HOMOSEXUALITY, INHERENT TO THE SOUND
I first encountered the saying more than twenty years ago and upon hearing it, I instantly knew what it meant. It's one of those rare sayings which in addition to its poetic beauty, somehow manages to encapsulate a complicated concept into only five words. At the time I was told that these fabled five had infamously been coined by a baritone named Sherrill. In the years that passed I heard the story time and again, but despite this reoccurrence it remains purely hearsay, as none of the people who have reported the account claim to have heard it firsthand. Regardless of its origins being based in fact or fiction, we are left with the quote itself which eloquently describes a very real issue within opera, and one which has never been publicly discussed.
WHY AREN'T THERE MORE GAY SINGERS?
There is a massive gay presence within opera. Their contributions range from singing, artist management, philanthropy, back stage crew, conducting, administration, and everything in between. The reality is that most companies have such a strong reliance on homosexuals that without them the opera house doors would never be able to open. It is also true that the artform as a whole would not be where it is today if it weren't for the huge number of gay contributors within its ranks. This is a commonly recognised fact. But what is less well known is how few gay singers are actually working within the profession. Why is this the case?
Analysing the cross sections of gay
involvement within opera gives us some insight. Of particular interest is the
degree of representation within student and professional level singers:
Student singers:
high %
Professional singers:
low %
I think you will agree that the disparity
illustrated here is quite alarming. As shocking as this revelation might
be it is also valuable, because it leads us to the all important question: why
isn't the high percentage of students translating into a commensurate degree
of professional singers?
Many people within the industry well know
the reason. It’s
something which is acknowledged in private but never discussed openly. The answer is simple and can be explained
in one sentence.
"Gay affectations in the singing voice (as
well as in the physical mannerisms of a singer) are widely considered
undesirable within opera".
In support of this statement is the
following observation.
"Within the ranks of professional
opera, particularly among the elite, gay singers do not display these
affectations".
IS THIS INFORMATION RELEVANT?
For a gay student of singing who has
aspirations of becoming a professional singer, the answer is emphatically yes.
This is because the
wasteland of failed singers is littered with the carcasses of gay tenors,
baritones and basses who overlooked this fact. These statistics are
saddening, because some of these singers were extremely talented. I have personally witnessed a number
of students who had fantastic voices but who did not go on to have a career because of this reason. I also know of many professional singers who would have had
much bigger careers were it not for this reason.
THE QUEER ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
On numerous occasions I have witnessed
masterclasses where a strong gay affectation was present in the singing and the
physical mannerisms of the student. Many a time the person conducting the
masterclass has wanted to address the issue but decided against
it. This is understandable because we live in a time where most people
are terrified of saying the wrong thing. Resultingly, young men for whom this subject holds relevance often do not get
told the
truth, which is that their gay affectations are hurting their chances
of success in the career. Simply put, the “she-baritone” is not a real fach and exists primarily at a tertiary level. The reality is that within the ranks of professional opera such singers are
going to have limited opportunities.
Despite this, some gay singers are engaging in the unsavoury practice of combining their gay tribe with their fach. Today, many twinks, femmes,
jocks, daddies, bears,
wolves, otters, cubs and pups seem to be advocating for a hybridisation of the two systems. Traditional voice types like the tenore di grazia have been merged with the gay tribe known as twinks. This has resulted in the
emergence of the twinki di grazia fach (the
graceful twink). Other new species of
voices include the jugendlicher helden otter the femme boy baritone martin and the bull dyke falcon soprano.
Once considered rare these voices are now
breeding. Today they have become very common with large populations existing within university campuses and in the
Early Music scene.
While historic opera does make
reference to wolves and cubs as exemplified in Wagner’s Die Walküre, these references are only intended to be interpreted at face value. Accordingly it
should be accepted that the gay tribal system has no place within historic
opera and that its use is best confined to Grindr where it can have some
relevance.
ISN'T THIS DISCRIMINATION?
Yes it is. But other art forms
also discriminate. Ballet for example does not generally feature 300-pound plus-sized models gracing the stage. There is an
expectation that a ballet dancer needs to look and move a certain way. Likewise, there are expectations that an opera singer must sound and act
a certain way. Remember,
there is no discrimination against gay participation within opera. Gays are as welcome as anyone else provided that their sexual
preference is not advertised within their singing, where its presence would be inappropriate for the
vast majority of characters needing to be portrayed. Keep in mind
that a large percentage of people who are involved in casting are gay. It
therefore stands to reason that they are not
making these decisions out of hatred but purely on artistic grounds.
BUT ISN'T IT INHERENT TO THE SOUND?
Absolutely not! Sherrill was only being facetious. The whole
point of this article is that a larynx does not have a sexual preference.
