Trouser Roles in Opera

August 17, 2019, 4:30 pm

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"Miss Brazen just Breecht" by John Collet., ca. 1779.

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.

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)