Music Man

The Irish mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught has come in for some stick in the Glyndebourne Opera's production of Der Rosenkavakier, being described as "chubby", "dumpy" and even like "something between Heidi and Just William". Have to say that the criticisms seem to be more directed at her being miscast in the role of Octavian, who is supposed to be a rather willowy androgynous young man, rather than her singing which is generally praised.  But all this brought to mind the old saying "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings" and the fact that traditionally female opera singers tended to be big women - you needed to be big so as to generate a big voice which, particularly in the days before electronic assistance, could be heard right at the back of the concert hall.  Actually it's not that old a saying - it seems to have originated in the 1970s as "The opera ain't over until the fat lady sings" (sort of "don't count your chickens before they're hatched") and probably is a reference to Götterdämmerung where right towards the end Brünnhilde (a big lady if ever there was one) has a long, long aria.