Danielle de Niese: New generation of opera stars to combat 'fat lady sings' parody She told the Telegraph she hoped to encourage a new generation of fans to forget outdated stereotypes, by singing in unusual venues and appearing in performances that "could be Beyonce show." "People get very locked up in some very old ideas," she said. I don't know where they come from. It's still the parody of the fat lady sings. People see the aspects of opera in cartoons and believe that's what opera must be like. It's kind of sad. It's not like that now, and we're all doing our bit to change that image. The phrase is generally assumed to refer to Wagner's Ring Cycle, where the character Brunhilde performs a solo towards the end of the opera. Its origins are unknown, but have been attributed to American journalist Ralph Carpenter and broadcast Dan Cook, who both used it during basketball games in 1976 and 77. Recent years have seen fierce debate on the size of opera singers, after singer Deborah Voight was sacked from a 2004 production of Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos at the Royal Opera House for being too large. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa last year argued opera singers have "got to have beef" on them to perform well, admitting she "ate to sing" during her career. Others have argued the notion has no basis in science, with individual singers noticing their voices change for a variety of lifestyle reasons. De Niesi, who has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, the London Philharmonic and in Covent Garden, said new, younger audiences were often "shocked" to see the reality of modern operas, with "plenty of slim singers in racy productions around the world." "We're living in an age right now where the more skin and scandal there is, the more attention you get," she said. The productions are really embracing modern times. Why would we have stopped moving into a new age when everybody else has? Just because the music was written hundreds of years ago, doesn't mean the productions can't change with the times. It's an evolving art form, just like everything else. We're asked to do a lot more acrobatic things than in the past. There is a lot more visibility, with DVDs and Youtube videos of performances; it's a lot more physical. Today, I might dance myself where they might not have done 40 years ago. When asked about the belief opera singers need to be larger to hit the notes, she said: "It's nonsense. It's something that people may have seen someone heavy set singing to 6,000 people without a microphone, and assumed that the big sound had to come from a big body. But it's completely about support - you cannot sing without technique and proper support. Size is incidental. She added she would now encourage the "young, cool faces" of opera to change the stereotype, with "people like me becoming synonymous with classical music." "Opera was not always something for the middle classes and elite," she said. It was something very much for the masses. And it's actually quite relevant. It's about love, lust, relationship, betrayal; all things we can relate to today. Anyone who feels locked out of it is feeling that unnecessarily. It's fear and habit, with no actual reason behind it. Christine Chibnall, planning director for Opera North, said the clichés of the "fat lady sings" ought to have "gone out with the dark ages," with fitness now being the main consideration. "In my experience, it's isn't to do with size but fitness and muscular strength," she said. Opera singers come in as many shapes and sizes as anyone else in the street, and look just as you'd expect in the theatre. The start point is that they've got to sing well, and I think we're all sophisticated enough to know that's not to do with how you look. Kasper Holten, director of opera at the Royal Opera House, said fierce competition for parts does mean that "looks matter" in stage productions, but added the ability to give a full dramatic performance was more important. "It's not so much about being super slim and looking good on a superficial level, as having charisma and the ability to add colour to their voice," he said. If they feel good about their body and are comfortable, they can express themselves on stage. He added singer's voices changed throughout life for a variety of reasons, with weight one of many factors that might affect it.