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.
My grandparents on my mom’s side love classical music. Every summer since I was little, they would take to me to parks all over New York State to see free concerts. Just as the sun would set, the musicians would take their seats and begin to play. Sitting in my Barbie lawn chair, I would watch the sun set to a piece by some classical master like Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Beethoven, or Wagner.
Classical music was a big part of my childhood. It was always present on holidays. At Christmas especially, we would spend hours in front of a crackling fireplace listening to music and every night as I fell asleep I would listen to my tape of the Magic Flute, which I couldn’t sleep without. While most kids had nightlights or a teddy bear, I had Mozart.
So, despite the inconvenience of staying out late on a Tuesday, I was really excited to go to the opera. Contes D’Hoffman was, in my opinion, a great show. I was pleasantly surprised by my familiarity with a few of the songs and was blown away by the fantastic voices of the performers, especially the woman who played Antonia.
While I understand why the “bark & bark” technique is boring to some people, I think that in Opera, the music is good enough to stand on it’s own. Without moving, the Opera singer can invoke powerful emotions using only his or her voice. In fact, I think that acting sometimes distracts from the beauty of the music. While watching Contes D’Hoffman, I found myself forgetting to listen because of the spectacle on stage and the subtitles on the seat in front of me. It might just be because I am not used to seeing opera performed, but I prefer to hear opera as I always have, lying on the plush carpet in my grandparents living room with my eyes closed in front of a fireplace.
The story of Contes D’Hoffman was extremely difficult to follow. After act 1, I was completely lost. I actually think that reading part of the story in Series 3 made it even more difficult to follow. The opera rendition failed to provide clear reasoning as to why the man selling barometer’s was so feared by Hoffman or present the Clara character that seemed to be, in the written piece, a big part of the story.
Sadly, I don’t think that opera speaks very well to the people of my generation. I think that unless you were raised to appreciate classical music, no teenager really appreciates opera, other that saying something like” “Yo, dude! That chick’s voice was crazy high!” Personally, I think there are two main reasons for the decline of opera: the length and the confusing story lines.
In a world were instant gratification is king; no one has the patience to sit for three hours and just listen. The temptation of modern technology is too great. With the world literally at your fingertips, few can resist the urge to check facebook or text during a three-hour block of time. Also, with no modern scenario’s being portrayed and bizarre stories, opera is almost impossible to relate to on a personal level. Take Contes D’Hoffman for example, the plot is ridiculous. A man falls in love with a woman, who is made up of three women: a robot, a talented Opera singer, and a courtesan. Instead of appreciating the talented performers on stage, the majority of people spend the three hours either wondering what the hell is going on or give up completely and decide to text, daydream, or nap!
It was definitely a magical night. The sets and inhumanly, beautiful voices captivated me.
Looking back, there was this extremely apparent build up to the exuberant feeling I felt when the show ended. At first when the opera began, I had to adjust to reading the translation and paying attention to the story and the scenes and the voices. Les Contes D’Hoffman was a lot to take in. But by the second act I found my rhythm. I think that is maybe why I connected most to the second act. I was adjusted to what was going on around me, and my eyes and ears were able to work harmoniously to appreciate the sound and sights taking place. I also really enjoyed the performance by the woman who played Antonia. I have a thing for subtleties and that is what her performance and the whole second act were about. In deep contrast to act I, act II was a simple set and it created eerie and melancholy feeling for the audience. I love simplistic feel of the screens with delicately branched trees on them, and the fabric on the ground that created the illusion of snow. The scenes in act II put an emphasis on silhouettes. For instance, there was the black outline of the horse and carriage and the haunting images of people pacing behind the tree, both so beautiful. There were moments when Antonia’s voice and the music flowing from the ground beneath her were so in sync. I cannot even describe the feeling I had during those moments. It was completely out of body.
The last scene, when Hoffman and his muse were back in the bar, and the muse is wearing her brightly nude gown again, really brought the entire production together. The harmony and sadness of that moment was intensely apparent. I forgot the exact words, but they were singing something about how basically you can learn from sorrows and failed love. The muse tells Hoffman to extract genius from his sorrows. This concept of life experiences and troubles breeding enlightenment has recently been floating in my head and following me around. In philosophy, I read a quote by John Dewey where he says, “Experience is primarily a process of undergoing: a process of standing something; of suffering and passion, of affection…The organism has to endure, to undergo, the consequences of its own actions.” And along with all the joy and grandeur of this opera I really felt this underlying theme. This idea also reminds me of the character Tobin writing “The Metal Children” as a relief for his broken heart. Something else I have taken from this opera is that lots of beer in a German pub is the real solution to life’s complexities. 🙂 (Just kidding…)
When I was younger my parents would always take my family to Broadway shows. We would all put on cute outfits and drive into the city. The feeling I felt in a Broadway theatre was anticipation and excitement. Sitting in a plush seat in a large, ornately decorated theatre can do that to you.
But Tuesday night the Metropolitan Opera gave me a completely new feeling. I could literally taste the energy in the air. It was like a million different particles were zooming around the theatre waiting for the show to begin. Looking around at the audience, I had this realization that I was part of something great. It is not just the performance that creates an overall experience; it is the audience as well.
Unlike when I was a kid, sitting in Lincoln Center among an older crowd of opera patrons made me like I was part of history. It actually really brought me back in time. I know this idea is a little over the top, but there were actual moments where I felt like I was an actress in a period piece. The decorated theatre, the box seats, audience members with gold binoculars, to me it was all part of an elaborate historical set.
To people who go to operas all the time this feeling may seem absurd. But to me, part of the enchantment of the performance was the place it took me to. America today is not classy and grand like the opera is. Our society has shifted from that grandeur and is now focused on technology and celebrity and making everything bigger and better.
Perhaps that is what makes the Opera so pertinent and important for younger generations. It is a taste of the culture and atmosphere of the past. It is a way for us to experience and hold on to a tradition that seems so out of place in America today. It is simply magical.
NYTimes Arts
