Why do women sing male roles in opera?

Question:I went to see the Marriage of Figaro the other night and one of the male roles was played by a woman. I would not have cared if I couldn't tell but it was obvious. It might not be as bad if she were an alto but she was a Mezzo-soprano. I never believed her as a man. The was at the Met Opera in New York City so I assume they can have their pick of performers.

I've also seen this at the New York City Opera with similarly bad results that ruin an otherwise perfect opera.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I went to see the Marriage of Figaro the other night and one of the male roles was played by a woman. I would not have cared if I couldn't tell but it was obvious. It might not be as bad if she were an alto but she was a Mezzo-soprano. I never believed her as a man. The was at the Met Opera in New York City so I assume they can have their pick of performers.

I've also seen this at the New York City Opera with similarly bad results that ruin an otherwise perfect opera.

The role of Cherubino was written as a "pants/breeches role"; that is, a male role sung by a female mezzo. It is not uncommon for the role of a boy (whose voice would not have broken yet) to be played by a female in opera. I can understand you confusion, particularly later on in the play when Cherubino dresses up like a girl (so it's a girl dressed like a boy dressed like a girl!) but this is how the role was written by Mozart.

If you check out this Wikipedia link you can see a list of other breeches roles in operas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeches_ro...

This is also done when a role had been written for a castrato and therefor can no longer be sung as written. A castrato is a male singer who was castrated before their voice changed to preserve their boy-like range and tone. Castratos had a range greater than the sopranos and with the power of a man's voice. Since the last castrato died near the beginning of the twentieth century the roles must either be transposed for a tenor or given to a woman as a pants role.

It is simply something that you have to accept and move on. I know it doesn't make the opera more realistic but really, who goes around singing everything they say anyways? You've already suspended reality, this is just one thing more.

It could be that there were no men availabe to sing the part at the time.

What kind of beer did they serve?

Mostly it's the composer's wish to have a male role sung by a woman. Mozart did it in more of his opera's. Don't ask me why he did this.
But of course the director can decide to have that role sung by a tenor.

if they have a manly voice...possibly?

this is standard practice in opera, and has a whole category reserved for just these roles. Cherubino is supposed to be a precocious young man whose voice has not yet broken, and you can't find anyone outside of a young slender woman to give that effect.
sorry you didn't like it, but that's just another thing bout opera to get used to.
Other major roles for a mezzo-soprano as y young man include:
H?nsel, in H?nsel and Gretel
Siebel, in Faust.
Stephano in Romeo and Juliet
Idamantes in idomeneo ( also by Mozart, who really knew how to write for singers)
various pages to kings in Verdi operas
and the pinnacle, the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, by Richard Strauss.
It's actually a lot of fun to do these roles, apart form the constricting bandage that some of us have to wear....
I started out singing these roles before I discovered what my real voice was good for.

It's only disappointing if you're actually expecting the singer to fool you into thinking they're really a man. That's not the intention. As others have correctly written, Mozart wrote that role for a woman, not for a man, and there are many other examples (Octavian in Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier" is one I particularly like).

To believe that it is a young man, rather than a woman, you have to employ what is known as "suspention of disbelief". It's not that hard. If you're enjoying an opera, you're already doing it. First, you're not watching the actual characters but rather singer/actors on a stage. And people don't sing what they say in real life--they speak it. But if try, you can forget that. Same with the female singing a male role. Eventually you'll get used to it, and it will seem very normal--even fun.

These are called trouser roles and are common. Once upon a time, women's roles were sung by men (castrati).