The Arts in New York City
Velvet. Velvet everywhere. The Metropolitan Opera House was magnificent—two deep red symmetric staircases curved upward towards the performance hall, a massive chandelier shimmered, dominating the scene, and everyone was dressed in what seemed to be their finest clothes, as if they had been bought especially for this occasion. Though I was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer size of the Opera House, I enjoyed dressing up red-carpet style (finally an occasion to wear a dress!). We made our way to our seats (the last row!) and settled in. Just as the crowd was as loud as it could be, the chandeliers began to rise. Silence. Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore began!
The performance was perfect. Even though I was too far away to see facial expressions, I heard every single note. Seeing the performers, or even understanding Italian, wasn’t even necessary because I could feel the powerful emotions, whether joy, despair, or humor, just by listening. I can’t even choose which character was my favorite because they all sang so beautifully and passionately.
One of my favorite scenes took place before Adina fell in love with Nemorino, when Adina was teasing Nemorino while he was chasing her. The performers looked like they were having a lot of fun on stage, which made the opera even more fun and enjoyable for me. I also liked how the main opera singers wore distinctive colors so that they could stand out from the crowd of characters—Adina wore red, Nemorino wore green, Belcore wore blue, and Dulcamara wore yellow.
Prior to seeing L’Elisir d’Amore, Professor Minter showed us a different version of the performance from last year. The performers stood in place and didn’t interact at all. I was afraid that the opera was going to be two and a half hours of staring at the same three stationary characters, but I’m happy to say that I was wrong. The performers did a wonderful job of captivating the audience by constantly moving and interacting with each other.
Overall, my opera experience was very pleasant. L’Elisir d’Amore was perfect to see as my first opera because it was lively and enchanting. I recommend it to anyone seeking to enjoy their evening in New York City. And of course, I couldn’t resist taking a few snapshots with the beautiful chandelier!
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
I agree. There was a ton of red velvet everywhere! But it was really beautiful and I loved being there. I also agree with you that it didn’t really matter if we couldn’t understand the Italian they were speaking because the way the characters performed their parts with such emotion and energy told me what exactly what was going on. Like you, I also liked how the main characters wore colors that made them stand out to the crowd especially for people who were sitting way up high and couldn’t see the people’s faces (that means us). Also like you, I really enjoyed the performance, the singing and music as well. I was happy that for our first opera we saw such a vibrant and lively opera that all of us could really enjoy.
I really understand your concerns when you said that you were worried that the performers would be dull and lifeless with limited movement and action occurring. Even before we saw the clips in class I had formed a preconceived notion about opera and how it would be monotonous and thoroughly unintriguing. Therefore, I was extremely riveted by the actual performance which seemed more like a musical than what I would imagine an opera to be like. Moreover, I think that the scenery-including the changes in scenery-helped set the stage for a vivid and enjoyable performance given how lively and colorful they were. Finally, I find it interesting that you associated the characters with the different colors that they were wearing as that never really crossed my mind; to me, the style of clothing rather than the color stood out. Nemorino wearing peasant garb, Adina donned in simple yet conspicuous dresses, Belcore in his unavoidable military uniform and Dulcamara wearing his extremely ostentatious suit.