Strauss/Mozart/Rossini mezzo-sopranos—Risë Stevens, Tatiana Troyanos, Frederica von Stade, Joyce DiDonato, to name only a few— often sang the “pants roles” of Octavian and Cherubino; von Stade, DiDonato, Marilyn Horne, and Cecilia Bartoli lent their coloratura agility to Rossini’s Rosina and Cenerentola. Their number has been joined by the American Samantha Hankey and the Irish Tara Erraught.
Hankey, made her 2018 Met debut in a small part in Mefistofele, followed by supporting roles in Adriana Lecouvreur, Rigoletto, and “The Ring.” Her first lead was as Prince Charming in the 2021 English-language edition of Massenet’s Cendrillon. New York audiences were at last able to applaud her Octavian in the high profile 2023 Der Rosenkavalier co-starring with Lise Davidsen and Erin Morley. Tokyo has heard her Carmen.
Hankey’s first public appearance on the Lincoln Center stage was in the 2017 National Council Grand Finals Concert where she sang arias from Tchaikovsky’s Maid of Orleans (in Russian) and Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito. Her strikingly dramatic presence, sumptuous yet supple voice, and fine technique are evident in these clips from her prize-winning performances at the 1918 Operalia (Tchaikovsky) and the 1918 Glyndebourne Opera Cup (Mozart)
Tara Erraught’s New York gigs have been much less frequent than Hankey’s. Hänsel and Nicklausse (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) in the 2017-18 season have been her lot to date. Her traversal of Angelina’s final aria in Cenerentola (Irish National Opera, 2020) is an astonishing record of Erraught’s formidable technique, range, creamy timbre, and charisma. She conveys “Cinderella’s” pardon of her nasty sisters and father and her joy at her coming marriage to her prince charming with an irresistible flow of ebullience and joy.
It is not clear if Hankey and Erraught will continue to be the gold-standard in the Strauss/Mozart pants-roles and the embellishments of Rossini’s feisty leading ladies. Both mezzos have powerful top ranges and have been cast in roles usually taken by sopranos. Hankey has ventured Mélisande and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni). At her home company, Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper, Erraught has also sung Donna Elvira. In this clip Erraught glories in the acrobatic fioriture and mock opera-seria pronouncements of Fiordiligi’s “Come scoglio” (Così fan tutte).
Hankey and Erraught are amply represented on Youtube.