A Night at the Opera

This past Saturday, I went to see the opera Le Roi Arthus with some friends. A few days prior, I was frantically searching all opera showings for the rest of our time here, hoping to find remaining tickets under 100 euros. I finally came across this great youth deal to see the show Saturday night in seats that normally would have cost over four times what we actually paid. Opera tickets are usually pricey, and I've only ever sat in the nose-bleed seats. Naturally, I was thrilled. The idea of being this close to the stage at a major production that included two performers I admired was incredibly exciting. Not to mention how suave I felt walking up to my orchestra section seats that are typically reserved for season ticket holders and the bourgeoisie.

This is how close my seat was to the stage!

Since before I can remember, opera has been a part of my life. There's video footage of me crawling around as a baby with opera playing on the radio. My family watched operas on PBS, at the movie theatre, and live at the Lyric when we could afford it. My older sister is studying to be an opera singer, so much of my experience with opera has involved her beautiful voice. I even managed to perform in a few opera choruses in my day, and I would do it again if the opportunity presented itself. So when I went to the opera here, it wasn't as a debutant. However, one of our company was new to the opera. I'm always curious of how someone who didn't grow up on the stuff is going to react. Opera is a very old-fashioned art form. Sometimes it can be difficult for a company to break down the centuries of cultural disconnect between the music and the audience. I never really experienced anything like that, as I was listening to opera before I even understood what cultural disconnect was. But I take the opportunity as often as I can to share with friends the art form that is so intertwined with my life. Often, I get just as much enjoyment seeing someone else enjoy a first experience as I get from the experience myself. Which, yes, means I will be looking at your reactions at key moments of my favorite movies if you haven't seen them before. I'm that annoying friend. You can look forward to that when we watch Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, friend who shall remain nameless. ;P

Some cool people, I guess <3