Not men, but women wear the pants in a series of so‐called “trouser” roles. Teresa Berganza is Mozart’s Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Joyce DiDonato is Bellini’s Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Marilyn Horne is Mozart’s Sesto in La clemenza di Tito, and more.
Trouser Roles in Opera
"Miss Brazen just Breecht" by
John Collet., ca. 1779.
Playlist
“Non so più cosa son” from The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Teresa Berganza, mezzo-soprano; London Symphony Orchestra; Alexander Gibson, conductor
(London 1959. EMI B0002335‐02CD1)
“Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?…Komm, Hoffnung” from Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven
Nina Stemme, soprano; Lucerne Festival Orchestra; Claudio Abbado, conductor
(Lucerne 2010. DECCA 478 2551)
“Deh! tu, bell’anima” from I Capuleti e i Montecchi by Vincenzo Bellini
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano; Orchestre De L’Opéra De Lyon; Riccardo Minasi, conductor
(Lyon 2013. ERATO 08256 463656 2 3)
“Vaga donna” from Les Huguenots by Giacomo Meyerbeer
Fiorenza Cossotto, mezzo-soprano; Orchestra of La Scala; Gianandrea Gavazzeni, conductor
(Milan 1962. LIVING STAGE LS 347.12‐A)
“Parto, parto” from La clemenza di Tito by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Marilyn Horne, mezzo-soprano; Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Henry Lewis, conductor
(London 1964. LONDON 440 415‐2)
