Opera singers may have all the perks of being a performance artist but for those who go against the grain and adorn themselves with tattoos, they may be subject to concealing them for concerts. While having tattoos is certainly artistic expression, it has kept singers and makeup artists busy in making sure they don't show for HD and simulcast performances.
For your Mimis, Violetas ad Siegfrieds, tattoos ultimately become an arduous task for their makeup artists, especially in the age of technology. Where every kind of imperfection and flaw is made conspicuous by cameras so must it be covered to keep the opera "pristine."
Artists like the Canadian mezzo-soprano Jean Stillwell and New Zealand baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes have tattoos that have attracted a lot of attention from fans and theatregoers alike.
According to Anne Ford-Coates, a lead hair and makeup artist for Elsen Associates, who has worked with major opera companies around the country:
"It does come up much more with the younger generation of singers because body art has become much more accepted" and "Often you can't see the tattoos because they're placed in a discrete spot. But in the modern age of opera, they like to send handsome men out shirtless. If they have chest tattoos then we do have to cover them up, depending on the period and the production."
For Russian baritone Evgeny Niktin, also, his tattoos caught the attention of his audience when he was due to perform the lead role in Wagner's The Flying Dutchman at the Bayreuth Festival. Ultimately, he was forced to withdraw after a half-finished swastika tattoo was revealed to the public.
He, however, tried to defend himself by saying that the tattoo was, actually, an unfinished symbol of Nordic Mythology. But as the public would have it, upon discovery of the tattoo, many were outraged and suggested that stage directors knew about his ink before he was outed to fans.
Nonetheless, as the world progresses and becomes more accepting of one's own volition to ink themselves up, so must the opera community begin to reform its policies about its performers revealing their desire to use their body as a canvas.
