# The Height of Opera



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

How tall were great singers in operatic history? Did height or lack thereof have any effect on their careers in terms of casting? Are there any well-known singers who were surprisingly tall or short? All tidbits welcome, no matter how small!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Sutherland was 5'9 which was tall for women 40 years ago. With bouffant and heels she was towering on stage. She also had a barrel chest. Jessye Norman and Jane Eaglen were 5'10". Nilsson looked tall but was average in height. When she began her international career people remarked on what a good figure she had. Helen Traubel was around 5'10. She also had a 48 inch chest which paled in comparison to her mother, who's doctor said she had the biggest chest he had ever seen on a woman. Price must not have been very tall as she appears the same height as Horne, who was short. Beverly Sills was 5'8". Callas I believe was 5'8". Eileen Farrell was short and dumpy. Tebaldi was very tall: around 5'10". Melchior was around 6'3" which helped make Traubel look petite. Farinelli was 6'3'' which was huge for the day and his chest was enormous. Leonie Rysanek was normal height and quite petite, but looked heavy because she had no neck. Ponselle was 5'7". Alessandra Marc was short. When she stood up to sing at the Verdi Requiem, she didn't look any taller than she was sitting down, but of course there was a lot of padding making her taller in the chair. I am a bad person. I am a fount of useless trivia.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

^^^ I am virtually catatonic with astonishment. So glad I dropped by.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Sutherland was 5'9 which was tall for women 40 years ago. With bouffant and heels she was towering on stage. She also had a barrel chest. Jessye Norman and Jane Eaglen were 5'10". Nilsson looked tall but was average in height. When she began her international career people remarked on what a good figure she had. Helen Traubel was around 5'10. She also had a 48 inch chest which paled in comparison to her mother, who's doctor said she had the biggest chest he had ever seen on a woman. Price must not have been very tall as she appears the same height as Horne, who was short. Beverly Sills was 5'8". Callas I believe was 5'8". Eileen Farrell was short and dumpy. Tebaldi was very tall: around 5'10". Melchior was around 6'3" which helped make Traubel look petite. Farinelli was 6'3'' which was huge for the day and his chest was enormous. Leonie Rysanek was normal height and quite petite, but looked heavy because she had no neck. Ponselle was 5'7". Alessandra Marc was short. When she stood up to sing at the Verdi Requiem, she didn't look any taller than she was sitting down, but of course there was a lot of padding making her taller in the chair. I am a bad person. I am a fount of useless trivia.


Hell yeah! Just what I'm here for, thank you!! I'm really glad I asked now


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Sorry my information says that Sutherland was 1.87m tall which is over 6’1”
She was very tall indeed as why someone asked her why they called her La Stupenda She replied she didn’t know whether they were referring to her voice or her height


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Handelian said:


> Sorry my information says that Sutherland was 1.87m tall which is over 6'1"
> She was very tall indeed as why someone asked her why they called her La Stupenda She replied she didn't know whether they were referring to her voice or her height


She was part of what prompted me to start the thread because I've see her listed anywhere from 5'9 to 6'2 online. I don't know what to believe...


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Handelian said:


> Sorry my information says that Sutherland was 1.87m tall which is over 6'1"
> She was very tall indeed as why someone asked her why they called her La Stupenda She replied she didn't know whether they were referring to her voice or her height


Yes, I have seen that more than once












but here she is listed as 5'9" 
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0840116/bio and here are two photos of her with her colleague, Maria Callas, and they are roughly the same height in both photos, and Callas was not 6'1".Of course, one could counter that Callas was perhaps wearing high heels and Sutherland, flats. Of note for those who are "Callas only!", Callas not only went to hear Sutherland sing but went back to hear her again!!!!! Here is the record.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Bonetan said:


> She was part of what prompted me to start the thread because I've see her listed anywhere from 5'9 to 6'2 online. I don't know what to believe...


