The Shrinking Opera Diva: the Impact of Sociocultural Changes Upon the Casting
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THE SHRINKING OPERA DIVA: THE IMPACT OF SOCIOCULTURAL CHANGES UPON THE CASTING OF WOMEN IN THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES Lauren Nicole McNeese Feldman, B.M., M.M. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS May 2017 APPROVED: Stephen Morscheck, Major Professor Carol Wilson, Committee Member Stephen Austin, Committee Member and Chair of the Division of Vocal Studies Benjamin Brand, Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Music John Richmond, Dean of the College of Music Victor Prybutok, Vice Provost of the Toulouse Graduate School Feldman, Lauren Nicole McNeese. The Shrinking Opera Diva: The Impact of Sociocultural Changes upon the Casting of Women in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), May 2017, 56 pp., 8 figures, references, 36 titles. For most of the twentieth century, opera singers were not beholden to the ideal physical standard of women dictated by popular culture, but rather focused on serving the music and perfecting their artistry. Unprecedented sociocultural changes throughout the twentieth century exposed the shifting ideals of each generation and how they were promoted through mass media and advertising. This thesis surveys the time period of the 1890s to the present day for the purpose of analyzing cultural trends, philosophies and technologies that shaped the century. Societal pressure to make the body a project and the focus of one's own intense attention now reflects back onto the opera stage where audience members expect to see what society has dictated to be an acceptable female form. Artistic and stage directors are influenced by society's decree that only thin is beautiful, imbedding into the mindset of the art form notions that now affect how female professional opera singers are depicted and even employed. Copyright 2017 By Lauren Nicole McNeese Feldman ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2. SOCIOCULTURAL SHIFTS INTO THE 20TH CENTURY ..................................................... 3 From “Gibson Girl” to “Flapper” ......................................................................................... 4 Mirrors, Magazines and the 1920s ..................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 3. THE AGE OF MODERNISM ......................................................................................... 14 The Ideal Woman .............................................................................................................. 15 The Era of Photoshop ........................................................................................................ 19 Body Studies ...................................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 4. AESTHETICS OF OPERA IN THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES ....................................... 27 Absurdist Theater and Regietheater ................................................................................. 27 High Definition Opera ....................................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER 5. STATE OF OPERA TODAY ........................................................................................... 39 Critical Controversy ........................................................................................................... 39 Artists’ Viewpoints ............................................................................................................ 44 Opinions of Directors and Producers ................................................................................ 46 CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 51 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................. 53 iii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Throughout its history, opera has been in a continuous cycle of reformation and revision. Within this hybrid of theater and music the dominating element has continuously alternated between the words and the music. This battle raged throughout the first 300 years of its history and continues to be a subject of debate; the libretto of Richard Strauss’s opera Capriccio is based on that very argument. Today opera is entrenched in a different battle. The majority of operatic history functioned under societal precepts that enveloped the traditional role of the female, and that was how she was portrayed on stage; however, the late 19th century leading into the 20th century saw shifts in technology, beliefs and philosophical thinking, leaving behind the values of the past and leading the century into a new era of consumerism. These socio-cultural changes containing elements of cultural nihilism and solipsism, combined with the rise of mass media, have altered society’s perception of the ideal female body image to one based upon a body mass far below the average woman’s healthy weight, and become most concerned with the perversion and objectification of the female body. This perception has become so engrained in our mindset as a culture that we have adopted a skewed, pre-conceived notion of what our heroines are to look like on stage. This collision between culture and opera has brought the art form to a new crossroads, with talent and artistry in danger of no longer being at the forefront. This thesis will examine 1) the dynamic cultural changes surrounding the imaging of women in the 20th century, and 2) how the aesthetics of opera may be undergoing a discernable shift from musical ability and vocal beauty to physical appearance and that of the 1 “ideal” body image, especially for female artists, due to the influence of cultural forces in the last 100 years. This is a trend worthy of exploration and raises the question: “How do the shifting cultural ideas of physique affect the casting of female professional opera singers throughout the 20th and into the 21st century?” 2 CHAPTER 2 SOCIOCULTURAL SHIFTS INTO THE 20TH CENTURY The beginning of the 20th century saw significant cultural shift sizably in principles, moving away from the values of the Victorian age into a new era of “modernism.” Issues and events such as religion, the industrial revolution, the rise of mass media, and the innovation of photography all contributed to societal change, especially how it regarded and portrayed women. Prior to World War I, women were not burdened with an internal struggle of self- identity that was defined by their outward appearance, but rather considered personal enrichment through education and public service to be of greater value in determining their self-worth.1 Women of the 19th century were more concerned with their moral character and how their behavior affected those around them. In previous decades, a Rubenesque female figure was still desired, and women were only able to weigh themselves at county fairs and drugstores--with no moral or emotional judgment attached to the numerical outcome.2 The innovation of photography, combined with a surge of advertising to the masses through imagery, played a part in how women were perceived by others and maybe more importantly began to change how they perceived themselves. As photography became more widely available in the 1860s, a new concern arose about personal appearance and the desire to look appealing.3 The rise of mass media in the late 19th century saw imagery being propelled into 1 Brumberg, J. J. (1997), The Body Project. xvi. 2 Ibid, Figure 25. 3 Sherker, A. (2014, September), "Why It's Harder Than Ever for Women Not to Obsess Over Their Appearances", The Huffington Post, 2. 3 society at a dynamic rate, with the most coveted image being that of a beautiful woman called the “Gibson Girl.”4 An investigation into the stark differences between the “Gibson Girl “ and her successor of the 1920s, the Flapper, sheds light on how and why 20th century culture took a dramatic turn in how women were publicly portrayed, perceived and even commodified by society. From “Gibson Girl” to “Flapper” To compete in the rapidly growing women’s magazine industry of the late 19th century, editors featured female models on the covers, the most popular being the “Gibson Girl.” Her manufactured image was presented to the public as an archetype of the ideal American woman, and her picture could be seen mass-produced on items like postcards, clothing, and even china and wallpaper.5 Throughout the first decade of the 20th century, the “Gibson Girl” remained an icon of beauty, representing the sober values of her Victorian era that were embraced by all “respectable” women.6 Her glowing complexion and full figure represented the prototype of an upper class woman in prime health. A Victorian collegiate woman of the 1880s- 1890s would happily write home to her parents about plentiful meals and desired weight gain.7 However, a new concept of the female silhouette with a flatter chest, long limbs and a decidedly thinner shape than that of the Victorian hourglass appeared in 1908, promoted by 4 Sherker, A. (2014, September), "Why It's Harder Than Ever for Women Not to Obsess Over Their Appearances", The Huffington Post, 3. 5 Sherker, A. (2014, September), "Why It's Harder Than Ever for Women Not to Obsess Over Their Appearances", The Huffington Post, 3. 6 Fangman, T. D. (2004), "Promoting Female Weight