When I think of masculine, virile singing, one voice comes to my mind. Max Lorenz. I
would argue that no other singer in history put more of their personality into
their sound. Despite this transparency and vulnerability as an artist, Lorenz possessed a tonal identity which was
within this context, completely free of any affectation. If more recent
examples are required,
people could look to Samuel Ramey and Carl Tanner, as well as a spate of other elite level singers, all of whom have proven that sexual
preference has nothing to do with great singing.
REMEMBER MR BEEFCAKE?
When the news broke that Rock Hudson was
gay it was reported that hundreds of housewives the world over were so
distraught they become temporarily deaf! What this pandemic state of
anacusis illustrated was that human beings have a deep-seated need to believe in the sexual prowess of their
leading men. Hollywood today works along exactly the same lines. This is dictated by human
psychology and it will never change. The reality is that nobody wants Don
Giovanni to be a "pillow biter" because it makes for a bewildering
plot and leaves everybody confused.
CONCLUSION
These days terms like "queer" and "camp" cannot be considered offensive as
they are within the vocabulary of the regular person. In a similar way, gay culture is now embraced by the
mainstream. Society is no longer uncomfortable about all things gay; to the contrary it would seem that they
cannot get enough. This is illustrated through television shows like Queer Eye For The Straight Guy where some unfortunate fat, bald,
middle-aged and pre-diabetic heterosexual has his entire wardrobe thrown
out and his eyebrows cut back by a flamboyant queen. Other programmes
like Modern Family and Grace and Frankie are further examples of how gay culture
has been embraced. In more recent times, the mainstream’s insatiable need for gay content has led to a plethora of
similarly-themed content such as Work in Progress, The Other Two, Feel Good, Mind Hunter, One Day At A Time, Schitt’s Creek, High Maintenance, Euphoria, Dickinson, Billions, Vida, Difficult People, Sex Education, Gentleman Jack, Cheer, EastSiders and Special, and this is by no
means an exhaustive list.
It’s
a fact that all of these series feature terms and themes which are far
more risqué than any within this article. Despite this, some people will still attempt to claim
that my reference to a camp Don Giovanni caused "deep offence". These types have no qualms about saying
this in one moment and then tuning into Queer As Folk the next. We have all seen this type
of behaviour before and recognise it for the attempt at manipulation that it
is. However, it does beg the question:
If it’s not the use of language, and it’s not the themes, then why does this
article feel so offensive?
THE REAL REASON
Every one of us has a progressive and conservative side. Our progressive side vehemently dislikes being shown that an ideal which
we are striving towards can never be workable in the real world. When
this occurs we tend to get upset, and the person who is pointing out the facts
can seem like a wicked person.
The truth is a little different. There are no enemies here and the problem is not about ignorance. We cannot educate or regulate
ourselves out of this issue. All we can do is accept human
nature for what it is and work from there. This
involves recognising that no good can come from putting ideals before people. If we really want young gay students to have an equal chance of
developing into professionals, we must start acknowledging the
truth.
A MESSAGE TO GAY SINGERS
You are being lied to. The
current environment seeks to instil within you a false sense of security about
how these issues will effect you in the real world. The reality is vastly
different. Acting camp as a row of tents might well earn you an extra hug
in a Joyce DiDonato masterclass,
but it will lose you the job in a real audition. I do not say
this out of malice, I say it because it’s true. If you are a counter tenor this issue
doesn't really apply to you. But if you are a bass, baritone or a tenor
it most certainly does.
No suggestion has been made that this has
anything to do with your personal life. A person’s private life is their own. But when you walk
on the stage you have a character to play and part of your job is to be
convincing.
This article approaches the subject in a
light-hearted and humorous way. Sherill's quote only intended to do the same. I
hope you recognise this, because If we can all laugh at ourselves as human
beings then this topic can go from one that isn't discussed, to one that doesn’t need to be.
ADDENDA
1) In this article I make claims about the
percentage of gays within various cross-sections of the industry. These claims
could not be supported by statistical data because it does not exist. Accordingly, it was necessary for me to use the terms "high"
and "low" when describing the percentages. Whilst these values
are only based upon observational data, I
believe them to be accurate. In light of the absence of actual statistics, my only choice was to use observational
data or not write the article at all.
2) This article refers more to gay males than their gay female
counterparts. It is not intended that the reader interpret my observations
as being equally relevant to gay singers as a collective group. This
clarification is necessary because I have not witnessed these issues affecting female opera singers to the same degree which they are affecting men.
3) I freely admit that the section about
the housewives going deaf was a complete fabrication, but it sounded so good
that I just had to include it.
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