Why was Cherubino cast as a woman in The Marriage of Figaro?!
Question: Couldn't this character have been altered into a female, or would that have required too much of a departure from the original story? I'm not suggesting that the music should have been transposed for a male voice. But since these songs for a woman's voice were so good, (especially voi che sapete), why didn't Mozart wait for an opportunity for a female character to sing them.
Answers: Couldn't this character have been altered into a female, or would that have required too much of a departure from the original story? I'm not suggesting that the music should have been transposed for a male voice. But since these songs for a woman's voice were so good, (especially voi che sapete), why didn't Mozart wait for an opportunity for a female character to sing them.
These are called "pants parts' for mezzo singers. They are supposed to imitate the sound of a pre-pubescent boy. Using a REAL boy that age would be difficult, with the demands of the opera - so they go to women. Throughout history, there have been MANY instances where people of the opposite gender were expected to take on roles - young men did the women's parts in Shakespeare, for example - lots of others. Then there is the whole topic of the castrati sopranos - but that is another post . . .