I have waited to post a response to the opera because I keep changing my mind. My initial reaction was one of displeasure. I felt immediately that the opera was too detached from the real world. I found the performance to be too long and drawn out and to be somehow fake. Yet the more I thought about opera and the performance we saw the more my views changed. In fact as time passed and I looked back on that night, my appreciation grew. Instead of focusing on the false quality of the singers and the plot, I became more and more willing to interpret the performance for what it was; opera.
The singers, their costumes, the set, the storyline; the experience required so many different labors of love. Although I had understood this in class, the many varied aspects of opera still delightfully surprised me. I was most impressed with the revolving set, which gave the performance an interesting and dynamic background. Yet what was most important was how all of these details came together to make the event incredibly eye pleasing. Watching the opera was rather like going to a carnival, full of color and sound.
Opera has in my mind, just as good a chance of surviving in the next generation as all other high arts. One could argue that no one will be going to the symphony in twenty years, yet from my experience I believe that people will be. Orchestral music, ballet and modern dance, and, of course, opera are all meant to be beautiful and enjoyable. For that reason, I will stick to my gut, and say that these spectacular performances will continue to shock and awe millions of audiences until, well, the end of civilization. ~H.P.D.