Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Anyone else like opera?

I've enjoyed the opera that I've seen, that being said, I've only been to two of them, Mozart's Don Giovanni and Donnizetti's Lucia de Lammermoor. The former was a student production at Dalhousie, while the latter was at the Lyric Opera in Chicago, which was very cool. Then again, I've studied classical music since I was 8, taught for a number of years, and though I have a wide range of music on CDs, the majority is classical, so I'm probably not the 'typical guy' when it comes to this stuff. I would probably have gone to more, but being a student, it's one of the more expensive forms of entertainment.

I think the problem with opera, for those that don't just 'get it' right away, is that it's one of those forms that, in a way, has to be learned to be appreciated. If you're not used to the classical genre in general, it might be difficult to get through. I think the main reason is that contemporary music has left us a little ADD when it comes to listening to a particular piece - we want the instant gratification of the catchy chorus, not a 10 minute exposition of the interesting things that can be done to a particular theme.

Though obviously not as difficult as a symphony, for instance, opera still demands on us an attention span longer than some people might be used to giving. Add to that the fact that the whole thing would be an alien experience to most people, and the typical image of opera is the Aryan soprano with the horned helmet singing for hours in a foreign language, I suppose it's not surprising that people tend to shy away from it.

However, I think they're missing out.

- Vincent

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