The Arts in NYC Fall 2012

I saw my first opera during sophomore or junior year of high school, when I went to see Don Giovanni. That being said, I had some pre-conceived notions about the Met and the entire idea of an opera. In all honesty, I was expecting a very long performance, somewhat boring classical music, and very dramatic acting coming from the singers. Although I wasn’t impressed the first time I went to Lincoln Center, I was still excited about seeing an opera as a college student.

One thing that stood out to me was that I was wrong to expect tedious classical music. Aida turned out to be a marvelously written musical piece, and the orchestra was possibly my favorite aspect of Monday night, because the dramatic and, at times, powerful music was enough to keep me awake throughout the whole show, surprisingly (along with the Red Bull I brought). Another thing I enjoyed about Monday night was the stage the setting. Although we were basically in the last few rows (the height gave me vertigo every time I got up and made the mistake of looking down), the effort to make the stage look beautiful was apparent, and very cleverly done. It was definitely a grand opera. The costumes were amazing and went along with the stage design perfectly.

Of course, there were several things that bothered me. As a grand opera, it is expected to see a lot of decorations and people (back up singers?) on stage, but at times I thought it was over-done. Act II, when the victorious Egyptians are welcomed back and present their success to the pharaoh, is an example of this. Were the horses really necessary? Granted, they were probably some of the most interesting participants in Aida that night, but they seemed not to be used to being in the position they were in that night. I started feeling a bit nervous that the horses would kick or bite the people next to them. It was obvious that the two men were nervous too; after all, horses are not meant to be on stage. Overall, I thought the first half was more interesting than the second, as the second seemed to drag on for too long. As other people have noted, Aida took way too long to die, and the death of her and Radames wasn’t very dramatized. I always associate opera with dramatic ends, and Aida lacked it. The last thing that bothered me was the choice of actors, in particular Aida and her father. I find it hard to believe that they could not find a Black female soprano singer, and a Black male baritone… The spray tans were really bad.

I think I might have expected too much of Aida. The videos Jake showed us in class made me want to see some things done differently. Overall, I thought the actors lacked chemistry, some acts took too long, and there could have been a better choice of performers. It was not all that bad in general, but I think I would need some time to get used to operas.

I was excited to go to the Lincoln Center for the first time. I had never been to an opera before, and I liked how we had the opportunity to attend one. I know that opera is not for everyone. My moms good friend attends ALL the time and enjoys every second of it. Her husband on the other hands HATES them. In fact during the end of one opera it took forever for the protagonist to die so he got up out of his seat and screamed “Can you die already?” (true story by the way) I figured I’d just have to attend an opera to make my own judgement.

From the second I saw the beautiful fountain in the front of Lincoln Center, I knew that the inside would just have to be extravagant. The red carpets and classy chandeliers created a rich environment. When we got to our seats in the family circle I was a little disappointed that we were indeed all the way in the back. However, we still had a view so it wasn’t too bad. I was excited for the opera, yet I was anticipating the dread of having to sit through such as long performance.

Aida went by faster than I thought it would. Intermissions were too long though- they made the performance drag on. I was blown away by the intricate set. It was absolutely magnificent! The singing and acting however is a different story… Aida fell short of my expectations. I had high hopes of her after watching the video clips of “Aida” in class. I didn’t find myself feeling her pain and anguish. It was hard to identify with her because she didn’t succeed in connecting with the audience. She didn’t give a vigorous performance. She needed more oomph in her. The same is true of Ramades. He had the same facial expression on the whole time. The most disappointing part though was when Aida was forced to make the decision of betraying her love or betraying  her country. Aida’s father was not as angry as he should have been and Aida didn’t fall to pieces and go through an emotional collapse. Her literal collapse to the ground was a bit pathetic, and her singing during this part was not any better. On the other hand, Amneris was phenomenal. I was able to feel how jealous and angry she was. She sang and acted passionately. Aside from Amneris’ performance I was really impressed with the dancers during the victory scene.

As I mentioned earlier, the opera went by faster than I thought, but the last scene dragged on. It took forever for Aida to die. I can’t just blame this opera for that though, I hear that the death scenes always take forever. I think opera’s need to be modernized a little bit, where certain scenes get to the point a little quicker.

Musicals and singing were never my thing and the fact that I sat through a performance of people just singing means something positive. Overall the opera was okay. I wish Aida gave a better performance. But I do feel a lot more cultured after watching Aida. Now I can say I have attended an opera.

I’m really glad Jake came into our class. I knew absolutely nothing about operas before his visit. It was nice to learn about the structure of an opera and what goes into it. I’m glad I was able to understand how an opera works as well as the story line of Aida. That definitely helped me appreciate the opera more.
-Eleni

I walked into the Lincoln Center without biased judgments or negative views of the opera. I have heard people speaking poorly of the opera and about how boring it was. But, there are also people I know who loved the opera and enjoyed sitting through everything. The only logical way for me to see if I liked the opera was to go and see for my self. I made the mistake of thinking that modern ballet at the Complexions was going to be a terrible experience. I walked into Complexions believing that the next three hours were going to be arid and drab. As I sat there in the theater I realized how completely wrong I was. I couldn’t have been more naïve and ignorant. I found the statement “never judge a book by its cover” to be truer than ever.

I walked into Lincoln Center believing that I may like the opera. I didn’t judge it prematurely even though I heard so many negative views about the opera. Turns out that I was wrong about that too. Opera just wasn’t enjoyable for me. I found it all to be drab and bleak. It didn’t take many recitatives and arias for me to figure out that I wasn’t compatible with the Opera.

I know that it was three and a half hours long but it honestly felt like seven hours. I was constantly glancing at my watch hoping that the time had gone by quicker than expected. Unfortunately that never happened. The longest part was definitely after the last intermission, which were the last two acts. Even the couple of seconds in between the two acts weren’t good enough because I couldn’t get up and stretch. I felt as though the second part of the last act was dragged out way too much. We all knew they were going to die since they were sealed off in a tomb to die slowly. However, they couldn’t have just ended it simply. They slowly drew it out.

The room and elbow space for each seat was extremely small. Just by stretching my arms I could touch the person a seat away. Plus, having my book bag in between my legs on the ground was even more annoying because my legs became cramped and uncomfortable.

The singing was bearable since I had the subtitles in front of me. As it commenced I just kept looking back and forth between the stage and the little screen. I think the English translation at the Met is much better than the translated version I read in the libretto, which was quite difficult to comprehend. The translations at the Met were more concise and modern, but as some people have stated it feels as though some things may have been lost when it was translated into English.

The most enjoyable parts were the last part of Act I and the beginning of Act II, which were the ceremonies of Radames becoming the commander-in-chief and then the victory scene. The dancing was entertaining and amusing. When the white horses were on stage, I thought they were on the verge of doing something very reckless, but they were kept under control long enough for them to be lead offstage. The orchestra was also quite pleasant. They sounded in tune most of the time, if not all.

Unlike modern ballet I did not enjoy the opera nearly as much. Maybe in the future I might grow into it, but I don’t see that happing anytime soon.

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” If only I had followed Alexander Pope’s advice before heading to Lincoln Center to see Aida. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve heard of the Opera and how grant and elegant one is who heads out to such an event. For as long as I can remember, my grandparents celebrated their Tuesday night, Date Night at Lincoln Center dressed to the nines. I remember my grandma’s long fur coat, her shiny black heels, and my grandpa’s snazzy tux all in honor of such an event. I then remember my parents making the trek to the city to see the show, only to come back and ramble for hours about how cultured and fabulous they felt after sitting through the performance.

As you can tell, the Opera has been hyped up a ton in my life. So as Monday night drew near, I felt a rush of excitement towards this special event. I spent ample time selecting the perfect out-not too fancy, not too under-dressed, found a place to sleep Monday night after the show (no way was I heading back to Long Island at that hour) and I was set for the show. Immediately, upon arriving at Lincoln Center, I got a weird vibe. Firstly, I was let down by the decor of the area. The red velvet walls and chairs didn’t do it for me. Although we sat in the family circle area, I was surprised to see all the  chairs in the place being covered in vinyl, and having little leg room. I was also surprised to see the little water fountains around as Damla pointed out, isn’t this supposed to be a classy event?

Well, even before the show started, I was let down. I got to my seat and after the first fifteen minutes, I am sorry to admit, I fell asleep. Yes, the music was incredible, the actors were extremely talented and the set was to die for, however, the combination of our “cheap seats,” the late hour, and the length of the show put me over the edge. I enjoyed the music, the orchestra and their talent and the set however after a bit, it got old. I found it hard to concentrate on both the subtitles in front of me, and the show and began to gave up. So, I dozed off and woke up as the curtain was drawn at the culmination of the first act.

During intermission, Jackie and I ventured downstairs to take a look at the building. We came across some costumes from various shows, however were disappointed at their grandness. I was surprised to see that only four costumes were on view and that they seemed pretty short of elaborate and detail oriented. So, we headed back to our seats, made the trek upstairs and continued on with the show. Act two was my favorite. Seeing the entire cast on stage, the horses present, the set designs changing, and the talent of the actors blew me away. However, after quite some time I was ready to move on. This feeling resonated with me throughout the show until the final act where I was out cold.

All in all, I am happy I was able to see my first Opera. In my case, I believe it was hyped up too much and it failed to meet my expectations. I enjoyed feeling classy, grown up and elegant, however four hours was just too much for me. I most definitely learned a ton from this experience, and am very thankful for that. However, I am not sure Lincoln Center will be seeing me anytime soon in the future.

Expectations color reality, right? Well, much to my dismay, I expected so much more from the Opera than I received. My criticisms run rampant, so I’ll do my best to keep them terse and understandable before the inner arts aficionado in me begins to scream.

For starters, for what it could have been, the show was downright boring. Within the first five minutes it became immediately clear to me that the point of the Opera was to marvel at the singer’s ability, not the quality or the story or how it was told, nor the acting, nor the score. At times, the singer’s monotonous and unchanging vibrato overshadowed what should have been an impressive composition of music. As a music geek, I did my best to appreciate Verdi’s opera, but the insipid and uninspired melodies of the singers hung over the stringed notes shoulders like clingy children.

