Here's Your Definitive Guide
To Going To The Opera
Opera Arias
By Alexandra Svokos
Opera can be a little intimidating
Luca Pisaroni in The Enchanted Island
But
underneath the grandeur (and layers of makeup), are poignantly human
stories to the tune of beautiful music. Because opera is not a
mainstream form of entertainment, it is often regarded as a pretentious
one, something untouchable. However, if you give it a fighting chance,
you'll find that opera can be enjoyed by classical musicians and
complete newcomers alike -- old to young.
Here's our guide to making
that happen:
Luca Pisaroni and Lisette Oropesa in The Marriage of Figaro
Picking An Opera
When deciding on an opera to see, think about what type of movie you like (or, what Netflix would suggest for you). Rom-com fan? Try "Don Pasquale." Psychodrama? "Lucia di Lammermoor." Bawdy humor? "The Marriage of Figaro." More into big explosions and theatrics? You're probably better off with some Wagner. Then there's always the classic ABCs of opera: "Aida," "La Boheme" and "Carmen."
If you want to see an opera live, you have to look into what's being performed at your local house (or movie theater). Then do a little research -- even just the first sentence on a show's Wikipedia page will help -- on an opera's plot and genre. Don't research too far -- you don't want to spoil the ending, do you?
Opera tickets can run expensive, but there are usually cheaper options to be found -- think about it like a Broadway show or a football game. Aside from standing room and top tier seats, look out for rush tickets and programs for students or seniors, as well as special promotions from places like Gilt. Programs vary at different opera houses.
What To Wear
No,
men, you do not have to wear a tux. And unless you ladies plan on going
to an extravagant ball later -- or you rabidly enjoy dressing up --
there's no reason to whip out a long gown.
For men, slacks (or,
if you're in a pinch, a nice pair of jeans) and a button-down shirt will
do. Jacket and tie optional. Please don't wear your dirty gym sneakers.
For women, dress pants or a skirt and blouse work, as does a cocktail or work dress. Heels if you feel like it.
If
you're into dressing up, have fun with it and use it as an excuse to
get creative. If not, don't worry about it. Just wear something
generally presentable and you'll be fine. Oh, and probably layer up, you
never know what the temperature will be like inside.
Before The Curtain Opens
You'll
probably want to eat something before you get there -- operas feel
extra long when you're hungry. Ditto for getting a coffee and using the
restroom before you take your seats.
The ushers are there to help.
Don't be embarrassed asking them to direct you to your seats. The
ushers will also hand you a playbill. The playbill has information about
the singers and conductor, which is usually pretty interesting if only
to see all the different countries from which everyone hails. The
playbill also includes the synopsis, broken into acts, as well as
information on intermission(s). Reading the synopsis will help you
understand what's happening in the upcoming act, but if you're the kind
of person who doesn't like plot spoilers, tread carefully.
Check about fifty times that your phone is on silent -- or, better yet, off.
Curtains Open
After
the lights dim, if the audience starts mysteriously applauding, it's
because the conductor is walking out to his or her stand. You should
always applaud for the conductor: they're the one running the show,
after all.
The right times to applaud can get confusing,
especially depending on what you're seeing. The easiest approach is to
wait for someone else to start clapping, and then join along. A brief
silence after singing doesn't always mean it's applause time.
Yes,
most operas are sung in languages that are not English, and even
English is hard to understand in operatic form. No, you do not have to
know Italian/German/French/etc. to understand what's going on. All opera
performances will have some form of subtitles for every line. Sometimes
it's a projection to the sides or above the stage, and in other places
it's a screen on the seat in front of you. If it is a screen, make sure
you hit the appropriate button for your subtitles to show up.
Intermission
Depending
on the length of the opera, there could be an intermission or two.
During intermission, get out of your seat and stretch out some. Wander
around the opera house. They tend to have art and old opera artifacts
and portraits hanging around, which are neat to see.
Stop by the
bar and get a drink or snack, if you'd like. And don't be embarrassed if
you feel the need for a coffee -- it's better to drink a coffee during
intermission than fall asleep during the performance.
There will be some indication -- flickering lights, chimes -- that the show is going to start soon, so head back to your seat.
Oh, The Drama
Opera can inspire a lot of emotions. As Kasper Holten, director of opera at the Royal Opera House in London, said,
"In one evening, you go through in two and one-half hours what the rest
of us spend our whole emotional lives living through." What you see on
stage may not look like real life, but it'll feel like it.
Our
best recommendation is that if you feel yourself getting swept away,
flow with it. Operas can be hysterically funny (even by modern
standards), devastating, devastatingly gorgeous (musically or visually),
sexy, thrilling, tense, poignant and -- it happens -- boring. If you
don't enjoy one opera, that doesn't mean you should completely write all
opera off. That would be like saying you didn't like one TV show, so
now you're never going to watch TV again.
But if you do get caught
up in it all, go on ahead. Cry, laugh, gasp and shout -- we can assure
you that you won't be the only one doing so.
Just don't throw tomatoes; we don't do that anymore.
When It's All Sung And Done
If
you enjoyed what you saw, keep the momentum moving. Most young opera
"aficionados" know so much about the opera thanks to nothing fancier
than the internet. Check out videos of a certain aria or a certain
singer on YouTube, find the snarkiest review of a show that you can, and
get lost in singer gossip.
If you have a friend who's super into opera, they would love answering any question you have and talking all about the art form.
And of course you can always pick up books on the subject (might we suggest the biography of Maria Callas by Arianna Huffington?).
If you have a friend who's super into opera, they would love answering any question you have and talking all about the art form.
And of course you can always pick up books on the subject (might we suggest the biography of Maria Callas by Arianna Huffington?).
Opera Guide,
Guide to Going to the Opera,
How to Go to the Opera,
Opera Dress Code,
What to Wear to the Opera,
How to Choose an Opera,
Picking an Opera,
Learning About Opera,
Opera Languages,
Opera Subtitles,
Opera Playbill,
Opera Libretto,
Arts News
- Italian opera - http://www.snipview.com/q/Italian%20opera
The art form known as opera originated in Italy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, though it drew upon older traditions of medieval and Renaissance courtly entertainment. The word opera,
meaning "work" in Italian, was first used in the modern musical and theatrical sense in 1639 and soon spread to the other European languages. The earliest operas were modest productions compared to other Renaissance forms of sung drama, but they soon became more lavish and took on the spectacular stagings of the earlier genre known as intermedio.
Dafne by Jacopo Peri was the earliest composition considered opera, as understood today, although with only five instrumental parts it was much more like a chamber opera than either the preceding intermedi or the operas of Claudio Monteverdi a few years later. It was written around 1597, largely under the inspiration of an elite circle of literate Florentine humanists who gathered as the "Camerata". Significantly, Dafne was an attempt to revive the classical Greek drama, part of the wider revival of antiquity characteristic of the Renaissance.
The members of the Camerata considered that the "chorus" parts of Greek dramas were originally sung, and possibly even the entire text of all roles; opera was thus conceived as a way of "restoring" this situation. The libretto was by Ottavio Rinuccini, who had written some of the 1587 Medici intermedi, in which Peri had also been involved; Rinuccini appears to have recycled some of the material, at least from the scene illustrated at right. Most of the music for "Dafne" is unfortunately lost (the libretto was printed and survives), but one of Peri's many later operas, Euridice, dating from 1600, is the first opera score to have survived to the present day.
Traditions of staged sung music and drama go back to both secular and religious forms from the Middle Ages, and at the time opera first appears the Italian intermedio had courtly equivalents in various countries.
more from Wikipedia
.gif)
No comments:
Post a Comment