He Quit Singing Because of Body Shaming. Now He’s Making a Comeback.

body shaming or questioning if small, old, venues could support his weight?

There were a lot of fatties on the opera pops circuit but truth be known, many of the opera festivals were in isolated locations with ancient buildings... most of the fatties were isolated to the promo night in the city.

Did Lizzo inspire him?

Pavarotti was a great big fat person and he never gave up!

It’s posts like [R2] that make life miserable for others. The use of the f word @ [R2] is the equivalent of using the N word or the other F word.

The replies thus far in this thread make me embarrassed to be part of this online community.

r5

It’s not over till the fat laddie sings.

I often wonder what people of this size must eat for dinner.

Finally, there's a place for fat people in opera.

"Her idea of a good time is to go downtown and burn out all the escalators"...

[quote]The replies thus far in this thread make me embarrassed to be part of this online community.

The replies thus far in this thread make me PROUD to be part of this online community.

“I feel better about myself when I make juvenile jabs at others’ weight. Hasn’t made me any more attractive, though.”

"She stepped on a dog's tail and now we call him Beaver".

I’m here for the fat jokes.

"She's already picked out her cemetery site - Wyoming".

Fat is in no way comparable to the n-word. Even if you think people should use another term out of politeness, it's just BS to pretend that they are on the same level.

“If you get in an elevator with her, by God you better be goin’ down.”

"She was born on the 8th, 9th and 10th of June".

Makes Sam Smith look like Twiggy.

"Once a month they shove her through the Holland Tunnel to clean it".

I don't buy it. He could have given concerts, or made sacred music his focus to begin with. It's really hard to imagine him singing (I don't know what fach he sings or what range) Tamino or Figaro or whatever. You are playing a role and while opera audiences are being generous when it comes to credibility, you have to be stellar to make people willing to forget about your private person when you are at his weight. It's not about you on stage but about a role you are bringing to life. Is he any good? (I have no headphones at the moment.) Oh and Pavarotti wasn't always fat. Never a looker but not fat when he began.

R8 by dinner, you mean food consumption at a specific time? I don’t think he has much regard for quaint semantics applied to discrete meals.

Not shading him, just considering caloric intake and waking hours.

I don't get r13's joke. Anyone?

For R23:

He would've found work in opera. Lots of fat people in opera. He just let the mean comments get to him. That's not excusing the mean comments.

Thanks, r24!

I thought this would be about Sam Smith until I saw the picture.

In terms of opera performance, and beyond the 'once in a generation' sort of voice that Pavarotti and Caballe had, it's more mobility than fatness that's the issue. Back in the 70s in the UK I saw Rita Hunter several times - she was a big girl, but mobile and light on her feet and one could be carried along by the music and her performance. In the 90s Jane Eaglen, however, was actually uncomfortable to watch - it was as though she could barely stand, let alone walk or emote.

Or sing for that matter R28. Eaglen had a career strictly because she made everyone believe she was a dramatic soprano despite the fact she was a lyric who barely could be heard above the orchestra. She was also fucking nuts.

The high note is a mess R30. Flat and severely pressed with an overly fast vibrato because he doesn’t know how to release. The rest of the voice is not Italianate and while it sounds like there’s some heft and color, the technique isn’t really there.

It’s hard to sing when your lungs wheeze like a bellows as you move around the stage.

My hubby, who sings opera all the time, said the high note is flat.

Which is what R33 said...

So, I guess the guy can't sing that well anyway.

Being that fat is shameful, and shame is an important societal tool. Think how much of a burden someone that size is on society, how much more they consume, how many more healthcare workers it takes to attend to them when they inevitably end up in the hospital and how other patients are neglected when it takes six people to turn them, bath them, etc. Being that fat is shameful, and he should be ashamed and lose weight, a lot of it.