Friends, Y’all Have Been SLEEPING on Opera

(Image Credit: Ken Howard/The Metropolitan Opera)

Ah, opera. It’s something that we are all aware exists, but it’s not talked about nearly as much as its more popular counterparts like the vast array of Broadway shows. There’s kind of a solid reason for that: opera is unfortunately not as accessible to the general public as Broadway is.

While both types of performances cost quite a bit of money to attend professional shows, there are other factors at stake that make contemporary musical theatre significantly more digestible than opera. But honestly, that’s an entirely separate discussion. We’re here to talk about all the great things about opera. Going to see a professional opera may not be an option for most people, but it’s still a gorgeous art form that deserves more recognition, and there are definitely plenty of avenues you can use to experience it. 

In a way, we kind of owe it to opera; without it, musical theatre might not have evolved into what it is today. Though both art forms are different from each other in a lot of ways, they also share many similarities, which is probably why some of the best-known operas could be beautifully adapted into musicals: Rent​   ​ is based on Giacomo Puccini’s La Boheme​​; Miss​ Saigon​ is based on Madame Butterfly​​, also by Puccini; and Aida​ is based off the opera of the same name by Antonio Ghislanzoni and Giuseppi Verdi. I’m actually kind of shook that absolute bangers like “The Tango Maureen” exist because a musically talented Italian dude decided to write a show about starving artists with tuberculosis. Okay, so it’s obviously a lot more complicated than that, but still.

Just to get some of the contentions about opera out of the way, let me be the first to say I can totally see how opera might not be as digestible as Broadway musicals. For one thing, the grand majority of better-known operas are old - like, really​ old - so there’s a lot of content that’s pretty problematic that can’t be easily changed or removed from the show, whereas many musicals are already written with progressive ideas in mind. To be fair, the same can be said for lots of operas, but it doesn’t take a genius to see that “forward-thinking” in the older centuries of yore doesn’t exactly translate to today’s ideas of equity and equality.

But I mean, if we can still sing along to Grease​ despite its garbage messages about romances and peer pressure, then maybe we should give The Magic Flute​ a chance, even though plucky sidekick Papageno spends basically the entirety of the show dicking around and complaining that he doesn’t have an attractive wife (and, you know, the whole plot is that Pamina was captured by a man and then Tamino being instructed to undergo trials to be considered worthy of her because she should be lead by a man instead of a “headstrong woman.” That’s probably worse than the whole Papageno wanting a hotwife thing, and yet it’s still my favorite opera). 

(Image Credit: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera)

Problematic plots and characters aside, there are many fantastic things about opera that deserve our love and respect. The art form is full of some of the most beautiful and complex music literally ever. It takes an insane amount of training and stamina to be good at it, so much that opera singers typically aren’t considered in their prime until about their forties, contrary to other styles of music where you can hit your prime in your twenties or early thirties.

Since most operas are by default period pieces, there’s also extra care and research that goes into building the aesthetic of the show, from the setting of the stage to the details in every costume. Similar to musical theatre, opera exists by being both an aural and visual experience that pulls from multiple forms of art and ties them all together like a bow to create a spectacular story. Opera combines singing, acting, the visual art of the set and costumes, and dance, often utilizing more classical forms, such as ballet. 

I understand that opera isn’t quite the same as musical theatre in terms of being easy to watch or participate in. It’s not performed nearly as much and it’s certainly not something you can simply sing along to. But if you’re looking for some ways to get a taste of some truly amazing art and appreciate all the insane work and talent that goes into it, here are a few ideas:

-Many stage productions of operas are filmed and then put on YouTube for your viewing and listening pleasure - at no cost to you! I’ve never had the privilege of seeing a full opera production in person, but thankfully the internet makes some past performances accessible for everyone. In a similar vein, certain opera Facebook pages will stream full performances every once in a while.

-If you live in a college town, chances are that college has a music program and that music program probably has an opera department. Not all schools have the funds to focus on such a specific classical art form, but even then, you’re sure to get a taste of it in any collegiate music program if you go to support their performing arts students. Whether it’s a choral or orchestral concert, an individual student recital, or a full-blown opera practicum show, there was a lot of work put into it and it deserves a lot more attention than it’s probably getting.

-Spotify has a treasure trove of full recordings of nearly every opera imaginable. Premium Spotify isn’t exactly cheap, so if that’s not a viable option to simply listen to the songs, YouTube has just as many options.

Opera definitely isn’t for everyone. The music and aesthetics are distinctly different from most other art forms that we’re familiar with, but it takes just as much skill and talent as the musical theatre that we know and love and deserves some level of appreciation.