To further the boredom I endured, the actors displayed no vivacity or vigor. They simply stood, sang, fel to the floor a few times, pretended to brush each others hair, and grasped halfheartedly to their roles. It all began to sound the same to me. I could hardly differentiate between anger and victory in the King. Aida sounded bored when she was pleading, happy when she was sad, and was generally a boring character to follow. What draws the eye in a play or a show is not only speech but movement and stunning visuals. The grandiosity of the set design was not enough to compensate for the lack of stimulation on the part of the actors.

I was thoroughly impressed by the extravagance of the set design, but it was hardly utilized to its potential. It almost felt as though the magnificence of the set was recompense for the lackluster performance. I found myself asking “WHY” more times than my jaw dropped. For example, why did they need horses for a total of five minutes of standing? Was there any true purpose for the hundreds of slaves and soldiers whose only role was to stand? Perhaps I’m missing something. Maybe I’m too well adjusted to the minimalistic nature of theater and drama that the bombastic nature of Opera goes beyond my head. Or perhaps I’ve learned to appreciate a story and how it is told, not the frilly details beside it.

It just seems like Opera is the well-to-do’s sitcom. Simple. Extravagant. Filled to the brim with special effects and fancy subtleties. Teeming with talent. But truly lacking in content.

If nothing else, I want a better Aida. I want a character I can feel for and empathize with. Not the flat and banal one I experienced. I mean, damn, I even wore a suit.

Look, I’ll be frank. I came into last night’s performance expecting to be bored to the point of tears for the entirety of the performance. I’ll admit that there were portions of last night’s opera that were very engaging and interesting. On the whole, though, this was easily the least enjoyable of the three outings for me, and there are a couple reasons for that in my eyes.

One was simply our distance from the performance itself. I realzie now that you weren’t joking when you suggestsed that we bring some binoculars or opera glasses. I couldn’t see anything clearly, aside from the gigantic backdrops and scenery. I remember when we looked at the clips in the classes during the performances, I enjoyed seeing the performers’ reactions and expressions as they sung their lines. From the nosebleed seats, however, I sometimes couldn’t even tell who was singing between the actors on stage. I couldn’t see their mouths moving. It was really hard to get engaged with the performance when I could not see it.

Another issue that I found critical was the way the story was so incredibly drawn out. It seemed like every line had to be repeated at least five times before they moved on to the next bit of plot development. Now maybe this was important back when translations were not available, and most people could not actually understand what people were saying. But now we have translations and I think the opera needs to adapt a little. It feels extremely stuck in its ways and old-fashioned. I joked with people about Act 1; they took 50 minutes to explain something that could’ve taken 5. All that happened was Radames’ ascension to commander of the army and the revelation of the “love triangle.” Redundancy and repetition were ever-present in this production and I was really turned off by it.

To continue my disappointment, the atmosphere of the opera house itself felt extremely elitist and over my head. For starters, when me and Nate came to the opera house after getting lost, we rode up a gold-painted escalator. Heck, the water fountains were painted gold and the toilet stalls were made of marble. I know this is an upper-class thing, but does it really need to be so extravegant? Then of course, there were chandeliers everywhere, velvet-red carpets on every wall and every floor, elevators with golden doors, etc, etc, etc. It seemed to be more about the looks than the actual show. And the crowd was–and I hate to sound racist–very predominantly white. It was kind of unsettling for me, I’ve always been taught that the arts are something that everyone should be able to enjoy. I guess that’s not the case when half-decent seats cost hundreds of dollars, and even our back-row, CUNY discount seats cost $22.50 a pop.

What I will say I liked was the staging and the scenery. I probably paid more attention to it than to the actors. It was very grandiose and I liked how it clearly borrowed from ancient Egyptian architecture, yet, you could see some clear differences between the real thing and the modified version on stage. It seemed like there was a lot of potential for interaction with the scenery that was not utilized. A lot of the performance was spent standing around, it seemed. I loved in particular the scenery when Radames returns from war. The elevated ground where the king sat, the pillars and structures everywhere, and the way the cast arranged their positions to create an aisle of sorts where the war heroes walked through were all very well-done, I thought.

While I appreciated getting exposure to the opera, in the end, I came away feeling that a lot of my prejudices and stereotypes regarding it were proved true, rather than dispelled. It was stuck-up, rather dull, and excessively long, which is what I expected. Maybe if there’s a time when I can score better seats I’ll feel a little bit better about it. If the opera is to continue to be successful with more than just the affluent white demographic, it has to change. That was probably my biggest disappointment– the lack of diversity in a place as large and diverse as New York City. I’ll definitely go out again to see a modern dance performance. And I’ll assuredly be seeing more plays and musicals. But as for the opera, I’m having trouble envisioning a scenario where I’ll be back.

-Ben

Professor Jake Cohen has asked that we watch and listen to to this version of  “o patria mia” (Act III, scene 1) by Leontyne Price–who Professor Cohen thinks is the best Aida in the 20th century–before we meet on Thursday:

Here are two more versions on the song–these have better sound quality:

And here’s the entire performance with Pavarotti: