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Once upon a time, not so very long ago, all many people knew about any opera -- beyond the notion that the performers and music were always old and they always died at the end of the story -- was that "it isn't over until the fat lady sings." That lung power
Tomorrow: HOT tales
doesn’t come without
some sweat
By Tim Ryan
Star-BulletinOpera does have a history of larger women being major singers with the explanation that the lung power required to fill an opera hall with sound -- prior to the introduction of electronic systems -- was immense, so you had to have some bulk.
Those days are fading as opera house management has become more savvy in marketing image as well as talent, says mezzo-soprano Dorothy "Dottie" Byrne, one of the stars of Hawaii Opera Theatre's season opener "Tales of Hoffman" playing Friday, Sunday and Tuesday.
"Having a large woman on stage required so much from audiences to suspend their reality to believe she was some 18-year-old love interest," Byrne said. "We've become such a visual society that people expect the person to look like the ideal of the character they're portraying."
ON STAGE
What: "Tales of Hoffman"
Byrne, 47, says she's always taken fitness to heart, balancing a toned body with the strength necessary to perform for hours. At 5-foot-10 and 153 pounds, Byrne is within her ideal performing range that stops at 155, she said.
"There are so many young, beautiful, and up-and-coming singers in this business that neither management nor audiences want to see big fat ladies singing opera," she said.
Not only is being in shape visually attractive, but it will probably extend careers and provide for better performances, said Byrne, who works out four times a week, an hour at a time.
"It's actually easier for me to work out regularly when I'm in a performance or traveling because my time is so structured," said the mother of two grown children. "But I don't love doing it; I'm always happy when I'm done."
It's the down time between gigs when Byrne's weight creeps back up.
"My body wants to get larger," she said. "It's a constant battle."
The performing lifestyle doesn't help, with its frenetic travel, rehearsals, performances and late-night dinners. When Byrne arrived in Honolulu a few weeks ago she wanted to lose six pounds to regain "my fighting weight."
Besides half-hour runs outdoors, Byrne has been working out at the Honolulu Club thanks to a partnership between the Ward Street facility and HOT.
On this morning, Byrne sits in club's seventh-floor restaurant wearing gray shorts and top, makeup and diamond earrings for a photo shoot after the interview.
It's "a bit of a mystery" when female opera singers decided that being large was good, Byrne said.
"Singers do tend to have large rib cages anyway, especially those Wagnerian singers, the women wearing horned helmets," she said. "The strength required to sing that kind of repertoire is immense, but beneath the surface they are very strong."
Byrne has never heard an opera director dismiss a singer solely because of girth.
"The singing always takes precedent but if there are two people in contention with the same ability and one is very attractive and in excellent shape, who do you think gets chosen?" she said.
Another factor on the side of physical fitness is those in shape recover from ailments more quickly than those who are in poorer condition.
"A little extra weight gives (a performer) a sense of grounding and fullness," she said. "You do notice a difference when you lose weight that you lose strength to support your diaphragm. It's a delicate balance."
Which means not overdoing weight training that can affect vocal chords and vocal quality.
"I don't weigh myself all that often, but I know what I weigh because I can feel it," said Byrne who admits a passion for pesto and pasta with "lots and lots of garlic." "I love all food and I like a lot of it.
"But I love singing more."
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