Typecast no more

Being typecast as the elephant, comic or old man never bothered Adam Bonanni. He was used to being cast in character roles in musical productions, even if deep down he knew he had the voice of a leading man. But last year, the high school student from Nazareth, Pa.

, realized that no matter how well he sang, he never would realize his dream of a starring role with New York's Metropolitan Opera as long as he weighed 309 pounds. His instructors at Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts in Bethlehem, Pa., convinced Bonanni that the image of the opera singer that spawned the adage "the opera ain't over till the fat lady sings" is a thing of a past.

With the help of his teacher Kelly Minner, who appeared on the NBC reality TV show, "The Biggest Loser," Bonanni has shed 108 pounds off his 5-foot-10-inch frame since January. "My goal is to be Rodolfo in 'La Boheme.' That's the love interest.

They don't cast (Luciano) Pavarotti in that role anymore. That was his big role, but there are no more fat Rodolfos," said Bonanni, 18, who was Horton the Elephant in a production of "Seussical" last spring. Opera is a combination of music and theater.

Historically, appearance did not matter like it does in Hollywood. Opera audiences fixated on the power of one's voice rising from the diaphragm and exiting the throat and overlooked the fact that the performer singing about being a starving Bohemian was overly fed. Then in the 1980s, image and appearance became important, too, and opera companies started judging auditions on looks as well, said Mary Lou Falcone, a former professional singer who teaches at The Juilliard School in New York.

She also runs a Manhattan public relations company that specializes in culture arts venues and performers. Opera's visually appealing criteria has escalated in the last two decades with the advent of DVD sales and television specials, she said. Nothing underscored this more than the decision by the Royal Opera House in London to fire Deborah Voigt, one of the world's top sopranos, in 2004 because she couldn't fit into a costume.

She subsequently underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost 100 pounds. "You have to sound wonderful, and you have to look wonderful," Falcone said. "The market is flooded with a lot of people trying to make careers in the performing arts.

It's survival of the fittest." Anthony Tommasini, chief classical music critic for The New York Times, said sopranos and tenors still can find work even if they do not fit "the 'Entertainment Tonight' standards of beauty." But if Bonanni's dream of playing the Met prompted him to lose weight, Tommasini said, he will have a better chance at fulfilling his dream and a more meaningful, healthier future.

"You just have to look at our society," Tommasini said. "Childhood obesity in general is just a health problem, and there are enormously compelling reasons to deal with it no matter what profession you go into, for your own health and quality of life." About 19 percent of children ages 6 to 11 were overweight in 2002, as were about 18 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 19, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overweight and obese children tend to carry that problem into adulthood, leading to various medical complications such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, high blood pressure and more. The numbers of overweight children and adults keeps going up. Growing up in a "typical big Italian family," Bonanni was not depressed about his weight.

Everyone was a big eater, and relatives socialized around food and sports. By the time he was 5, Bonanni's parents, Joe and Tammy, knew their son was not going to excel in sports like the rest of the family. He didn't like to play T-ball or basketball.

He liked Disney movies and sat through the two-volume video recording of "The Sound of Music" enough times to memorize the songs. As Bonanni's interest in opera grew, so did his waistline. Tammy Bonanni, remembering her own teenage battles, nagged her son to lose weight for his health.

So did his doctor. Bonanni tried. He went to a nutritionist.

He tried commercial weight-loss programs. He couldn't keep the weight off. When the charter school opened in 2003, Bonanni enrolled as an overweight freshman.

He soon found a friend in his English teacher, Minner. Every morning, they split a bagel with cream cheese, and Minner used one of those snack times in her video application to "The Biggest Loser." The show aired in January 2005, the middle of Bonanni's sophomore year.

Minner made it as a finalist on the show, losing 79 pounds over six months. But another year would pass before Bonanni turned to his teacher for help. He was 309 pounds and growing tired of battling self-consciousness and dreading clothes shopping.

In her free time, Minner showed him the proper way to lift weights and jog. She taught him how to read food labels and portion control. Most importantly, she told him to accept his round body type and to accept full control for his weight.

"Part of me always hoped I would connect with a student like this," said Minner, who has dropped an additional 21 pounds since her television debut. "But I never realized I would connect with someone on this level. He's my friend, my student and my inspiration.

" At school, Bonanni eats in a room alone or with friends, away from the vending machines that dispense soda, chips and microwaveable noodles. When he gets home from school, he walks and runs a 2¹/2- to 3-mile route, and sometimes lifts free weights. Bonanni has shared what he has learned from Minner about the importance of weights, cardio exercise and the dangers of white pasta to help his mother drop 33 pounds and his friend, Kirsten Mikkelsen, lose 45 pounds.

"I knew I had to lose weight," said 5-foot-2-inch Mikkelsen, 17, of Lower Macungie Township, Pa., who now weighs 155 pounds. "Being in shows constantly and being in school, I never found the time.

But, I decided if he can do it, so can I." Bonanni has ditched his 44-waist pants, and bought size 34 jeans from Aeropostale, a store he never had the courage to enter. Based on his height and new weight, he still is considered overweight for his age, but his doctor has warned him not to lose more weight until his body adjusts.

He now has the confidence and strength to pursue his dream. "I can sing for much longer, and things are a little easier now that I've lost 108 pounds," Bonanni said. "I think I can be a leading man.