Bonetan, see my response above, for what it is worth. Here also are photos of Sutherland and Sills onstage and are roughly the same height. It is interesting to see how much bigger Sutherland's upper body was with her big shoulders and barrel chest compared to Sills petite upper body.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Yes, I have seen that more than once
> View attachment 148261
> View attachment 148262
> but here she is listed as 5'9"
> https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0840116/bio and here are two photos of her with her colleague, Maria Callas, and they are roughly the same height in both photos, and Callas was not 6'1".Of course, one could counter that Callas was perhaps wearing high heels and Sutherland, flats. Of note for those who are "Callas only!", Callas not only went to hear Sutherland sing but went back to hear her again!!!!! Here is the record.


Indeed. And both singers had a great deal of praise for each other. However Lord Harewood states in his memoirs that Callas, when she heard Sutherland as Lucia at Covent Garden, said to him, "She is wonderful, truly marvelous," then added so only he could hear, "But you and I know how much greater I am."

Incidentally, Callas used to go and hear other singers perform quite regularly, just as she used to listen to all the other students when she was at the conservatoire. When Tebaldi was still singing at La Scala, and their so called rivalry was at its height, Callas would always go to hear her, though Tebaldi apparently never returned the favour.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Yes, I have seen that more than once
> View attachment 148261
> View attachment 148262
> but here she is listed as 5'9"
> https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0840116/bio and here are two photos of her with her colleague, Maria Callas, and they are roughly the same height in both photos, and Callas was not 6'1".Of course, one could counter that Callas was perhaps wearing high heels and Sutherland, flats. Of note for those who are "Callas only!", Callas not only went to hear Sutherland sing but went back to hear her again!!!!! Here is the record.


Callas was 1.74m tall which is 5'8.5" which is quite tall. You cannot tell from photos like this as it may have been from the shoes they were wearing or their stance. There is a whole lot of rubbish talked about supposed 'rivalry' going back to Cuzzoni and Faustian. Most of it stoked by the press and fed to the gullible.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Bonetan, see my response above, for what it is worth. Here also are photos of Sutherland and Sills onstage and are roughly the same height. It is interesting to see how much bigger Sutherland's upper body was with her big shoulders and barrel chest compared to Sills petite upper body.
> View attachment 148264
> View attachment 148265


Sills was 5'8". The plant named after her grows to 3' tall.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

On the question of height, it seems to me that light voiced sopranos, those who tend to be cast as Zerbinetta, Zerlina, Susanna etc tend to be on the small size, both as to height and girth.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Domingo was the same height as Sutherland. Pavarotti half an inch taller


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Natalie Dessay 5'2"


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Handelian said:


> Sills was 5'8". The plant named after her grows to 3' tall.


LOL! We have a whole bed of Beverly Sills roses at the rose garden in Woodland Park here in the Emerald City!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Handelian said:


> Domingo was the same height as Sutherland. Pavarotti half an inch taller


Here is Joan in flats ( notice her shoes) next to Pavarotti who was 6'2"


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

According to my information, Jesseye Norman was 6’1” tall


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Here is Joan in flats ( notice her shoes) next to Pavarotti who was 6'2"
> View attachment 148267


You can never tell exactly from photographs as it depends on the angle and how the person is standing. Note that Pavarotti is standing up straight and Joan is not


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## gvn (Dec 14, 2019)

Then there was the wonderful Lina Pagliughi, about whom Beecham unforgettably remarked "she was as short as she was wide" (adding that she looked like a tea cosy). I can't quote her exact dimensions (horizontal or vertical), but I fear Beecham was about right.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Handelian said:


> According to my information, Jesseye Norman was 6'1" tall


I read 5'10" in an article on her years ago, but I only see 6'1" on Google today and I have seen her in person and 6'1" is more believable. She towered.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Handelian said:


> You can never tell exactly from photographs as it depends on the angle and how the person is standing. Note that Pavarotti is standing up straight and Joan is not


She looks shorter next to Sills and Callas but taller next to Pav. I must say, it is a puzzlement.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

gvn said:


> Then there was the wonderful Lina Pagliughi, about whom Beecham unforgettably remarked "she was as short as she was wide" (adding that she looked like a tea cosy). I can't quote her exact dimensions (horizontal or vertical), but I fear Beecham was about right.


