Like all areas of the performing arts, the opera industry comes with an incredible amount of allure and a troubling amount of baggage. This is especially true as it relates to gender norms and defining womanhood in the industry.

Sopranos are gorgeous damsel’s in distress and mezzos are sultry, yet ballsy women with a cause right???………Depending on who you ask, many things come to mind when describing what it means to be female in opera.

Larger than life, highly expressive, beautiful and vocally captivating all describe the woman who’ve become pillars of success in this industry.

Still, there’s a dark, messy side of womanhood in opera that hasn’t been fully addressed.

(more…)