Why Were Opera Singers Fat?

By Desiree Ho

Picture in your head an image of an opera singer. Like many people, you may see the stereotype of a fat lady in an extravagant gown belting it out like there was no tomorrow. Why are opera singers fat? Or, to be more accurate, why is there such a stereotype about opera singers?

The myth about fat opera singers does have some ground in history. In the past, opera consisted of mainly small-scale productions. By the 1800s, composers and opera houses opted for grander, bigger and fancier work, and that included singers who were capable of really belting it out. The theory went that the larger the singer, the greater the lung capacity to ensure a show-stopping performance. Remember, we are talking about a time long before the invention of sound systems and fancy acoustics.

Another myth holds that having a large amount of fatty tissue around the larynx increases resonance capability to produce a pleasing sound. Yet, it is virtually impossible to have a great deal of fatty tissue around the voice box without carrying a great deal of fatty tissue elsewhere on the body. While there doesn’t appear to be any scientific evidence to support any of these theories, a study published in 2001 in the Journal of voice suggested that professional opera singers tend to develop larger rib cages, and hence might look bigger than they really are.

Mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne once said, “Ours is a very lonely profession. Eating is company.” The more successful and popular you become, the further away from home you go, and of course, the more times you end up sleeping alone in a foreign hotel room. Busy rehearsal schedules and tours can get in the way of maintaining a regular schedule consisting of eating and exercising well.

Irregular eating habits may also explain obesity amongst opera singers. Many performers often wait until the evening performance is over before they care to take dinner. The reason is that the feeling of fullness can affect breathing, makes one sleepy, or could even lead to gastric discomfort. Hence, many singers will choose to postpone dinner in order to ensure top form. Moreover, flamboyant celebrations packed with hard-to-resist food, food and more food often follows a successful performance. If you take in the calories and don’t burn it, you will most probably put on weight.

Maria Callas

As controversial as it may sound, most singers actually want to drop the pounds and the “big lady” image that comes with being an opera singer. They try many methods to lose weight—crash diets, diet pills, liquid fasts and so on. However, many are also afraid that losing weight too fast will affect their voices, as it has been known that opera singers who lose a significant amount of weight lose vocal luster as well. Maria Callas’ voice began to deteriorate in the 50s, and many thought it was because she had lost over 30 kilograms. Her voice lost its unique touch, and it was barely enough for her to hold a high pitch.

On the other hand, leading dramatic soprano singer Deborah Voigt made international news when she was sacked from Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos” at Covent Garden in London, because the director found her too big to look right in a black dress that was crucial to his staging concept. The unflattering American catch phrase about opera that “It ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings” was headlined as “The show ain’t over till the fat lady slims” in the British tabloid press. As a result, Ms Voigt, who had been struggling with her weight since adolescence, decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery—one of the most drastic measures to combat obesity. 

Luciano Pavarotti © www.onlineweblibrary.com

Pavarotti also tried to lose weight. However he never truly succeeded. In fact, his former wife used to joke that as long as she could still cook delicious noodles, she didn’t have to worry that Pavarotti’s heart would go astray. Yet in the end, he divorced his wife as well as left us early. Obesity causes diabetes, heart disease, stroke and arthritis. The spinal cord and knees can also deteriorate because of the extra body weight. More importantly, obesity can cause bodily infections that speed up oxidation rates. Through this mechanism, the risk of intestinal cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer and prostate cancers also increase. Research results show that 20% of female and 14% of male deaths in America are due to Obesity. Smoking also increases the risk of pancreatic cancer two-folds. Though Pavarotti admitted that he occasionally smoked cigars, he would only smoke about 10 cigars in the three summer months. Therefore, obesity is probably his cause of pancreatic cancer.

Despite all the medical battles, however, Pavarotti once said, “I think a life for music is a well-spent one, and that’s what I have dedicated mine to.” Perhaps this is how we should remember him—as a musician who devoted his life and work to music.

Did Mozart Suffer From Any Neurobehavioural Disorder?

by Desiree Ho

Once hailed as Time magazine’s top ten cultural figures of the millennium, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) should perhaps also be known as one of the most foul-mouthed classical musicians of all time.

Although the musical genius has passed away for more than 250 years, thanks to the preservation of Mozart’s works, we know for a fact that the prodigy fancied using vulgar language and referring to anal matters in his compositions.

