A Round-Up of Recent Headlines on the Fat-Shaming Incident

The current role, and expectations, of women in music have been in the headlines as of late—all surrounding reception of a recent production Der Rosenkavalier and the size (not the talent) of the singer playing Octavian.  The critical reviews of acclaimed mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught have been big news, and raised many red flags, as they focused almost entirely on the physical appearance of Erraught and not her vocal performance.

The critiques of the critiques have also brought to the fore conversations about expectations for women’s bodies in performance, as well as just how different the expectations for men and women are, more often than not.

Here’s a short list of some of the articles framing the story:

Anastasia Tsioulcas at NPR’s Deceptive Cadence as the story broke and with some additional reflections.

Anne Midgette at The Washington Post

Alex Ross at The New Yorker

Barney Sherman at Iowa Public Radio (which also address the wider facing women inequities throughout the arts)

And, it just so happens, the performance Der Rosenkavalier (from Glyndebourne) with Erraught is available streaming online until June 15.

These links to YouTube recordings are provided on Erraught’s own website: