Never Seen Opera? Bet You Have
If you've ever seen "The Sound of Music," you've seen an opera, says Prof. Carol.
For weeks I’ve been driving to conferences spread as widely as Santa Clara to Birmingham. Returning to Texas, I jumped into events surrounding the Fort Worth Opera Company’s world premiere of a controversial opera “Before Night Falls” by Cuban-American composer Jorge Martín.
Prof. Carol
Coincidentally, the very day of the premiere, May 29, a reader of Music After 50 wrote to suggest that “opera” might be a good topic for future posts. After all, she noted, “most people have never been to one.”
Your Honor, I object. Not to the topic: I’m ecstatic about the topic. I object to the statement that “most people have never been to one.” Most people have been to an opera (or at least watched one on video).
Not me, you say? Rethink. If you’ve ever seen Sound of Music, Sweeny Todd, Oklahoma, or Beauty and the Beast, you’ve seen opera. Opera is simply a drama where some, or all, of the words are sung.
Could it be that simple? If so, why do people think opera is inaccessible, or—let’s be honest—boring and unattractive? That’s a huge question, and it needs to be answered in several stages. First, let’s consider the name itself, which causes part of the confusion.
The term opera came into usage around 1600. It derives from the Latin word opus which means a “work,” in particular a creative work, such as a novel. Sometimes we hear a big accomplishment called a magnum opus (great work). Opus becomes opera in Italian. For a good half-century, operas appeared under a variety of names, including azione per musica (action with music) and favola per musica (fable with music). Eventually, the term opera stuck.
Opera is one of the few artistic forms whose exact origin is known. In a nutshell, it started c. 1580 when a group of educated Italian fellows in Florence decided to “recreate” Greek drama. These men (known as the Florentine Camerata) took elements of Greek drama and fashioned them into the newest style of singing called recitative. Recitative means that statements are delivered in a lilting musical speech. Once a person accepts the idea that characters recite the dialogue in musical tones, then opera starts making sense.
Serious operas were the rage for a good century and a half. They told stories of tragic Greek myths and messy Roman history. Accordingly, they were called opera seria and they played a big role in European court entertainment. In opera seria, information was conveyed in free-flowing recitative. But the emotional content was poured out in song-like episodes called arias.
Arias became the heart and soul of opera. Plus, more voices could be added. Two, three, four, or more characters might sing a song together (ensemble), yet each could express a contrasting emotion. That works fine in opera, but would be chaos in a spoken play.
As time went on, audiences demanded more intensity of action, and more opulence of sound. Especially from the 19th century on, composers gave a big role to large groups of characters known as the chorus, whose glorious resonance generates much of opera’s punch.
Let’s jump to our favorite form of opera in America today, the musical. In this type of opera, characters mostly talk, talk, talk. But, at emotional moments, they sing. This particular format (talk, talk, talk . . . sing) has the name Singspiel in German (Mozart’s “Magic Flute” was one). In France, it was called opéra comique. And the Brits initially used the name ballad opera.
In any kind of opera, the key to enjoyment is understanding the language, or at least the plot. Nothing is more frustrating than hearing something without understanding. That’s why technology allowing opera houses to run supertitles has been such a hit.
But, wait! If opera has so much appeal, how come so many people have limited, often negative ideas about it? Let’s tackle that in the next post. Meanwhile, take stock of your own connection to opera, both your overall sense of it and specific experience with individual performances. That will give us a framework to compare notes when we take up the topic again.
Carol Reynolds, aka Professor Carol, a retired music history professor from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, has launched Silver Age Music. Her latest product is a multimedia course: “Discovering Music: 300 Years of Interaction in Western Music, Art, History, & Culture.” Prof. Carol now lives on a ranch, raises goats, and writes and lectures on classical music (to humans).
8 comments
Posted 06/07/10 at 3:08 pm
As with any musical form, a proper introduction at an early age is important. Opera has further suffered from a snobbish image and satires constructed by the misinformed. The comment that I most often hear is: “How can anyone listen to a fat lady with horns shriek for hours on end?”. All of opera has been reduced to a fifteen second clip of a single production. I don’t think that Adam Sandler helped much either.
I like opera. My parents started me early with “Amahl and the Night Visitors”. I’ve also enjoyed the entire “Ring Cycle” (but not at Bayreuth). I don’t imagine that any popular musical form would gain traction if all one ever heard was a fifteen second clip that everyone was making fun of.
Posted 06/07/10 at 5:13 pm
I could not agree more! And it’s wonderful (to me) to know you were first charmed by “Amahl & the Night Visitors” –undoubtably one of the most powerful and moving works ever written–all fitting within a performance time of 59 minutes. No matter how many times I see or here it, whether professionally done or with a volunteer community or church group, it never fails to work its magic.
Posted 06/07/10 at 5:20 pm
ooops, typing a bit too recklessly. . . Please forgive my “here” and “hear”– Sometimes multi-tasking isn’t the best approach.
Posted 06/07/10 at 7:36 pm
Those of us over 50 also grew up watching those GREAT Bugs Bunny and Mickie Mouse cartoons. Even though they were spoofs, the writers obviously loved opera and classical music. My favorite is the La Traviata movie with Placido Domingo. When we watched it in the theater EVERYONE in the theater was sobbing.
Posted 06/08/10 at 2:14 pm
My parents also exposed us to “Ahmal and the Night Visitors” when my sisters and I were toddlers, and I have always loved that opera. I am beginning to think I might like opera more than I suspected. Looking forward to the next post…! I might check local opera schedules after that…
Posted 06/08/10 at 4:23 pm
Is there a person in the United States who doesn’t know the “Bridal Chorus” from Lohengrin or the “Wedding March” from “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream?” I suppose that most have heard the “Toreador Song” from Carmen, too. A lot of arias would sound familiar to many if only from TV sit-coms or commercials. Then there’s Rice and Webber…. I still don’t like Adam Sandler’s “Opera Man” though.
Posted 06/10/10 at 11:06 am
Carol, an interesting post…stumbled on it through a connection on Twitter. I agree with most of what you say, and have tackled the subject on my blog as well http://wp.me/pHbUg-1U The age old dilemma, which is more important…the music or the words? My feeling, as one who has devoted his life to this art-form is that it is the music, and the singing that drives opera…or else, it becomes more like straight theater. My contention is that without a foundation of “musical vocabulary,” whether conscious or not…opera is a tough sell on the first-timer…however, with a little investment of time…the payoff is huge. Thanks!
Brendan Cooke
Baltimore Concert Opera
Posted 07/21/10 at 8:15 pm
Prof. Carol,
Thanks for this blog. Living in Ft. Worth all my life, I came late to opera, but very early to musicals. My high school acapella choir presented two musicals every year. I attended my first musicals done by professionals at Casa Manana and introduced my niece to musicals through Casa Playhouse. When I saw my first opera, the Pirates of Pendance, I wondered besides language what the difference was between operas and musicals. Now I know.
I have grown to love opera and enjoy attending Met at the Movies in my area and re-broadcasts on my local PBS station. I took a friend to experience her first opera, Armida, courtesy of Met at the Movies. She was an instant fan.
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