One of Beecham's relatives once recounted what an awful old man he was. Reading his biography one can only agree


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

‘ Archaeologists have noticed some interesting differences in Farinelli’s skeleton compared to the bones of other adult males. For one thing, he was much taller than average, with very long limb bones. His bones also maintained some lines of epiphyseal fusion. As children grow, their long bones form from three or more parts: a tube-like shaft and two end plates. Normally, when growth stops in late adolescence, the bone parts join together and fuse; the line of fusion eventually disappears in early adulthood. Both Farinelli's abnormal height (6’3”) and his lack of fused bones are likely related to growth delays caused by his castration. Further, the researchers discovered osteoporosis and a condition called hyperostosis frontalis interna, both of which are generally much more common in older, post-menopausal women. These may also be related to the abnormal hormonal changes caused by castration.’


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I have a question: How many tenors can you name who are not short (under 5'10 being considered short)
Practically everyone I can think of is short. I wonder why that is.
Corelli is the first one who comes to mind. (Vickers/Tetelman/Castronovo maybe?)


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

nina foresti said:


> I have a question: How many tenors can you name who are not short (under 5'10 being considered short)
> Practically everyone I can think of is short. I wonder why that is.
> Corelli is the first one who comes to mind. (Vickers/Tetelman/Castronovo maybe?)


Domingo 6'1"
Pavorotti 6'2"
Ben Heppner was a tall man


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Handelian said:


> Domingo 6'1"
> Pavorotti 6'2"
> Ben Heppner was a tall man


And, as mentioned before, freakin' Melchior.


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

nina foresti said:


> I have a question: How many tenors can you name who are not short (under 5'10 being considered short)
> Practically everyone I can think of is short. I wonder why that is.
> Corelli is the first one who comes to mind. (Vickers/Tetelman/Castronovo maybe?)


A number of Wagnerian tenors were tall: Lauritz Melchior, Max Lorenz, Leo Slezak, James King, Gary Lakes

Others that come to mind are Kaufmann, Calleja, Valenti, don't know what height Jose Cura is?


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

The *real* question: How many short, thin *basses* can you name?


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Handsome Jay Hunter Morris is tall. Hoffman is a small man. Medium height and small build. As to why tenors are often short, I wonder if there is degree of correlation between bone length and vocal cord length as tenor vocal cords are shorter than lower voices.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Yes, I have seen that more than once
> View attachment 148261
> View attachment 148262
> but here she is listed as 5'9"
> https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0840116/bio and here are two photos of her with her colleague, Maria Callas, and they are roughly the same height in both photos, and Callas was not 6'1".Of course, one could counter that Callas was perhaps wearing high heels and Sutherland, flats. Of note for those who are "Callas only!", Callas not only went to hear Sutherland sing but went back to hear her again!!!!! Here is the record.


One was at *Les Huguenots* at La Scala, the other for *Lucia di Lammermoor* at Covent Garden, I believe.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

MAS said:


> One was at *Les Huguenots* at La Scala, the other for *Lucia di Lammermoor* at Covent Garden, I believe.


Wasn't the Lucia at the dress rehearsal, because Callas was in London to record something (or was it the time of her Medeas at Covent Garden)?

I didn't know about the Hugenots, Callas was offered the role in those performances, I believe.

N.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Does a singers height have any relation to some aspect of their vocal abilities?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

SixFootScowl said:


> Does a singers height have any relation to some aspect of their vocal abilities?


Taller, bigger people tend to have lower voices resulting from a larger vocal mechanism, and probably greater volume from larger resonating cavities. There's a reason why Helen Traubel didn't look like Lily Pons.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Seattleoperafan said:


> LOL! We have a whole bed of Beverly Sills roses at the rose garden in Woodland Park here in the Emerald City!


Really!  What do they look like? I can't find any pictures of them online, though I see there is a lovely light pink iris variety named after her. (I know, not really on topic, sorry. :lol


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Joseph Schmidt, the tenor, had no opera career on stage due to his diminutive stature. He was 4’ 10” (1.5m). Didn’t stop him from having a fabulous voice though. He would have flourished in the LP era. Sadly he died of a heart attack in 1942 aged 38.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Barbebleu said:


> Joseph Schmidt, the tenor, had no opera career on stage due to his diminutive stature. He was 4' 10" (1.5m). Didn't stop him from having a fabulous voice though. He would have flourished in the LP era. Sadly he died of a heart attack in 1942 aged 38.


He had great intensity, too.


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