One of the foundational conventions of the operatic genre – that a character is represented by a single performer – is occasionally broken in operas composed today. To understand this trend, this study maps different manifestations of the trend, exploring whether these strategies of multiplicity that renegotiate the character-performer relationship have historical precedents and identifying the musical and conceptual implications of these interventions. Challenging the convention of the one-to-one, character-performer relationship is significant as it was considered so crucial at the genre’s emergence. After some flirtations with strategies of multiplicity before 1900, the twentieth century saw a rise in both the prevalence and development of new strategies to reconfigure the character-performer relationship in newly composed operas as well as stagings of repertory operas. These interventions range from employing multiple voices simultaneously to represent a single character, to rotating the roles among the performers, to adding a dancer, actor, or video recording to the live, onstage singer. Each of these techniques extend character representation beyond a single body and voice. Yet, despite the striking heterogeneity of the musical implications, motivations, and effects, certain principles can be detected in the implementation of these strategies. The heterogeneity indicates the possibilities of the genre to foster and support a wide range of character-performer relationships and their corresponding visions of subjectivity. Moreover, contextualizing this trend within the long history of the genre demonstrates that recent examples of these strategies of multiplicity – like those listed above – are, in fact, a continuation of older trends rather than anomalies. This study proves that the strategies visible in new operas are not foreign to the genre. They capitalize on a multiplicity of representational means that has always been inherent to operatic character in its combination of vocal and orchestral music, words, embodiment, and visuals. While these strategies are not unique for the genre, it should not be a surprise that they flourish there. By turning to operatic practice today and combining music analysis with performance analysis, this study examines three recent opera compositions and their first productions: Wim Henderickx’s The Convert (2022), Ben Frost’s The Murder of Halit Yozgat – An Opera Under Quarantine (2020), and Chaya Czernowin’s Heart Chamber (2019). The case studies respectively emphasize the character-performer relationship’s mutability, its capability for engaging critical reflection, and its potential for sketching the internal drama within a character. The analyses uncover the musical and dramaturgical ideas that underlie these works and reveal how they challenge our understanding of character, role, performer, and the character-performer relationship. These operas exemplify that despite the frequent use of these strategies on the operatic stage today – both newly composed operas and new interpretations of older operas – composers and directors continue to uncover a variety of exciting ways to reconfigure the character-performer relationship.