It’s not over till the fat lady sings! Right?

“It’s not over till the fat lady sings!” Right?

This is what most people think of when called upon to envision opera. After the fur coats and cummerbunds, visions of horned-helmeted, buxom sopranos are right up there.

But young opera singers today are challenging that perception. The new phrase: “It’s not over till the FIT lady sings!”

Opera singers are required to be some of the most physically fit people in theater. In addition to needing dance training, stage movement and combat training, singers must be ready to climb up, down and over sets that are increasingly large, complex and imaginative. Check out the set the singers had to navigate during the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Das Rheingold.

Sometimes, they must manage costumes that are extremely heavy and unwieldy or wear costumes made of heavy, hot fabrics, such as these chefs from the Met’s production of Hansel and Gretel.

Dresses can weigh up to 20 lbs. Capes can be 10 feet long! Check out massive dress Angela Brown wore Indianapolis Opera’s production of Ariadne auf Naxos – imagine having that on for three or four hours!

In some cases, singers are even rigged to wiring so they can fly across the stage. This requires an immense amount of coordination!

In addition, modern opera singers have more diverse exposure to audiences. Singers nowadays can be featured in magazine, blogs, on a company’s website, in a newspaper or on TV. The Met Live in HD series has more fans than ever coming to see the opera for an up close and personal experience. You no longer need opera glasses to see an opera singer at work – they are 20-feet tall, live on the big screen. That means every part of their physique is visible and under scrutiny by audiences that are used to seeing movie stars on screen.

All this means that singers need to be increasingly agile, strong and physically fit. A fitness routine not only helps singers be prepared for a long rehearsal period, heavy costumes or tricky set design – it provides daily discipline that helps them to succeed in the art form.

As many people are working to fulfill their New Year’s resolution to be get into shape, we will share with you what it takes to be opera-singer fit.

To start off, meet our Indianapolis Opera Ensemble artists. This group of young artists have recently graduated from their respective master’s programs and will be training with IO January through May. Join us this Saturday, January 14^th at the Basile Opera Center to see them in action in this season’s children’s opera Jack and the Beanstalk. The performance is free and open to the public and starts at 11:00 am. Full details can be found here.

Meet soprano Angela Gribble, a vegetarian who enjoys yoga and exercising on the elliptical.

Mezzo Davia Bandy, weight trains and uses Jillian Michael’s workout videos when on the road for auditions and gigs.

Tenor Jon Jurgens, extreme cyclist (he’s training to do a double century ride, which is cyclist jargon for 200 miles!).

Last, but not least, baritone Elliot Brown, who is training for a half-marathon this May.

In the next 3 weeks, you’ll learn a little bit about each of our singers, their take on physical fitness and what they do to stay in shape. Get some inspiration from our dedicated young artists and let it help you to stick to your New Year’s resolution to hit the gym!