The Arts in NYC Fall 2012

Last Monday, our class all went out to see Aida at the MoMA. It felt like a very grand experience even before going there. All proper Operagoers wear proper clothing and I felt that it was going to be a classy night out hours before I got there.
Sitting down, we had places very high up; in the last row in fact. All of this we all know however, seeing as we all went to the opera.

My opinion of the Opera was in general a negative one; but like a lot of us I was glad that I went. My first gripe starts with the performance. We we’re indeed seated very high but you could tell that the acting was put plainly pretty bad. Basically all it entailed was the actors moving to certain parts of the stage and singing their lyrics. When I did get to see glimmers of their faces, they seemed expressionless and more involved in the song they were singing rather than the story of Aida. Also the points in the story that involved physicality were executed so poorly. One scene that stuck out to me was the part where the king of Ethiopia condemns Aida for not following his plan to betray Ramades. They two hardly made any real eye contact and the way he pushed her was so fake and so was the way she pathetically fell to the ground. Now I know the Opera isn’t supposed to focus on the acting and many of the best actors of Opera aren’t those who have the best acting but rather those who have the best voices. But as someone who isn’t a fan of the music, it leaves nothing to be appreciated. If I can’t enjoy the music I should at least be able to appreciate the performance on stage; and in this case I didn’t.
This leads me to the next gripe I had, which is just a personal block for me. The music for Opera really isn’t for me. First off, the way the Opera is formatted already presented a problem. In my opinion the recitative is not a good way of portraying the music that the composer wants to create and feels very limited as a listener. The fact that the music is supposed to carry the story and doesn’t include the instrumental accompaniment already places an element of B.S. As an outsider to the genre is seems like an unnecessary filler and seems like a conflict between music and acting., and in my opinion you shouldn’t have both music and acting if it takes away from either art form which to me it did. Also I felt that what Opera really is seems like a contention for who has the deepest and seemingly most impressive voice rather than what sounds most musically beautiful. I listened to some of the instrumental/orchestral parts of the opera and I really enjoyed them. Aida’s theme was very catchy and I liked it. But as soon as I heard the vocals, all I could think is that this is showing off how long you can yodel. It annoyed me because when I listen to trance music I love hearing some operatic vocals hymned over the electronic instrumental. That being said I can’t belittle this form of art too much and I thought about a way to understand why anyone would like this and found that it was very similar to any genres of music where a connoisseur would love certain flares of sound design. So for example I myself love a great bass line in an electronic dance music song or a rock enthusiast would love a singular guitar solo.

What I walked away with was an impression of fakeness throughout the performance. The portrayal of Egypt was strange and I could see how this was a reflection of the pop culture of the time. But like many things in a massed pop culture, it becomes hard to create a timeless piece of work. It appeals to the masses, but masses of a certain age. That age has passed and the appeal of Aida will never reach what it was before. That being said, I’m glad to see what the fuss is all about, and I did make use of dropping knowledge about recitative and aria to my girlfriend, which definitely got a good reaction. I probably not going to see another opera any time soon, but will definitely talk about my experience to others and show off that I went.