'Trouser Roles' in Opera - a Tradition of Gender Fluidity?

In describing mezzo-soprano .

EDGE spoke to Fons and Laurence Senelick, the theater and opera historian and Fletcher Professor of Drama and Oratory at Tufts University, about the place of the "trouser parts" in opera. Here are their responses.

EDGE: The idea of a 'trouser role' is that the audience is asked to suspend its disbelief for a male role played by a woman -- Cherubino being one of the most well-known examples. How did this become such an accepted opera meme?

Laurence Senelick: First, the term 'trousers role' is incorrect. It is traditionally 'breeches role,' because in classic opera the costume is knee-breeches or small clothes. 'Trousers' were a working-man's garment and would be seen only in the 20th century in modern-dress productions.

The 'breeches role' is a legacy from the origins of opera. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the favored voices were high-pitched, rarely lower than alto. Since church edicts forbade women to take part in liturgical music, they were replaced with castrati. Castrati then migrated from the choir to the opera, for in much of Italy, women were not allowed on stage. They were the solution to a casting crisis. By the end of the 18th century, castrati were going out of fashion -- because of anti-clericalism, Enlightenment attitudes, etc., -- and so were replaced by women. Women had already been seen in men's roles, but now they began to take the place of male sopranos in larger numbers. A new cult of sensibility preferred pubescent youths to be portrayed by women, so they might seem more refined, their sexuality less predatory. However, as a taste of greater realism prevailed, romantic leads came to be portrayed by male tenors, and the breeches role relegated either to the parts of children (Humperdinck's H�nsel) or disguises that further the plot (Strauss's Arabella).

EDGE: What is so appealing about Cherubino?

Laurence Senelick: The appeal of Cherubino is that he is an idealized version of puberty. His emotions, and especially his libido, are undergoing a turbulence he cannot understand; but there are none of the unsettling physical alterations most mortals undergo. He is a teen-aged boy but feminized and made attractive by his vulnerability and virginity. Moreover, as a page he is in a subaltern position, at the bidding of everyone else on stage. So he appeals to our sympathies as a helpless puppy does.

Emily Fons: I think what makes Cherubino such a beloved character is that he is a hopeless slave to his impulses and passes no judgment on that. He doesn't suffer much inner conflict; he only has this burning desire to understand what all these new feelings of love and his own newfound sexuality mean for him in daily life. He takes us back to a point in our own lives that hopefully now we can smile about, or at least sympathize with while keeping a sense of humor. He asks us to revisit a right of passage, an age of newness and excitement, and a zest for existence that is such a contrast to the other characters in the show.

EDGE: In a review of the new Met production of 'Der Rosenkavilier' in the Times, critic Anthony Tommasini wrote that mezzo Elina Garanca is 'eerily convincing in the role of a randy adolescent boy' in the 'trouser role' of Octavian. In this time of such fluidity in identity politics, is there a move to play these roles more realistically?

Laurence Senelick: Shakespeare wrote the roles of his young women to be played by boys. Nowadays when we see all-male productions of his comedies, the boy playing a girl playing a boy provides a 'Hall of Mirrors' effect, which blurs gender very successfully. Adrian Lester as Rosalind/Ganymede in the Cheek by Jowl 'As You Like It' or Samuel Barnett as Viola/Cesario in the recent Globe Theatre 'Twelfth Night' are good examples; at a certain point one stops seeing gender. In opera, because the voice of the cross-dressed role is one we identify as feminine, the illusion is never as thorough. However, in an age of uni-sex clothing and transgender, while we may accept the convention more casually, we do lose the frisson that earlier periods had of a different trans -- the transgression of breaking taboos of behavior and dress.

EDGE: Is it possible for a singer to build a career around such roles?

Laurence Senelick: So long as they retain their figures and their freshness, singers can play these parts -- not just Cherubino and Octavian, but Oscar in 'Un ballo in maschera' and Urbain in 'Les Huguenots,' -- for many years. The Czech Ella Tordek is a good example. One cannot make a whole career out of these parts, however. A great singer like Christa Ludwig can play Octavian when she is young and then, as she matures, take on the Marschallin.

Emily Fons: I think that trouser roles like Cherubino can be an excellent foundation on which to build a successful career. While rarely the central figure in a show, these roles often have beautiful music, and require an ability to act and interact with authenticity. I have found in my own career that roles like Cherubino are roles I can add to a season without causing myself any stress, so if I have other projects that I know will take a lot of time to prepare or a lot of mental energy, I know that it's safe to add in a role like Cherubino without adding too much to my work load. I also think that roles like Cherubino are great roles to debut at a new company with. They show off musicianship and stage presence and can often lead to more work. I find especially as I get older that I like to sink my teeth into roles that are more dramatically and musically complex, so I am thankful for the time I've spent with Cherubino, but I know that eventually I will move on.

EDGE: Do you have a favorite 'trouser role?'

Laurence Senelick Count Orlofsky in 'Die Fledermaus.' Since the Count is supposed to be a fabulously rich Russian playboy, and the opera takes place in the late 19th century, a certain 'Dorian Gray' quality can be exploited in his androgyny. Depending on the production and the singer, this sybarite millionaire can played as straight, gay or bisexual.

Emily Fons: I don't think I have a favorite trouser role, there are many that I've enjoyed, but so much of the experience has to do with the strength of the production and the general quality of work. Some of my favorites are Hansel in 'Hansel und Gretel,' Cherubino in 'Le Nozze Di Figaro' and Sesto in 'Giulio Cesare.'

EDGE: Emily, How difficult is it to play a person of the opposite sex?

Emily Fons: I don't find it hard at all, I think at the heart of the matter is the fact that I'm still playing a person, and I'm a person, so I don't have to fake that! I like to look at it less as 'becoming male' and more of finding neutral. I have mannerisms as a woman in daily life that I've acquired for various reasons, societal expectations, how I want to be seen, etc. If I just let go of those and let myself be directed by the text and music of the male character, I find that it comes pretty easily.

Of course it helps to pay attention to the mannerisms of the men around me in real life and men on television and in movies to get ideas, but that goes for any role study, we gather information from noticing people around us. I try to wear clothing to rehearsal that doesn't encourage feminine mannerisms and then I rely on the eyes of the director to let me know what is working and what isn't. It's a process, but one that I find enjoyable and interesting. Most of the time we want to avoid stereotypes when developing a physical a language for a character, so I definitely try to stay aware of my choices and incorporate the parts of my own physical language that are useful, and acquire other options through trial and error.

EDGE: You have been described in Opera News as 'one of the best singing actors of her generation.' How important is the actor part of the equation in performance for you?

Emily Fons: I would say it's inseparable from the singing part of the equation. Expectations for realism in theater and opera have probably never been higher. I want to be able to engage the audience as well as possible and so the dramatic and musical aspects of performing both need to be strong and present. I would say that I'd be more likely to sacrifice a little of the beauty of my voice to make an effective dramatic choice rather than the other way around. Maybe that's not always right, but finding the balance is definitely part of the personal process of creating a character.

Remaining performances of Boston Lyric Opera's "The Marriage of Figaro" are Wednesday, May 3, and Friday, May 5, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, May 7, at 3:30 p.m., at John Hancock Hall at the Back Bay Event Center, 180 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116. T-Stop: Arlington, Copley or Back Bay. For more information, visit the Boston Lyric Opera website.