Janice L. Mayer
“Ooh my feet, my poor, poor feet” is Cleo’s Act I song in Frank Loesser’s The Most Happy Fella which I saw six times (yup count ‘em 6 run-thrus!) on my recent trip to Indiana University – more on that adventure in a sequel. In last week’s blog, I interviewed a singer who has performed the bawdy waitress Cleo many times.
Joyce Castle discussed how costuming impacts on the creation of her colorful characters. She said that “shoes make a difference in how you stand and walk. I need to be comfortable, but after that, I know that if I wear heels it will help me walk in a more stately manner and if I have clunky, oxford-looking shoes I will walk with a more measured gait.” When asked about her most memorable shoes, she immediately named the “thigh-high boots I had for my Met debut as Waltraute! Wow – running up that hill in those boots was really something!”
I decided to broaden my survey and ask some other internationally acclaimed singing-actresses how footwear impacts their onstage portrayals
British dramatic soprano Elizabeth Byrne remembers that she had “a wonderful drama and movement teacher at college who used to say a character was built from the feet up. Boy was she ever right! It is very important to wear a really comfortable pair of shoes on stage especially for especially long roles and to be insistent on that, even if the designer has to come up with something slightly different from their original intention.”
She shared that “I encountered my most memorable experience with shoes during rehearsals for my first Brünnhilde. We Walküries were given what was tantamount to ballet slippers. The shoes proved to be not only uncomfortable, but also unworkable as we were performing on a very steeply-raked stage and they had a very soft sole. The only way that I could get a grip on the rake was to curl my toes very tightly. This ended up being very painful. My calf muscles and Achilles tendon were also burning like crazy and we hadn’t gotten to the Immolation Scene yet! In the end I had to demand a pair of shoes with a slightly wedged heel to counter-balance the rake.” I ask you, isn’t singing Brünnhilde hard enough without having to fight gravity too? And who would mess with nine spear-bearing women on a rampage? Obviously a costume designer with a death-wish! Even renowned Swedish Wagnerian Birgit Nilsson is known to have said that “the secret to singing Isolde, was comfortable shoes.”
Indira Mahajan in the tile role of Bess at the Opéra Comique in Paris (Photo Olivier Pascaud)
Indira Mahajan, who received the prestigious 2008 Marian Anderson Award, found a way to make being off-balance work for her character. She commented on the 5-inch patent leather platform shoes she was given to wear as the title role in her recent run of Porgy and Bess in Paris, the fashion capital of the world.
“We all know that platform shoes can be treacherous, just ask model Naomi Campbell. Remember the tumble she took on the runway in those amazing Vivienne Westwood platforms? When I first saw the red platform shoes that costumer Olivier Bériot selected, I was petrified. During the rehearsal process I eventually stopped fighting to maintain my balance and, instead, used the ‘off-balance’ feeling as a dramatic choice. The shoes provided me with a really strong place to build distinguishable physical mannerisms due, in part, to Bess’s relationship with drugs and alcohol. Her shoes became a wonderful opportunity to juxtapose her compromised physicality and her emotional instability. Deconstructing Bess’s shoes became a metaphor for her journey throughout the opera and those fabulous red platform shoes became the window into her broken soul.” Wow, now that’s an intense image!
Soprano Hanan Alattar‘s star is on the rise and not just because of her recent death-defying stilettos! She reported that she also found a way into her first performances in Massenet’s Manon through her heels. “The best character shoes I’ve worn were this crazy pair given to me for Pousette in Los Angeles and Berlin. I had already constructed my character to fit the Marilyn glamour years, but the shoes told me more about this particular girl. She really pushed the boundaries of taste! They were yellow, orange and red, and they were trying desperately hard to make a statement!!! They were really high heels, so luckily I had them to wear in rehearsal. When I saw them, I knew instantly where to go with her personality, because she is supposed to try hard but still have enough ‘class’ to make Manon wish to be just like her!”
Australia’s leading lady, soprano Cheryl Barker agrees that heels can create an impression. “Recently as Emilia Marty (in the Netherlands Opera production of The Makropulos Affair) I wore high platform shoes for my entrance and it helped me to feel commanding and to have attitude.” However, she also agrees with Elizabeth Byrne that “it is important to have comfortable shoes that fit properly as often these days we have to run and do all sorts of things on stage. We’re also often working and rehearsing for long hours on raked stages.” Safety is also a factor. The original Mimi in Baz Luhrman’s acclaimed Australian Opera production shared that “once when I was doing La bohème I came on stage for my entrance with shoes that did not have rubberized soles and I promptly slipped.”
Cheryl Barker is most usually known for her graceful movements on stage and her entrance as Cio-Cio San in stage director Moffatt Oxenbould’s stunning production from the Australian Opera has been described as virtually ethereal. “Barker enters the stage as the gossamer winged creature-beautiful and fragile. In an instant we are spellbound.”(Herald Sun) “Shoes make a huge difference in the characterization,” says our Cio-Cio San. “Tabi, the little sockettes, worn as Madama Butterfly help with the particular Japanese-style of walking. One also feels young and vulnerable without high heels.” Becoming comfortable with these specialty shoes and treating them as an integral part of the exotic costume is essential as Butterfly. It certainly has contributed to Miss Barker’s creation of a memorable portrayal; one which has now been enjoyed by audiences around the world.
American mezzo-soprano Emily Golden performed the title role of Carmen in over three hundred performances worldwide. She also values being grounded. “I always liked doing Carmen barefoot in Act I to help establish the earthiness and rebelliousness of her character.” With her ‘characteristic’ candor, she adds: “That said, hopefully one’s character choices are pretty well formed before the costume department ever gets to your feet!” And that seems to be Emily’s bottom line – literally.