girdlezone.org

In London, on August 17, 2009, in the fortieth concert in the annual summer series of BBC (formerly London) Promenade Concerts, the BBC Scottish Orchestra, chorus and four vocal soloists were led by conductor Ilan Volkov in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Welsh soprano Rebecca Evans appeared in what was described by one onlooker as " a saloon gal frock that only someone as wholesome as her could pull off."



I'd have to think it's an ersatz corset, or one that's carefully adjusted, since she needs to breathe, and deeply, in order to sing!

Looking at the RED HOT lady, I thought of the "Celtic Woman" and wonder if they wear a corset under their gowns. They all look tight in the waist, even the thin ones.

You still sometimes see corsets on stage at the opera when the setting is correct for the period. I once saw "Carmen" and all the cigarette girls had corset (of some nature...I was in the 2nd balcony) as did "Carmen." When you see photos of the famous 19th and early 20th century female singers, they were all corsetted in the styles of the day and likely never even gave it a second thought.

I am a concert violinist and have done works with choir and soloists such as Beethoven's 9th symphony and the various concert requiems, but to date, I have never seen any of our soloists wearing an external corset or even suspected of wearing an internal laced corset. Girdles and all-in-ones perhaps, but never corsets.
Modern operatic directors are now insisting that singers be physically believeable in their roles and some exceedingly zaftig sopranos have actually been fired by opera companies. One very famous dramatic soprano underwent gastric bypass to help her loose weight. She must has lost well over 100 lbs. She is still not a runway model by any means but at least is believeable in many of her roles. At least the tenor can get his arms around her with the libretto calls for that. This is not unique to females. Tenors such as Pavarotti and Mario Lanza had notorious weight problems.

There is also a famous photo of Wagnerian tenor Lauritz Melchior, famous in the 1920's through the early 50's, taken in the 30's in his dressing room at the Met in NYC and he is wearing an elaborate corset to contain his considerable girth, but also to give him support for the long Wagnerian roles he sang such as Lohengrin, Tristan, Siegmund and the various Siegfrieds.

Don't be surprised if the corset actually comes back FIRST, then the girdle!

If you're referring to a retro return of 1950's style gartered girdles - well, that would be amazing.
Considering all the shapers and shape wear currently on the market, then in that sense the "girdle" has already returned.
But, what has not come back, and will probably never be back is the erotic fascination men once had for girdles.

The form may come back, but not the function. The model chicks sporting girdle-like lingerie in fashion shows have no need for the girdle's corrective force whose sensation we so enjoy. The ladies who have let their bellies modulate will also let them hang out, so to speak.