“Kiss my Ass”: Mozart’s Use of Vulgar Language

“Leck mich im Arsch”, which literally translates into “lick my ass” or “kiss my ass” in modern terms, is the title of one of Mozart’s canons which he composed at the age of 26.

Such offensive language was not only evident in his work, but was also prevalent throughout his daily life. Over ten percent of Mozart’s letters are found to contain evidence of scatology, an investigation by Simkin reveals. Scatology is the study of faeces, and in Mozart’s case, it refers to the obsession of obscene language and references to excretory functions (and not in the medical sense). Mozart wrote to his cousin Maria Anna Tekla Mozart on 5 November 1777 saying “I sh*t on your nose, so it runs down your chin”, according to a translation by Spaethling in 2000; and to his father on 17 October 1777, Mozart wrote, “…But I sang a whole different text ‘P.E, o oh you prick, why don’t you kiss my ass…”

In fact, Mozart’s mouth was so foul that experts have suggested that he actually suffered from a complex neurobehavioural disorder called Giles de la Tourette’s Syndrome.

The Tourette’s Syndrome

This is because one of the occasional symptoms of Tourette’s Syndrome is Coprolalia. Coprolalia refers to the involuntary and often compulsive swearing of obscene words or taboo remarks. It comes from the greek word “κόπρος” (kopros), meaning faeces, and “λαλιά” (lalia) from lalein, which means “to talk”. Despite the amount of attention drawn to the condition, it is actually not a necessary symptom required for a Tourette diagnosis. Only about 10% of Tourette patients are reported to suffer from it.

On the contrary, it is the presence of motor and vocal tics (which last for at least one year) that characterise Tourette’s syndrome. Tics are sudden, repetitive movements or sounds that a person makes, usually unconsciously or with only very little control of the muscle groups.

© neuronup.us

Common tics include blinking the eyes very hard, shoulder shrugging, foot stomping, repeated sniffing, repetitive shouting, constant clearing of the throat or grunting. Some tics may even result in self harm, due to head banging or punching one self. Tics can sometimes be worsened when the person is under stress, excitement or anxiety. Patients have described the need to complete a tic or repeatedly carry out the tic in order to decrease the urge or sensation.

Although the exact neuropathology and the cause of the condition is not properly understood, research suggests that it is caused by nerve communication problems in the brain. Disturbance in the balance in neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine may also play a role in Tourette’s. These include abnormalities in parts of the brain, including the basal ganglia, frontal lobes and cortex.

Question: Did Mozart have a neurological disorder, or was it simply his unique personality?

Some argue that Mozart, as a genius in his own right, simply couldn’t care less about what others thought, and did not have an actual neurobehavioral condition. After all, he lived under the public eye as a child prodigy and was aggravated in life by the enormous demands of his father and society. A bit of strong language was simply a way for him to let out his frustrations, and to demonstrate his inner disrespect of the nobilities at the time.

© stamurai.com

Furthermore, the image of a respectable Mozart was probably just a creation of the late 1790s, where society was a little bit more conservative than it is today. It is said that the title of the “Kiss my ass” was changed to “Lasst uns froh sein” when published, meaning, “let’s be happy”. Mozart’s widow, Constanze, is also said to have ensured that Mozart’s letters would not be published immediately upon his death, and that obscene parts of Mozart’s letters would be eliminated in the very first edition.

Some even go on to say that the scatology in Mozart’s letter was simply typical of the conversation styles in southern Mavaria and Salzburg region at that time.

Yet, the case for Mozart’s Tourette syndrome was suggested for the first time at the World Congress of Psychiatry in Vienna in 1983, citing records that show that Mozart was prone to unpredictable and erratic behavior. For example, he had a tendency to trash hotel rooms and refuse to clean. He also had an impressive medical history of possible diseases, leading to the many mysteries surrounding both his life and death.

Nevertheless, the seemingly endless lists of Mozart’s neurobehavioral problems are only speculations. His life was after all very short, especially in today’s terms, so it will remain forever a mystery whether Mozart had a unique personality or an actual neurological disorder.

What we do know however, is that regardless of how foul-mouthed Mozart was, his music will continue to fill our concert halls, shopping malls, and even play on the phone while you are left on hold.