Metropolitan Opera

Attending the Metropolitan Opera was one of the events I was most looking forward to this semester. I had heard about this event from upper classmen and how much fun they had when they went. I am very into musical theatre and always wanted to go to the opera so I was really looking forward to experiencing this very popular and different type of musical performance. I was also interested in seeing how different and similar it would be to a Broadway performance. Needless to say, I was not disappointed on Tuesday night! The opera was an absolutely incredible experience. Not only was the performance spectacularly done, but I also learned more about the culture that surrounds the opera. Unlike Broadway, the opera is much “fancier,” but can also be a casual event. People’s dress ranged from long gowns and suits to jeans and t-shirts. This was surprising to me because I had always thought the opera was supposed to very high class and fancy. During intermission, the food was very “upper-class” and included expensive chocolates and champagne.
The show itself entertained and intrigued me at the same time. Since it was a Shakespearean opera, I expected the costumes and sets to be very old-fashioned and geared towards the time period. In fact, the costumes and sets were extremely modern and quite abstract. The sets attempted to depict a forest scene in a very peculiar way. People entered and exited the forest through doors and trees were represented by a single branch going through the different sections of the set. Although I do not think the scenery was depicted very accurately, I do find it interesting to see this type of creativity in the opera. I expected the opera to be a very formal and rigid atmosphere, but instead was presented with an atmosphere that was quite avant-garde in some respects. The story itself was also very silly and included a lot of “slapstick” humor, which is usually not the typical reputation that the opera has. I also found it interesting that although the opera was in English, there were subtitles on the backs of the seats. This is never seen at a Broadway theatre and helped me to appreciate the use of Shakespearean language. I definitely would like to go back and see a more traditional opera to further my experience of this wonderful culture.