Welcome to the home of The Tiny Soprano. As many of you will already know, I am only 5 feet tall. But the operatic stage can often be very generous to those of us who are not vertically-blessed, and very often people would say “My, you don’t look quite this little from the audience.” That is, of course, unless you are singing next to a 6′5″ baritone, in which case there is simply no escaping the fact that you are, indeed, really, really short.
Now being tiny as a light lyric soprano has many advantages. There is never the embarrassment of being taller than your leading man. One can be cute, petite, charming, and rather yummy in a kind of sexy-but-only-in-an-opera kind of way.
There is however a downside. Being taken seriously as a “diva” is never really possible.
As the renowned music exec and the great Pav’s old manager Herbert Breslin once declared, “Big, big, big things don’t happen to little Despina!"
He was referring at the time to Cecilia Bartoli, another tiny soprano, who has forged a massive international career on singing what most consider “small-voiced” roles. And yet she strides across the operatic stage, breasts heaving, sweeping away everything in her path as she takes over the world.
The Tiny Soprano is with you, my operatic amici, to help us all to do exactly that.
Yes, even those burly baritones among you will be free to heave and swing a breast or two in the name of changing the world (as we all know there are many man-boobs hidden away under those flattering costumes).
For far too long, opera singers have slaved away in the pubs, bars and green rooms of the world, as pint follows pint follows pint, safe in the knowledge that the only thing to fear of the new morning would be a hangover, or the possibility of a cancelled show, or having to explain to one’s dresser why those trousers will not fit anymore.
The Tiny Soprano is here to issue a challenge:
How much can a world-wide group of seemingly opera singers and opera lovers come together to change the world for the better?
My mission is to think of new and crazy ways to help all of you wonderful singers make a huge difference to the causes that matter.
I would like to announce the creation of OperaAid.
OperaAid will be a unique movement and will ultimately depend on all of you getting involved. The aim is to mobilise everyday opera singers to come together to create extraordinary change in the lives of others.
There will be more news on the official launch event very soon, and I will also reveal the names of the remarkable global-based team of singers who will all be helping to make this happen.
In the meantime, I need you to do something for me, because you, yes you, will have a leading role in this tiny show of mine. Please post as many ideas and suggestions as you can on this site.
Subscribe to the feed, join me on Twitter and let’s start doing something!
If this post worked for you, perhaps you might like these too:
