Critics Of Opera Singer Tara Erraught Under Fire After Fat-Shaming

Critics of Irish opera singer Tara Erraught are on the defensive after slamming the singer for her size during a recent performance. The 27-year-old mezzo-soprano recently debuted with praise as the character Octavian in Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. But that praise is being undercut by critical comments about her weight.

The Financial Times’ Andrew Clark said that,“Tara Erraught’s Octavian is a chubby bundle of puppy-fat,” for example.

In a rebuttal to the overwhelming wave of critical male reviews, NPR’s Anastasia Tsioulcas said, “What is stunningly apparent is just how much a woman’s body matters onstage — way more, if these five critics are to be believed, than her voice, her technique, her musicality or any other quality.”

Since, some of Erraught’s critics have walked back some of their comments. The Times‘ Richard Morrison, who described Erraught as “unsightly and unappealing,” apologized by saying, “Several musicians I count as close friends tell me that what I wrote would have upset greatly the promising young singer who took the role of Octavian. I regret that.”