Re: MT VOID, 04/11/25 -- Vol. 43, No. 41, Whole Number 2375

On 4/15/25 2:43 AM, Cryptoengineer wrote:

Unless the race of the character is part of the story, I don't
see that it matters. Oddly, in Bridgerton (I only watched the
first season), race is mentioned at least once.

Soprano Kathleen Battle has been noteworthy as Pamina in _The Magic Flute_. Because of a racial subplot, Pamina is supposed to be white, but no one really cares. In opera, physical suitability for the role doesn't matter. I've seen a singer who was well over 6 feet tall play a half-dwarf in Wagner. Heavily built women singing the leading part in _La Traviata_, a woman who's dying of tuberculosis, have become a standing joke. I recently heard of a production of _Fidelio_ where Leonore, who is a woman disguised as a man until the final scene, was played by a woman who was eight months pregnant.
--
Gary McGath    http://www.mcgath.com