Why you would actually love going to the opera

As many of you know, I trained for many years to become a opera singer before deciding, just as I was starting my professional career, that life on the road wasn’t for me. So as you might imagine, I’m a HUGE opera fan.

When I tell people I was an opera singer, they often think I’m really fancy (I assure you, I am decidedly un-fancy). I mean, who can blame them? Every joke about going to the opera is about snobby rich people. Or about how “boring” opera is. And every time people go to the opera on TV or in a movie they are inexplicably in tuxedos or, my favourite, tails (you know, like they wear to dinner on Downton Abbey…).

Friends. No one goes to the opera looking like that. And opera is a lot of things, but it sure as hell ain’t boring.

Because I know and love opera so deeply, I love telling people why they would also love it. And I can usually convince them (hell, I left opera and became a lawyer… gotta put those persuasive skills to use). So here are 5 big reasons you – yes, YOU – would love going to the opera.

1. Live opera singing will blow your frickin’ mind

Everyone knows that opera singers are loud – it’s part of all the opera jokes. What you might not understand is just how loud. A professional opera singer is loud enough to stand on stage in a big concert hall, with no microphone, and be heard in the back row of the audience while a whole flippin’ orchestra is playing. The way an expertly trained, beautiful voice sounds in person is mind-blowing. The soft solo lines will somehow reach into your chest and break your heart in half just through the sweetness and vulnerability of the human voice. The loud chorus numbers make the hall rumble. The extreme high and low notes that singers are able to hit will positively shock and delight you. Part of opera singing is using the abilities of the voice to convey emotion, and part of it is just straight-up vocal Olympics. Singers are musical athletes, and opera is meant to be a showcase of their technical abilities. You have to see it live to get it.

Unless you’re seeing something super avant garde that’s rarely performed, you’re going to get the following: toe-tapping chorus numbers, tender duets, thrilling technical solos, beautiful orchestral music, and everything in between. Operas contain some of the most incredible music ever written, and you’re basically only going to hear it by going to the opera. Hell, you might even recognize some of the tunes (because they pop up all the time in cartoons and commercials). Opera music is amazing. That’s why people have loved it for hundreds of years. That’s why directors use it for the most emotional part of movies. Get in on it!

How should I describe opera plots? Well, most of them belong on HBO. The dramas are about forsaken love, messed up families, tragic mistakes, violence, greed, corruption… basically, everything that can win you an Emmy. The comedies (and there are lots of great comedies as well! Maybe you didn’t know that!) are full of mistaken identity, cross-dressing, mix-ups, tricks and pranks, and a whole lot of wooing. Basically, the fodder of all good romantic comedies and sitcoms but, to use an overwrought term, on steroids. Regardless of the genre, opera is full of BIG emotions – big tragedy, big laughs, big love. And sometimes it’s magical to feel really big emotions.

4. There’s a crapload of stuff to watch

(So I promise you won’t get bored)

Let’s just hypothetically say that you’re a bit apprehensive to go to the opera because you think it’s going to be boring. Hypothetically. Well, if the astonishing music, vocal fireworks, and soul-altering plot aren’t enough for you, rest assured there’s also a ton of cool stuff to look at. There are (often extravagant) costumes. There are (often larger-than-life, or just really, really creative) sets and lighting. And, if all else fails, you can always watch the orchestra and conductor. Remember them? It’s live music, baby, and there’s a whole freakin’ orchestra playing in the pit in front of/below the stage at the front, and you can always watch them and the conductor just like you would at a symphony concert. Plus, lots of operas include dancers, actors mulling about in group scenes, and sometimes even crazy things like on-stage bands and acrobats. Betcha weren’t expecting that!

There is something to be said for leaving the office and saying “oh, gotta go, I have opera tickets for this eeeevening.” Going to the opera is fun for the same reason going to any performing art is fun: you get to dress up a little (wear whatever you would wear to a nice restaurant nearby – that’s your dress code), maybe have a glass of wine in the lobby before the show, read the program notes while you wait for the lights to go down… it’s exciting! It’s different! It’s smart and cool and something really interesting to talk about around the water cooler the next morning! Sometimes it’s nice to veg and be our laziest selves (I am a queen of takeout Thai food and The Bachelor, myself), but it’s also really nice to wear heels and do your hair and take lobby selfies and do something stimulating and outside your day-to-day. Especially when it comes with a bit of built-in gloating about how classy you are!

So those are my five reasons you – yes, YOU – would love going to the opera. It’s early in the season for most companies right now, so hit up Mr. Google and find out if you have an opera company near you. If you do, tickets are often way less than you’d expect, and lots of companies have specials for young people, seniors, etc. So grab a date, call your mom, gather your girlfriends, or just go by your bad self like I usually do, and treat yo’ self to a night at the opera. You won’t regret it!

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