Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy

For female opera singers, singing a male role is nothing out of the ordinary. Stephanie Blythe, however, thrives in the out-of-the-ordinary. That’s not to discount the majority of her career: Blythe has sung the coloratura lines of Handel and Rossini with whip-smart technique and brought a rioja-hued boldness to more orotund roles like Fricka in Wagner’s “Ring” Cycle.

What Blythe really loves, however, are tenor roles. Her already-rich mezzo deepened and darkened with age, and in 2017 she debuted her drag king alter ego, Blythely Oratonio. Across three cabaret shows, Blythely has tempered divo delusion with a repertoire equal parts Pavarotti and Freddie Mercury. And now he’s moving into the big house: This month, Stephanie Blythe as Blythely Oratonio will sing Don José to Jamie Barton’s Carmen at Chicago Opera Theater. (Blythe herself will sing the title role of “Gianni Schicchi” at San Diego Opera in the 2022-23 season.) 

Over a Zoom call which featured cameos from her two dogs, Blythe spoke about being “a straight, cis woman with a genderfluid voice,” her psychological fascination with Don José, and how performing with drag queens has influenced her choices on the opera stage.