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Operatic Gender Wars
Are there any operas with all-female choruses?
Image created by Adobe Firefly
I came across a social media post that asked if there are any operas with an all-female chorus. To be clear this doesn’t mean operas that have a chorus scene with only women. There are umpteen million of those. Is there an opera that has chorus parts but no men throughout?
The answer that immediately comes to mind is Suor Angelica by Giacomo Puccini. The opera is set in a convent and there are no lead roles for men and there’s a heavenly chorus at the conclusion. Surely, this is the one. Nope, there are men in the off-stage heavenly chorus.
A few people answered with two operas I’d not heard of. The first is a one-act opera of about 30 minutes by Gustav Holst entitled Sāvitri. Holst was deep into Hindu mysticism and philosophy. The story of Sāvitri is taken from The Mahābhārata. From what I can tell, there is a chorus of female spirits in this brief opera. However, the scope of the opera allows for just four singers to perform the chorus, if need be. I’m not sure that counts.
Another one-act I that was proposed is Sancta Susana by Paul Hindemith. This opera, like Suor Angelica, is set in a convent. This one appears to hold up but, like Sāvitri, it is only about 30 minutes long.
Video:
Hindemith: Sancta Susanna
For all intents and purposes there are no operas that need to cast an all-female chorus. What about all-male chorus operas?
There are two that everyone knows: The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini and Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi. The chorus in The Barber of Seville is just a bunch of soldiers that show up at the end of the show. In Rigoletto, the chorus is integral to the story since they kidnap Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda.
Those are the two big ones. I’m fairly confident several lesser-known Bel Canto operas have all-men choruses. Operas from that period are crawling with choruses of soldiers.
There is a modern opera that qualifies. I was in the San Diego Opera production of Moby Dick by Jake Heggie and that has an all-male chorus of sailors. In fact, that has all-male characters but the character of the boy, Pip, is sung by a soprano.
In the comments about the initial question, there was a sentiment that the lack of operas with all-female choruses is something of a travesty. It isn’t.
When it comes down to operas that are performed on the regular, there are two with all-male choruses. The idea that all endeavors must be split 50-50 between women and men is about the stupidest thing our culture has developed.
In the realm of opera, there are more chorus parts for men. That is true. However, opera in its totality is balanced between men and women. The greatest operatic roles are for women. Even in Rigoletto, the role of Gilda is the protagonist. In all the operas by Richard Wagner that are named after men, The Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin, etc., it is the female lead that is the hero. The men are all flawed heroes. The women are the saviors.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Operatic Gender Wars
Are there any operas with all-female choruses?
Operatic Gender Wars
Are there any operas with all-female choruses?
Image created by Adobe Firefly
I came across a social media post that asked if there are any operas with an all-female chorus. To be clear this doesn’t mean operas that have a chorus scene with only women. There are umpteen million of those. Is there an opera that has chorus parts but no men throughout?
The answer that immediately comes to mind is Suor Angelica by Giacomo Puccini. The opera is set in a convent and there are no lead roles for men and there’s a heavenly chorus at the conclusion. Surely, this is the one. Nope, there are men in the off-stage heavenly chorus.
A few people answered with two operas I’d not heard of. The first is a one-act opera of about 30 minutes by Gustav Holst entitled Sāvitri. Holst was deep into Hindu mysticism and philosophy. The story of Sāvitri is taken from The Mahābhārata. From what I can tell, there is a chorus of female spirits in this brief opera. However, the scope of the opera allows for just four singers to perform the chorus, if need be. I’m not sure that counts.
Another one-act I that was proposed is Sancta Susana by Paul Hindemith. This opera, like Suor Angelica, is set in a convent. This one appears to hold up but, like Sāvitri, it is only about 30 minutes long.
Video:
Hindemith: Sancta Susanna
For all intents and purposes there are no operas that need to cast an all-female chorus. What about all-male chorus operas?
There are two that everyone knows: The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini and Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi. The chorus in The Barber of Seville is just a bunch of soldiers that show up at the end of the show. In Rigoletto, the chorus is integral to the story since they kidnap Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda.
Those are the two big ones. I’m fairly confident several lesser-known Bel Canto operas have all-men choruses. Operas from that period are crawling with choruses of soldiers.
There is a modern opera that qualifies. I was in the San Diego Opera production of Moby Dick by Jake Heggie and that has an all-male chorus of sailors. In fact, that has all-male characters but the character of the boy, Pip, is sung by a soprano.
In the comments about the initial question, there was a sentiment that the lack of operas with all-female choruses is something of a travesty. It isn’t.
When it comes down to operas that are performed on the regular, there are two with all-male choruses. The idea that all endeavors must be split 50-50 between women and men is about the stupidest thing our culture has developed.
In the realm of opera, there are more chorus parts for men. That is true. However, opera in its totality is balanced between men and women. The greatest operatic roles are for women. Even in Rigoletto, the role of Gilda is the protagonist. In all the operas by Richard Wagner that are named after men, The Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin, etc., it is the female lead that is the hero. The men are all flawed heroes. The women are the saviors.
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