For MetroWest Opera, when it comes to representation at auditions, it is even more starkly disparate, with about 85% of singers being female, and only 15% being male. Within opera in the United States there is a gender imbalance on average of about three female singers for every one male singer. Yet the same disparity among singers continues to grow and grow and grow: namely the total imbalance between the number of male and female singers.

Every year the technical abilities of classical singers in the US grow by leaps and bounds. There are dozens of music/voice/opera programs throughout the country, and the top programs are becoming ever more competitive. At this very moment, many argue that we are experiencing the “golden age” of opera in the United States. First produced by Local Artists, Local Opera (LOLA) in Austin, Texas, La Femme Bohème is a direct response to a growing issue within the world of opera: the lack of gender parity. Now in its 10 th year, MetroWest Opera-a small, grass-roots professional opera company based in Boston, MA-is challenging notions of casting in opera-in particular the depiction of gender and sexuality-with the regional premiere of La Femme Bohème, the original all-female version of La Bohème. La Femme Bohème – The Original All-Female Version of Puccini’s La Bohème

La boheme opera score