All right, let me just put this out there. I am a musician, I played in an orchestra for years and have been singing even longer. That being said, I was super-duper-duper-duper psyched to go to the opera. And at the MET? Come on, I was in my glory.
I will also admit that, as I have stated in previous blogs, I hate pretentious, snobby, phony people, so it may seem a bit of a paradox that I enjoyed the opera as much as I did, but hey, our seats were so far away, I didn’t really have to associate with any of those hoity-patois. I could actually enjoy the opera for what it was.
And boy, was it amazing. The set was fantastic. I would absolutely adore to be able to enter the stage on a riding set, it seemed like a lot of fun! I also believe that the bleak brick colors added a nice tone to the whole show. And lets not forget those pyrotechnics at the end! That was like a scene from Drag Me to Hell, so cool! I really want to know how they managed to open it up like that. Sadly, I could not appreciate the intricacy of the costumes because, well, we were practically sitting on the roof watching, but from what I could see they were extremely authentic.
But those singers, it makes me want to give up singing forever knowing that I will never be able to stretch my range to the point that Zerlina did. They truly were the cream of the crop. Having never been to a live opera, I was completely fascinated by the whole thing. By the middle of the first act, (thanks to the subtitles) I had pretty much forgotten they were speaking a different language, and by the second act (weird as this may sound) I kind of forgot they were singing. I had become so immersed in the story that I, the fidget-queen if there ever was one, felt the three-some-odd hours go by like that! *snap*
That being said, yes, I immensely enjoyed the opera, as a matter of fact, it was my favorite performance of the semester (imagine that, it didn’t even have Jesse Eisenberg!) However, I do not think the opera successfully related itself to a younger audience. I mean, come on, Aamir was dozing off next to me the entire second act. Perhaps if we had been closer to the stage, it would have been different, but I really doubt it. I think that the opera, if it truly wants to attract the young-uns, has to invoke a little more pizzazz. We should have some more modern, contemporary operas. Who says they all have to take place a billion years ago? To relate to an audience today, maybe an opera should take place today, just saying.
Walking down the velvet stairs during intermission, (and wondering where exactly they got all of this velvet) watching the old farts chowing down on overpriced meals and swilling champagne, I realized that the MET encompasses that idea that Manhattan is a dream, where all the rich come out at night to play. It really is sad that so many people came to the opera just to eat and look worldly when in fact they came to eat a million dollar piece of cake while wearing their nicest furs; I feel it is a bit of an injustice to the performers. Regardless, with everyone dressed to the nines for a ritzy night out in a beautiful part of Manhattan, it certainly was a dream to anyone and everyone.
