A month and a half ago I chose the subject of the opera to write about for what epitomizes as “Uptown New York”. The opera, I said was made “to gather people of high society. Intermission [is] the preferred part of the spectacle. Because it is then, during the break, that they are able to converse and compare and compete.”
Was I right? Well according to the opera handout, apparently.
But besides a couple of elderly women squeezing their way in front of me for the restroom line, I found that the members of the nosebleeds section were not as haughty as I had anticipated.
But what did I think of the performance? Well, most of the songs were not very memorable, the set list was not aimed towards a younger generation- not one pop song was included! There was a particular ballad though, that I really enjoyed. It was the one in which Don Giovanni’s servant, Leporello, divulges the number of women his master had been with. I thought the song that particular performance was very comical.
The story itself was altogether enjoyable, and easy to follow even for a younger audience (the message of the performance: live the lifestyle of a philanderer and you’ll basically end up in hell). I found that many of the characters were self-absorbed, aggravating, or stupid. And that Don Giovanni irked me the most. It’s bad enough to constantly seduce women, but to kill someone’s father because he wouldn’t allow you to run off mysteriously into the dark? During this part of the performance I was literally shaking my head and wagging my finger at Don Giovanni’s careless behavior.
And then here were the idiotic women! They were so loose with their bodies, and such horrible judges of character! Especially that Donna Elvira, trying to act as though she was looking out for the engaged Zerlina’s well being. Really, Elvira? What did impress me were the actors, the fact that I couldn’t see their faces did not bother me at all; their emotions and states of minds were expressively portrayed through their body language and they way they were positioned on the stage. However others around my age might not have found the stage flashy or high-tech enough.
I thought the costumes were put together all right. Though the only particularly memorable one was the initial outfit f Elvira. I liked and appreciated how mobile the set was, I thought it was very innovative how they were able to portray different settings by simply moving the set around.
Altogether, I had a great experience at the opera. I was able to follow the story pretty much completely, as I was awake for most of it. I fell asleep about forty-five minutes into the second act, but I woke up just in time for the fiery conclusion! I can’t say the length of the opera appealed very to a young audience as many of my classmates fell asleep for much longer than I did. Some had to even resort to creating their own back-stories in order to stay awake. “I imagined the whole thing as RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Eric said after the performance. “It turned out very interestingly actually.”
So yes, to sum it all up I must say the opera as a whole does not reach out a younger audience, from the songs, the set, and the story-line, it was clearly seen that we were not the generation the production was aim towards. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t like what I got to see.
Now… Well-dressed men and women congregating to watch a performance in a language most of them don’t understand? Check. Adults purchasing expensive champagnes and baked goods? Check. Gorgeous, sparkling high chandeliers and velvet everything? Check. As for the experience being a New York nightmare or fantasy… the opera portrays the glamorous side of New York, the unattainable part, the relevant part. People move to New York with high hopes of congregating with this social group. New York is often seen as this, New York is often idealized as this. The opera is definitely part of the New York fantasy.
