing Physical Image Standards in Present-Day Opera

<p>Though present-day American society generally assumes opera is one of the few remaining entertainment fields where talent matters more than physical appearance, as the 2004 firing of Deborah Voigt demonstrates, present-day opera singers are increasingly being held to stricter image standards. In 2004, Covent Garden dismissed Voigt from their production of <em>Ariadne auf Naxos</em>, in which Voigt was supposed to reprise her critically acclaimed interpretation of the title role. According to Voigt, Covent Garden's casting director Peter Katona felt that she was too large to fit into the black dress the new production required of the character. Voigt's removal from the production and consequent media attention made opera's new image standards public. My ethnographic and archival research concludes that present-day opera singers are expected to fit much more stringent physical standards. Though popular publications like <em>Classical Singer</em>, <em>Time</em>, and <em>Newsweek</em> have published articles exploring the new standards, little published academic work has explored this topic. As both a singer and an ethnomusicologist, I have spent several years observing and interviewing singers at various stages. This thesis explores evidence supporting the focus on image within opera and examines how this emphasis impacts various facets of the opera community.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2012

Author dc:creator

• Stephenson, Emily L.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Sarah Morelli, Ph.D.
• John Sheinbaum
• Antonia Banducci
• Rodney Buxton

• Ethnography
• Image
• Music
• Opera
• Music Performance

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/627

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-1626