Babes in Opera land

Their goal, however, as they reminded listeners during a recent performance tour of British schools, is "to make opera and classical music less intimidating," England says. "It isn't dry and academic, it's an emotional experience – it can make you laugh, cry, and all the rest!"

Other babes in the woods of the arts scene would tend to agree. They also find the somewhat provocative moniker useful in catching the public's eye, even at the risk of offending some sober-sided observers.

As with England and Knight, the Bach Babes tag "started as a joke." "Someone suggested it would be helpful to 'gather all the Bach Babes' for a discussion ... the name stuck," says Ms. Gullickson, an oboist and chair of music at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh. She founded the group almost a decade ago along with members of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

"We are very serious about our musicmaking, but are constantly looking for ways to draw the audience into the spirit of the music," says Gullickson. "We try to enhance that experience with chatter ranging from information about the composer, the genre, and social-historical issues to personal insights, experiences, and, of course, humorous anecdotes.... We hope that the more casual atmosphere will help them to feel comfortable exploring classical music in a variety of settings."

More babes who have won fans by combining seriousness and fun include the British group "The Mediaeval Baebes" – nine women who perform modern settings of medieval poetry, sung in Welsh, Latin, Middle English, Old French, German, and Italian. Their instruments include the recorder, dulcimer, guitar, bells, tambourine, hurdy gurdy, mandolin, and zither.

Having just finished a successful US tour, the Mediaeval Baebes often appear at rock venues, such as Lilith Fair, performing what critics have called "medieval soul music."

Last year, the Baebes were invited to perform at The British Library in London, to celebrate the acquisition of an art treasure, the Sherborne Missal, a ravishingly beautiful 15th-century illuminated manuscript.

Perhaps the group to most defiantly proclaim its babe-dom is a much-acclaimed Toronto avant-garde theater group, Loud Mouth Asian Babes.

"Theater is not the thing a lady does. It is not 'polite.' For Asian women, this is all the more true, given the Confucist expectations of submissiveness and service to men," explains founder and artistic director Jean Yoon. "As a second-generation Korean-Canadian, struggling out of these constraints, these stereotypes, is the core of my endeavor."

Ms. Yoon is a believer in truth in advertising: "I'm a loud mouth. I say what needs to be said – loudly," she says. "I'm Asian. And I'm a babe, and so are my friends.... We're not to be messed with, and we create very smart theater."

And as with other babes in the arts, Yoon explains that her group's name has just "piqued interest and provoked a laugh now and then. Unlike some other small arts groups, people always remember who we are. And if anyone does have a problem with the name, if they are completely devoid of humor, they can stay home and watch television."

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