Re-envisioning female operatic roles in contemporary performance from a feminist perspective

This research will examine the presentation of female roles in works from the opera canon, focusing on how their compositional and narratological construction aligns or misaligns with the evolution of feminism through its numerous waves. The ideas of some of the leading scholars in musicology and specifically the gender-centric field include Susan McClary, Wendy Heller, Suzanne Cusick and Carolyn Abbate. Works of these academics will be synthesised alongside theorists working in the field of identity including Maurice Hamington and Judith Butler to establish a clear picture of why women were so frequently presented in an oppressive and subordinating way, and how new practice can re-envision these characters to improve accessibility and ultimately, achieve depictions of equality.

With opera itself being at a crucial juncture in terms of its increasing need for evolution to align to the changing and expanding identities of contemporary audiences, it is all the more necessary to establish and propose research-informed ways of working which facilitate the elevation of the female role in works from the canon. The aim of this is to create a greater sense of equality in an art form that, as a product of its historical longevity, can often appear dualistic in its representation of gender. Building on this detailed understanding of female presentation arising from theoretical analysis, this investigation will then compare and contrast traditionally staged and specifically feminist productions of works from the canon, which will be constructed into case studies to propose new fixed methods of elevating the female role by approaching re-envisioning from different perspectives. These proposed perspectives are finding closeness, detachment and encouraging performativity for uniqueness.

Each of these proposed approaches arise from the work of established practitioners including Stanislavsky, Brecht and Judith Butler and are explored in this research through the lens of re-envisioning the female role in opera by the means of newly proposed theory-informed exercises and musical analysis. Such methods are implemented in a workshop environment with a diverse group of singers and amalgamated with primary insights from both leading and up-and-coming practitioners to ensure the effectiveness of these strategies and the detailed reflection of present creative exploration and experience.

This research sets out to answer the question of how female roles in works from the canon can be adequately re-envisioned to both preserve the integrity of the original composition and remain agile and responsive to the changing sociocultural environment of today. Thereby, the genre itself is able to remain continually accessible and celebrated for many years to come.