Lisette Oropesa is quoted today as saying that overweight women cannot get cast these days in bel canto roles.

Oropesa, 35, says she was ruled out several times for being ‘too fat’.

Oropesa, 2008

She told the Bachtrack site that this ‘voice type . . . is so competitive, you need to look the part or you’ll be disqualified … ‘I thought that I’d worked way too hard and was singing far too well to be stopped before I could even enter the room… Someone would look at my photograph and say, ‘No. Too fat!’’

Oropesa, 2013

Lisette has since gone on a dramatic weight-loss programme after nearing 15 stone (95kg). She says critics and audiences share responsibility with casting directors for the anti-fat prejudice.

Oropesa, 2018

See also An opera singer confronts her body shape and Alice Coote: An open letter to opera critics