When I looked at the syllabus to see that we were going to the opera, the first thing I was told by my friend was that I needed to dress up and look nice because everyone looks nice at the opera. She wasn’t wrong. As soon as I stepped foot into the theater, everyone was dressed as if we were back in the 1900s and it was time for high tea. This was one of the many preconceived notions I had about the opera before I walked in. I figured, just as many others did, that the opera was full of pompous, well off white people that came in suits and brought binoculars. There was a vast difference between the people that usually attend and the Macaulay students that were there. I distinctly remember getting a few looks from the staff, questioning as if I was lost and wasn’t meant to be there. I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this experience at all. When we were all seated though, the opera house shed a bit of a different light on some of my previous notions.
Yes, a majority of the people that attended were well dressed, pompous white people, but sitting in the dark with everyone just watching the stage seemed to make those differences fade. I’ll be honest and say I didn’t understand the performance at all and the singing of regular conversation was giving me a headache, but it was nice to see that everyone faded into one group. We weren’t separated by socio-economic class or race or age, we were all just there trying to figure out why there was sheep and why the butler had to drop the ragout. While it was nice to see everyone come together to watch this performance, I don’t see myself attending another opera, mainly because I felt extremely out of place. After the show, a few of my previous notions changed, but one important notion that I think stuck with me as soon as I set foot into the place was that I was an outsider. Everyone had come prepared with binoculars and coat check was selling cushions and I had no clue what was going on. I think watching a performance at the opera is an eye-opening experience to see what it’s like, but I feel like unless you are brought up visiting the opera, it’s a little harder to get used to.
