Words on the Rosenkavalier Debacle from a Self-Proclaimed Fat Singer

Me, circa 2011, as a dead opera singer in the musical Ghosts. Please excuse the duck face.

I am a fat singer. I am 5'10" and I my weight has fluctuated between 210 and 270 pounds. Here's why the Tara Erraught Rosenkavalier critic situation matters to me on a personal level.


To be clear: I don't write this to fish for compliments and assurances of my non-fatness. My fat isn't debatable - I've had it for as long as I can remember, through periods of extreme fitness and periods of stagnation. I also think that articles debating Tara Erraught's fatness miss the point entirely; loudly proclaiming "ZATFIG!!" doesn't change the issue. Zatfig or not, we stocky ladies all face the same problems.

"You had a great audition, but who wants to see a lead who's bigger than the male love interest?" 

These are words I have heard countless times over the years, not unlike other women my size, I am sure. Yes, I will agree that theatre and opera are visual arts - a production with excellent performers and terrible or distracting sets, costumes, and staging can feel lackluster and unbalanced. Of course audiences attend performances to not only hear, but to see a whole production. Absolutely - but my question is, where does weight come into things?

I've had several well-meaning voice teachers gently guide me towards giving private lessons rather than auditioning for roles, for no other reason than "Casting directors don't do chubby - unfortunately, that's just how it is." But why? Is fat so offensive, so unsightly, that people can't bear to see it onstage? Who cares if Octavian is taller or fatter than his (her) Marschellin? Is it so unusual to meet couples in real life who have mismatched body types? I for one know several couples like this, as I'm sure almost everyone does. People aren't solely attracted to svelte shapes! Why is it asking too much to ask an audience to believe that someone might be attracted to a fat body?

And yet, it definitely seems that men in the arts aren't subjected to nearly as much scrutiny as women are. It is laughably common for a sitcom to feature a large man with a petite wife: According to Jim, Family Guy, Still Standing, and King of Queens to name a few. In addition, I have never seen a critic call out a leading man for being too fat for his love interest. Never! Not once! So why, WHY, when we have a (spectacularly voiced) mezzo-soprano playing a pants role, is body type and weight suddenly and loudly on the table for criticism? Quel mystère!

This shouldn't be a debate over where Tara Erraught, or I, or any other woman over size whatever is attractive. "You aren't fat, you're beautiful" is the wrong response. We can be fat AND beautiful, but that is an argument for another day. (Also: fat shouldn't be a dirty word!)

So in an industry where 20 year olds can play 95 year old grandmothers with the help of some stage makeup, and 45 year olds play 17 year olds, and bird-men meet their bird-woman soulmates, and dolls come to life, and magic rings determine the fate of the world, why is it so far fetched to think that a body with some padding can be attractive? If you think that is too far-removed from real life, asking you to suspend too much reality, then perhaps you shouldn't be paid a salary for reviewing opera.