Jonas Kaufmann, said to be one of the world’s greatest tenors, has suggested that half of the operatic repertoire could be struck from stages in the wake of the #MeToo movement and a climate of hostility towards misogynistic plot lines.

Speaking about a recent performance of popular encore ‘Girls are Made to Love and Kiss’ in Santa Monica, he warned that increased public awareness of sexual harassment and assault could make popular lyrics inappropriate.

The aria, from the 1925 operetta Paganini, features a man reflecting on women’s place as objects of male desire, singing: “I’m a man and I kiss her when I can”.

“If I have to ask myself whether these tiny little erotic hints that composers gave in the 1920s are inappropriate, half of our operatic repertoire can’t be played any more,” Kaufmann said in an interview with The Spectator.

His comments point to the influence of the #MeToo social media campaign against the sexual assault and harassment of women. In the light of fresh public awareness of the issue, many opera-goers are uncomfortable with the tendency for plots to end with the brutal death of a woman.

Although it is common for women to play in so-called ‘trouser roles’, as male characters, the role of women in opera and gender imbalances in casting have long been the subject of controversy.