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The World of Opera
I recently had the pleasure of attending Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera. Like most of the other students in my class, Rigoletto was the first opera I’ve ever attended. Coming into the show, I had nothing good to say about operas. However, by the time I left, my perception of opera as a form of entertainment had completely changed.
The first thing I noticed about the show was how incredible the set was. It looked completely realistic and it made me very aware of the performance. As the performers began to come out, I immediately noticed their costumes. Each and every costume was completely realistic, and really helped engage the viewers. The music, costumes, and set made me feel completely immersed into the show.
Shortly after, the performers began singing. When I heard how loud and how clear they were singing, I was completely blown away. Although our seats were in the back middle, I was able to hear them perfectly. The power and clarity in their voices could be heard no matter where you were on the stage. Although I had seen some short opera clips on the computer, it wasn’t until I went to a live show that I was able to finally appreciate the skill it must take to be able to project your voice so loudly and powerfully. The more I watched the show, the more I realized that opera was much more entertaining than I had first thought.
As the plot progressed, I started paying attention to the story as opposed to paying attention to details on the stage. As I read the subtitles, I couldn’t help but start feeling as though the story was simply moving forward too slowly. Although the singing was magnificent, the plot simply took too long to move forward. Simple actions took far too long to happen, and I slowly began losing concentration and started to get bored of the plot. Additionally, I noticed that the plot seemed very unrealistic at times. The opera portrayed people as really foolish, and I just didn’t see that opera being realistic in the slightest sense.
Although the opera was unrealistic at many times, I still found it enjoyable to watch. I found myself appreciating many aspects of art and theatre that I had never even considered in the past. Additionally, it was nice to form my own views on opera instead of taking someone else’s word for it. I’m not sure if I’d watch another opera voluntarily, but I’m glad that I can say that I’ve actually attended an opera.
A preview of all the different operas from the MET’s Fall 2010 lineup.