Carmen
Carmen

Strong women

Opera is not known for handling its female characters with kid gloves. Whether they are married against their will, raped, murdered or driven into madness, women were often portrayed as victims of their circumstances, swept along by the winds of fate. In this respect, of course, opera is also a mirror of its time. Rebellious women usually obtain their comeuppance in time for the final act. Just think Carmen or Violetta from La traviata.

However beautiful and tragic, their fate remains outside of their control, bound by essentially patriarchal societies centered around male needs. Here we pay homage to the strong women in opera, and focus on female roles who stand out by virtue of their strong, independent and enterprising character. Heroines who prove to us that opera, as a mirror of our societies, is capable of questioning certain models and gender representations.