A sandwich for ten dollars?!?!?! I really did enter a fancy new world on Tuesday night. To be serious though, the entire night was magical, from when I stepped out of the subway to when I stepped out of the opera.
When I reached the Metropolitan Opera, I felt like Giselle from Enchanted, when she stumbles out of the sewer and into Manhattan. Like Giselle, I was enchanted by everything around me. I was surrounded by buildings that twinkled with hundreds of lights. I’d never been to the city so late before, and I saw on Tuesday how beautiful it could look. The Met was also beautiful, and as I sat in my comfy seat and saw the enormous stage before me, I knew that I was in for quite a show.
One of the greatest mysteries of the night for me was how big the stage really was. Every time I thought that I had guessed it, another layer of the stage would be exposed and I would see that there was even more scenery on that stage. However, I didn’t mind because the scenery and the costumes were elaborate and kept me interested in the show. I liked watching everyone parade around in fancy dresses that no one wears anymore. I also liked the props, such as the umbrellas with eyes painted on them that everyone danced with. What I didn’t like was watching a bunch of partially naked women on the stage. I don’t even know what that was about. Maybe the sexuality was an attempt to reach out to a more modern audience. If it was, I don’t think that it was a very successful attempt. As far as I know, many people were turned off by the nudity. Metropolitan Opera, if you are reading this, colorful costumes and fantastic scenery (such as the dragon in Act 1) are a great way to lure young audience members, not nudity.
Including the dance that used the eye umbrellas, I enjoyed the big dance and music numbers in the beginning and the end of the show. I liked these numbers because almost the entire cast performed in these numbers, and I thought that the cast had great synergy. Everyone’s voices blended together perfectly to create the comical mood of the song. There was also a lot of jolly music and playful acting involved. My favorite part was when the actors bent to the ground as if they were midgets and danced. Some of my favorite lines were spoken in this part, such as “frick frack” and “klick klack”. I also liked it when the entire cast yelled, “Drink! Drink! Drink!” I think that these comical numbers were a great way to reach out to younger audiences. They were entertaining to watch, as I mentioned, because of the music and dancing. However, these numbers also provided some of the biggest laughs of the show. These numbers were LIVELY and COLORFUL and JOYFUL. Many people who have not been exposed to the opera probably believe that it’s a stuffy show filled with people just standing around and singing in high-pitched voices. With lively numbers such as these, however, I think that the opera can prove people wrong and attract younger viewers.
I thought that Contes D’Hoffman also spoke to audience members well because of it’s storyline. Contes D’Hoffman is the story of a man who falls madly in love three times and gets his heart broken three times. This plot isn’t exactly unfamiliar territory. People fall in love and get their heart broken all the time. For that reason, I didn’t find this story to be completely ridiculous or outdated. It was about love and because love stories are still made today, I found it easier to comprehend the opera.
