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We tend to think of opera singers as a voluptuous breed: it’s not over until the fat lady sings, or so the old saying goes. But as star soprano Lisette Oropesa knows all too well, directors are increasingly pressuring female stars into losing weight.

Back in 2005, the Cuban-American singer — sought by some of the world’s most prestigious opera houses — weighed 95 kilograms (210 pounds). Now, she weighs just 56.

“That’s a lot to lose. It took five years to get to this weight,” Oropesa told AFP.

The 35-year-old was used to being called fat — she’d suffered such taunts since she was a schoolgirl in New Orleans.

But as a singer, she soon found that her weight was blocking her from winning certain roles.

“I was told, ‘You need to fix the weight problem if you want to have any chance at all’,” she said of an early experience at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House.

Cutting the fat girls

She admits she was “very upset for a while” at being told this — but with her career on the line, Oropesa bit the bullet.

There’s a practical element to the push for slimmer singers, says the soprano, who is currently performing at the Paris Opera. In contemporary productions, “they want people to be agile — we are dancing, jumping, and people carry you,” she said.

“If they have a thousand girls to choose from, the first ones they are going to cut are the fat girls.”

She notes, however, that her male colleagues don’t come in for anything like the same pressure. For tenors, of whom there are far fewer vying for jobs, “as long they appear and come to work, they are okay.”

The most famous case of dramatic weight loss in the opera world is that of legendary Maria Callas. Described as “monstrously fat” by one impresario in 1951, the soprano eventually shed 36 of her 91 kilos.

At the other end of the spectrum, Montserrat Caballe — the Spanish star who died in October aged 85 -— remained throughout her career the archetypal curvaceous soprano.

Looks over voice?

In recent years, debate has risen to a crescendo over how much contemporary opera is favoring looks over larynxes. In 2003 London’s Royal Opera House sparked an outcry by sacking Deborah Voigt, one of the world’s best-known sopranos, because she couldn’t fit in her dress.

She used her severance pay to fund gastric bypass surgery — a decision which eventually led to new roles.

Russia’s Anna Netrebko, another global star, meanwhile shocked some of her fans after returning from maternity leave 13 kilos heavier. She retorted that she’d never sung better.

And there was widespread anger in Britain among colleagues of mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught when words like “dumpy” and “stocky” littered press coverage of her performance at the Glyndebourne festival.

“There was little comment on her musicianship, dramatic commitment or her ability to communicate to an audience and to move that audience to tears,” wrote fellow mezzo Jennifer Johnstone.

Some critics shot back that opera is a visual artform, and that people need to be believable as the characters they are playing.

But “body-shaming is not acceptable,” insisted Oropesa, who is sick of rich patrons saying “‘Oh, I am so glad you’re not fat, like so and so’ — because they think they are entitled to say things like that.”

Whether or not there’s a link between sopranos’ weight and their performance is still disputed.

Some fans believe Callas’ voice deteriorated because she lost weight, but specialists contest this.

Oropesa believes it’s a myth that “you should be fat to able to sing.”

And while she stresses that she doesn’t care about how thin people are, she also says she’s seen nothing but benefits to her change in lifestyle.

To slim down, Oropesa didn’t resort to drastic surgery or a starvation diet — she started running marathons.

“I have done six marathons and I run almost four to five days a week,” she said.

These days, “when I run round the stage it doesn’t make me feel sweaty, or dying out of breath, because I run a lot.”

After Paris, Oropesa heads to Rome where she’s performing Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” then to Barcelona for Handel’s “Rodelinda” before shows in Brussels and Pittsburgh.

“It is non-stop — a real vocal marathon,” she said with a smile.
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Thirty-year-old Shamsia Hassani is widely recognized as Afghanistan’s first, if not only, female graffiti artist. Being a graffiti artist anywhere in the world is a challenge, but in war-torn Kabul, it carries its own unique difficulties.

An invitation to an Istanbul cartoon and street art festival allowed Hassani to share her pieces with a broader audience. The large mural she worked on for three days features a regular character of her work, a cool, fashionably dressed young woman playing an instrument.

“This character is always in my work with different compositions, and she has different messages and different colors,” Hassani explains. “She can use her musical instrument to talk to people, to speak louder and to get more attention, as she has no mouth.

“But this musical instrument gives her power to speak in society,” she adds “Her eyes are closed because usually, she has nothing good around her to see, she does not want to see anything around, and she cannot see her future. However, it does not mean she cannot see.”

Welcome respite in Istanbul

The opportunity to attend the Istanbul festival is welcomed, Hassani says, given the increasingly difficult environment in Afghanistan.

“Recently the situation is getting very bad, and I usually am feeling hopeless sometimes because I see that nothing has changed and I could not change anything, that’s very hopeless,” she said.

“Still, I am trying to work to give power to people and how they can stay strong in a society like Afghanistan,” she said.

Late to graffiti

Hassani has struggled in her pursuit of art. Born in Iran to Afghan parents who had fled the war in Afghanistan, she was prevented from studying art in Iran, she says, because of her Afghan heritage. Eventually, her parents moved back to Kabul so she could pursue her art studies at Kabul University, where she now teaches. Hassani’s love of graffiti came relatively late, however, thanks to an international initiative.

“I just started to make graffiti at a graffiti workshop in Kabul,” she said. “They brought a teacher from the U.K. by the name of Chu, and he teaches us how to do graffiti. It was a very good experience, and after that I was just trying to paint on walls, and I wanted to do graffiti.”

​A luxury of time

Working on a mural for a few days at the Istanbul festival is a rare luxury for Hassani. Being a graffiti artist in one of the world’s most dangerous cities carries its own unique challenges, especially if you are a woman.

“I am really scared of public spaces; I am really scared for explosions happening all the time. Specifically, it’s difficult for women to do graffiti and street art because usually, people are not happy with women’s activity,” Hassani said.

“My family is very supportive, my parents and my husband, they always support me in my works. All the time I am careful,” she adds with a nervous laugh. “I usually work in Kabul, but usually on the small walls, not the big walls, because I cannot finish them. I need to run away as soon as I can.”

It’s not only the risk of bombs and hostility toward women artists, that Hassani faces. Artistic differences with the owners of the walls upon which she paints also can be a problem.

“I am trying to get permission, but sometimes it’s difficult. Usually the owner of the wall never gives me permission to paint something — fantasy like this” Hassani said, pointing to her mural. “They usually like me to paint some portrait or some landscape or something that they like. So that’s why it’s difficult to find a wall and location, as well.”

At the Istanbul festival she received a warm reception as she held a seminar, sharing her experiences with a full and appreciative audience that peppered her with questions. Hassani says the support and interest at the seminar is welcome because in Kabul, few dare to offer her public support.

“When I am working, sometimes I listen to people, and they usually use bad words,” she said. “But there are just a few people who say OK, it’s nice, or some people never say anything, they just pass by. But when I post my pictures on social media, I see a lot of support there. However, while working (outside) no support from people.”

Love, power of art

When asked what keeps her going, Hassani says it is her love of art and the power it has for good.

“I think I can introduce art to people in Afghanistan because we don’t have galleries and exhibitions, and it’s good way that I can just show them artwork,” Hassani said. “And I also think that I can change people’s minds with my artwork and sharing my ideas with people, that’s the thing I really like to do.”
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The director of a viral rap video that has racked up tens of millions of views on YouTube with lyrics flaying Thailand’s military junta says the artists behind it have no intention of hiding from police. 

Since the junta, led by Prayut Chan-o-cha, seized power in a coup four years ago and banned political gatherings, it has harshly punished any form of dissent, jailing scores of critics and opponents. 

That’s why it was something of a surprise when director Teerawat Rujintham and the collective Rap Against Dictatorship launched a broadside against the military by releasing a profanity laced video called My Country Has It on Oct. 22. 

Teerawat told VOA the public response to the video, which has been viewed more than 23 million times on YouTube, had vastly surpassed the group’s expectations. 

Waiting for reaction

“The project served its purpose, and for now each of the members of the group and I are just waiting for the reaction from those in power and the government to contact us,” he said in an interview conducted partially through a translator. 

He said he and the group were “not going to hide from the police. We’re going to confront them, because I don’t feel that [we] did anything wrong.” 

Teerawat said the video had tapped into brooding resentment that many Thais felt toward the junta “under the surface” but could not express. 

“The country that points a gun at your throat.  Claims to have freedom but no right to choose.  You can’t say [stuff] even though your mouth is full of it. Whatever you do the leader will see you,” one artist raps in the video. 

Police initially threatened to arrest group members after the song’s release, but as online views of the video quickly shot up, they backed down. 

Local media reported Deputy National Police Chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul had filed a defamation suit against the group and stressed that its members remained under investigation.  Police have not answered VOA requests for comment. 

Prayut reportedly weighed in Tuesday, warning anyone who “shows appreciation for the song must accept responsibility for what happens to the country in future,” according to the Bangkok Post. 

“I do not care if they attack me. But if they do so against the country, I do not think it is appropriate,” he reportedly said. 

Undeterred, anti-junta punk rockers plan to hold a concert Saturday in Bangkok at the site of a notorious 1976 massacre of student protesters opposing military rule. 

The massacre is regarded as a highly sensitive topic for the junta and is graphically depicted in Teerawat’s video when the camera pans to an effigy of a corpse hanging from a tree, representing the lynchings that took place. Teerawat said he chose to use the cover-up of the massacre as a metaphor for the present. 

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, an associate professor of international political economy at Chulalongkorn University, said the artists are helping vent pent-up public frustration as long-delayed elections, expected now by mid-2019, draw closer. 

More expected

“It strikes a chord because they feel that they themselves are fed up and frustrated with no way out, no voices to be heard. So these guys are speaking up for them, and I think we will see more of it going forward,” he said. 

Political figures ranging from former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the young billionaire leader of the progressive new Future Forward party, have come out in support of the rappers’ right to speak out. 

Their support and the huge popularity of the artists means silencing them outright has become a precarious proposition, Thitinan said. 

“The military government will be in a dilemma now because on the one hand they want to suppress it, there’s no doubt. But if they do suppress it they have less chance of winning the election, because these groups are popular,” he said. 

“On the other hand, if they allow it to go on, to take place, then they would invite other groups, other movements to come to the fore against the military government,” he said. 

Meanwhile, street graffiti artist Headache Stencil has gained notice for skewering senior regime leaders, including Prayut, in his satirical works.

Paul Chambers, an expert on Thai politics and lecturer at Naresuan University, said Rap Against Dictatorship’s video has gained strong popularity among urban voters, many of whom had originally supported the military coup. 

“Thus the writing is on the wall: More and more former junta supporters want the military to return to the barracks,” he wrote in an email.  “The surprise is that more and more urban Thais, who tended to remain supportive or apathetic to the junta, have now jumped on the bandwagon of demanding a return to democracy now.”  

Prayut repeatedly has delayed promised elections since staging the 2014 coup, Thailand’s 12th since 1932. He also passed a new constitution that grants him extraordinary power and the military virtually total control of parliament. 

Some steps have been taken to loosen the bans on political activities he implemented after seizing power, though many remain. 

Rangsiya Ratanachai contributed to this report. 
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Rafael Nadal pulled out of his second-round match at the Paris Masters on Wednesday because of an abdominal problem, meaning Novak Djokovic will reclaim the No. 1 ranking next week.

Nadal was returning from a right knee injury which forced him to retire from the U.S. Open semifinals, but took medical advice not to play against Fernando Verdasco.

 

“The last few days I start to feel a little bit the abdominal, especially when I was serving,” Nadal said. “I was checking with the doctor and the doctor says that is recommended to not play, because if I continue the abdominal maybe can break and can be a major thing, and I really don’t want that.”

 

At last year’s tournament, Nadal reached the quarterfinals but then pulled out against Serbian qualifier Filip Krajinovic. Nadal has dealt with off-and-on knee problems for years and, given his injury record, the 32-year-old Spaniard prefers to be cautious.

 

At the U.S. Open in early September, he dropped the opening two sets against Juan Martin del Potro before retiring. He then skipped the Asia swing to recover, missing tournaments in Beijing and Shanghai.

 

“It has been a tough year for me in terms of injuries so I want to avoid drastic things,” Nadal said. “Maybe I can play today, but the doctor says if I want to play the tournament, I want to try to win the tournament, the abdominal with break for sure.”

 

Nadal did not say whether he will play at the season-ending ATP Finals in London, beginning Nov. 11.

 

“I cannot answer. I just go day by day, as I did all my tennis career,” the 17-time Grand Slam champion said. “I would love to be in London of course. But the most important thing for me is to be healthy, be healthy and have the chance to compete weeks in a row. Something that I was not able to do this year, playing only nine events and retiring in two.”

 

Nadal is optimistic his latest injury will pass, providing he does not rush back.

 

“It would not be fair to say it’s a real injury today but what is sure, if I continue it will be a real injury,” he said. “When you come back after injuries, and you push a little bit, the body at the beginning some issues can happen.”

 

Djokovic, who faces Damir Dzumhur in the third round, will reclaim the top ranking for the first time in two years on Monday.

 

Also, Roger Federer advanced to the third round after big-serving Milos Raonic retired with a right elbow injury.

 

Raonic injured himself during a three-set win against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Tuesday.

 

“In the middle of second set, I overextended my elbow and it did some kind of pain,” he said. “I went and I did an ultrasound and MRI, and they found some kind of a lesion in the tricep.”

 

Federer, who won his 99th career title at the Swiss Indoors last Sunday, will face 13th-seeded Fabio Fognini.

 

Defending champion Jack Sock of the United States and fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev reached the third round in straight sets.

 

The 16th-seeded Sock saved all four break points he faced in a 6-3, 6-3 win against Frenchman Richard Gasquet, while Zverev advanced 6-4, 6-4 over American Francis Tiafoe.

 

Seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson, the Wimbledon runner-up, got past Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3).

 

No. 8 John Isner, No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov and No. 10 Kei Nishikori also won.

 

Dimitrov had 13 aces in a 7-6 (10), 6-4 win against Roberto Bautista Agut and Nishikori beat Adrian Mannarino of France 7-5, 6-4. Isner had 33 aces in a 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-6 (1) against Mikhail Kukushkin, with the big-serving American saving a break point in the 11th game of the third set.

 

Isner and Nishikori are competing with No. 5 Marin Cilic and No. 6 Dominic Thiem for the last two spots for the ATP finals. Thiem was facing Frenchman Gilles Simon later Wednesday, while No. 11 Borna Coric was playing Daniil Medvedev.

 

 

 

 
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Three weeks after a bizarre White House meeting with U.S.

President Donald Trump, rapper Kanye West said on Tuesday he was

distancing himself from politics.

West, Trump’s biggest celebrity supporter, also sought to distance himself from a new campaign that encourages black Americans to quit the Democratic

Party.
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Clues to America’s past can be found in its ghost towns, once bustling communities that have been abandoned.

The deserted communities show us how the Industrial Revolution and two World Wars shaped the history of the United States, according to Geotab, a telematics company (think global positioning and vehicle tracking), which developed an interactive map showcasing more than 3,000 abandoned towns across America.

Ghost towns are often associated with the Wild West and Texas does have the most ghost towns with 511 abandoned communities. California follows with 346, and Kansas with 308.

Most of the Texas towns were established during the frontier era, from the early to mid-1800s. Mining towns sprang up around rich mineral deposits while the Mexican government’s favorable terms — a promised 4,000 acres per family for a small fee — attracted settlers.

“In the end, some Texas towns were destroyed by natural disasters and droughts, while others failed once the railroad and highway system reshaped transportation routes,” Geotab’s Kelly Hall told us via email.

Towns founded around particular mineral resources were abandoned when demand dried up.

“Once the need declined or resources were scarce, it caused the population or entire town to vanish,” said Hall. “Others were economically overpowered by neighboring towns, the Great Depression or frontier settlements that simply died down.”

Sixty structures still survive in Bannack, Montana, which was founded in 1862. The town flourished when thousands descended on the area with hopes of making their fortune in gold. By 1860, the gold was harder to reach and, despite a brief resurgence in the 1890s, the town was abandoned by the 1940s.

Natural disasters could also wipe out a town. That’s what happened to Fort Jefferson in Monroe County, Florida.

Built starting in 1846, the fort once helped defend the state against pirates, became a prison during the Civil War, was once used as a quarantine station, and then a refueling station for the U.S. Navy. But Fort Jefferson was abandoned in 1906 after it was damaged by a hurricane.

“With limited access to technology and without today’s emergency management advancements, a hurricane, a tornado or an earthquake could mean the total devastation of an entire community,” Hall said.

But some of these ghost towns, such as Fort Jefferson, have gotten a second life as tourist attractions. The residents are long gone, but the buildings, and the unique history of each town, remain.
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