The History of The Irish...Worldwide
Irish Mezzo-Soprano Insulted by Critics
Irish mezzo soprano Tara Erraught has been turning heads in the international opera scene since 2011. The Dundalk-born Erraught received her classical training from the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, and has already established herself as one of the opera world's hottest rising stars. For many of us, Erraught's name has only come to our attention recently due to controversial reviews of her recent portrayal of Octavian in the Strauss opera Der Rosenkavalier at the Glydebourne Festival in England.
Several London critics wrote disparagingly about Erraught, but the criticism was of her body, rather than the singer's ... um ... singing:
Andrew Clark, writing for The Financial Times: "Tara Erraught's Octavian is a chubby bundle of puppy fat." He later noted that her performance was "gloriously sung."
Rupert Christiansen in The Telegraph: "Tara Erraught is dumpy of stature and whether in bedroom déshabille, disguised as Mariandel or in full aristocratic fig, her costuming makes her resemble something between Heidi and Just William. Is Jones simply trying to make the best of her intractable physique or is he trying to say something about the social-sexual dynamic?"
Richard Morrison in The Times of London: "Unbelievable, unsightly, and unappealing."
Tara Erraught as 'Octavian', right (photo by Donald Cooper/Photostage)
I'm not an opera buff, but isn't the opera scene supposed to be a bit more open to larger body types? The not-so-svelte Pavarotti comes to mind. Isn't there even a cliche about the fat lady? And, by the way, Tara Erraught is not nearly as heavy as one might think from reading those critic's remarks.
Fiona Maddocks of The Guardian didn't seem distracted by Erraught's figure:
To be fair to the male reviewers, they were not saying that full figured women do not belong on the stage. They just didn't find Erraught believable in this role because of her looks. In the production in question, Erraught is cast as a young man (a la Mary Martin as Peter Pan). I will say that she makes a much more attractive woman than a man, and the costume designer hasn't done her any favours. I think the critics could have stayed out of trouble by saying just that. Instead, their barbs came across as very personal and misogynistic.
What do you think, Wild Geese? Is it the case that opera is partially a visual art, and "not looking the part" is a viable criticism; or are these critics just being snooty chauvinistic air heads? In my opinion, these guys have thoroughly compromised efforts by opera enthusiasts to show people like me that the art is anything above its exclusionary, vain, and silly stereotype.
Read more:
Singers in Uproar Over Critical Body Insults at Glyndebourne
In 2014, The Classical World Still Can't Stop Fat-Shaming Women
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Comment by Mary Collins Dolan on June 7, 2014 at 3:44am
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We had the pleasure of Tara Erraught's beautiful mezzo voice and beautiful appearance several years ago here in Carrick-on-Shannon's Water Music Festival when she, along with a few other stars appeared as 'Veronica Dunne's Rising Stars', Her performance went down a treat and I can only believe that she has increased her wonderful talent.
I agree with the consensus here -- she may not have been believable as a young man, but that has nothing to do with Tara the person and the professional singer. Besides, opera is a magical transportation to a different time and circumstance -- one has to use his/her imagination and appreciate the overall!
Continued success, Tara, and we hope you'll be back to Carrick-on-Shannon again!
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Comment by mary mc ginnis on June 8, 2014 at 2:09am
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What about the greatest of them all.? Joan Sutherland? She was a BIG lady but her voice transported you to another place. This young Irish singer is just right. I don't know what all the fuss is about. I would just ignore those English people. (I am Scottish)
Mary
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And Beverly Sills wasn't 'Twiggy' either but she was much loved and admired!
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Comment by Douglas P Meehan on June 9, 2014 at 11:57am
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She is a great Octavian. This opera was written for a mezzo female voice, so the part of Octavian is supposed to be a cross-dress role. This alone makes for a challenge for the costuming and makeup department for any real woman that will be called upon to play the role. The role however is certainly a man role. This should have been taken into account during the writing of the critique. Obviously the critics forgot this when writing this very personal attack on a very talented, beautiful singer.
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Well thanks for that background, Daniel P. Meehan -- egg on the faces of the London critics!
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