The Opera

I love to go the the opera. It's so multi-sensory. The singing, the orchestra, plus all the visual stuff - sets and costumes.

When I go, I'll read about the performance and opera background online. It's nice to know about the performers, too. Then, I'll try to find a recording of the music and listen to some of the music beforehand. It's really nice to get to the opera and recognize the main theme and parts of the singing. And I'll read a summary of the plot because it really helps to know the story before going, too. Even with the supertitles, it's hard to follow the plot with everything else going on. If possible, I prefer to sit in a forward balcony where I can see the whole stage easily.

I have been to live opera a few times, and have seen a number of them on TV (PBS). I used to hear opera as a kid, because my mother always listened to the Metropolitan Opera's Saturday afternoon broadcasts. (Those are still on, by the way - check their web site). As a child I never knew what the people were singing about, and my mama didn't tell me - there's a reason daytime TV dramas are called soap OPERAS - but I came to enjoy the music.

If I were you, I'd check with the performance venue and ask which opera they're presenting this season they would recommend for "beginners." Then look that opera up online, bone up on the plot, and see if you can listen online to some of the numbers. That will prepare you. Oh, and ask if the venue does English subtitles, because most operas are not sung in English.

Go for the adventure, as you would when you try anything new (and you seem to be an expert at that - good for you!). Wear comfortable nice clothes - it isn't necessary to dress up like Hollywood. If your seat is far back, bring some binoculars. Don't start passing judgment on the production too quickly. Keep looking for anything you like - the melodies, the costumes, the characters, whatever. Use your good theater manners, but if you happen to be sitting next to knowledgable people, pick their brains during the intermission if you can; ask how they got interested in opera, what they like best, etc., etc.

Have fun!

I don't enjoy it but that's me. My husband does enjoy it.

I only enjoy operas if they are large productions. Recently on a trip to NYC my hubby and I decided to splurge and see an opera at the famed Metropolitan Opera House. Sadly dissapointing:( We were a week early for a large production that was to be starting but figured one of the smaller ones would still be equally nice and t wasn't. It was a horrible modern take on a greek tragedy that carried on for 3 hours!!! We were so bored. We vowed never to see an opera again unless it was a major production after that mishap. But they are definitely fun when you see an amazing production!

PBS in our area does opera on Wednesday nights which gives a good taste of it in my opinion and of course, it is free. Otherwise, I would just find someone interested in trying it and go with him or her. My husband and I go on a whim periodically. We both enjoy it but we are by no means lovers of it.

It's wonderful, like going to a musical, or a play, or anything professional. Go for it! Before you go, look the opera up online and read all about the story so you understand it better.

Dawn

Musically, I find opera about as pleasing to the ears as the screamo music my teenage boys listen to. Perhaps I'm an uncultured swine.....

However, I AM somewhat romantic, and I DO enjoy the orchestra and the ballet.

:)

I love going to the Opera. When I was a kid we used to go to see performances at Lincoln Center in NY a few times a year, and now I go once or twice a summer in Santa Fe. For your first, pick a name you've heard of (The Marriage of Figaro, Madame Butterfly, etc.). There are a lot of Operas out there that are truly weird - obscure German modernist composers and the performers all dress as mimes, that kind of weird. Stay away from those for your first try and you'll be good. Dress nicely, but comfortably. And find an Opera house that offers subtitles on your seat. That way you'll be able to understand what's going on if the signing is in another language.

Ah, I love going to the opera! I am lucky that my close friend's dad is a 15 year chorus member of the San Fransisco Opera.

Mary L. has some great tips for thoroughly enjoying yourself at the opera... It's a great experience :)

I love Opera! I love going as well! It used to be that everyone dressed lavishly, but that usually isn't the case now. I always like to dress nicely, but you see everything. I'm not going to argue that -I'm just glad people are buying tickets! Anyway, there are two camps of Opera fans -those who like and appreciate the digital read-out above the stage that tells you what's happening in English, and those who hate it. I certainly can and have enjoyed Opera without it, but I think for people new to it -it really helps, and again, for something that is not on the forefront of trendy entertainment, I just want people to enjoy it!

If you enjoy powerful, amazing voices as well as a good story -you'll like it. Funny, I don't like musicals AT ALL -there are very few I've enjoyed. I cannot stand to watch people acting with dialogue and then burst into song, but I love both plays and opera -for me it has to be one or the other!

I feel very fortunate to have grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a child, I went to the opera house many times for operas and ballets. I have a great appreciation for such things. The San Francisco opera house is so amazing in and of itself that just being there is an experience.

I think it helps to do a little research about the actual opera you will be seeing before you go so you understand the story line. Many of them aren't in English so you won't exactly understand the words they're singing, but that doesn't matter. It's HOW they sing it.

I think it's one of those things you either love or you don't, but you'll never know unless you try it.

Best wishes!

E., I TOTALLY applaud you for being open-minded and trying new things! I recommend that before you book tickets for a live production, get several operas on video first. Your library should have some of the most popular ones and Netflix has operas too. You can listen and look and see what you like best about opera in general, maybe even find one that you'd really like to see live (in a different production of course). Also, go to your library and hit the "fine arts" section -- there should be books there about opera plots, opera appreciation, etc. Instead of going in "cold" to something like opera, it probably would be a better experience for you if you listen to some opera recordings and see some videos first.

I say this not as an opera buff (though we hear a LOT of orchestral music at our house for a number of reasons!) but as a ballet fan who only got into ballet when my daughter did -- and it's been terrific. As I type this we have just come home from a professional ballet at the Kennedy Center and we get to professional ballets maybe three to five times a year. That's not counting the shows my daughter is in through her ballet school! Seeing ballets on video first -- with the big disclaimer that any stage production would be different, possibly vastly different, -- has really helped my daughter love and learn more about ballet, and be prepared for seeing them on stage. Have fun! You sound like a very open and adventurous person!