Search results
- You need to be an expert to enjoy opera. "One hundred per cent false. There are program booklets given to each audience member before the start of the performance.
- The singers sound 'weird' "Opera singers are trained from the very beginning to create sound that can be heard without amplification, over a large orchestra of 30 to 90 instruments.
- You'll get bored. "OK. So, full disclosure? Some operas are long. Especially for modern, iPhone-carrying, wifi-hounding, YouTube-loving, short-attention-span-possessing audiences (of which I, woefully, count myself a part!)
- If you don't understand Italian/German/French, forget it. "Not a problem. The majority of the audience around you will be in the same boat. Surtitles are the opera world's version of movie subtitles.
Why do so few people like opera? It's been a bummer being an opera fan recently (off the top of my head: San Diego closing + the Met having financial difficulties, and those are just the very recent examples). Why is our industry having so much trouble supporting itself? Do you think it can be fixed? If yes, how so?
Definitely not. As folks mentioned, supertitles are widespread. Decent programs have solid plot summaries, although I've seen a few shows where nothing was provided. Thankfully my wife seems to know basically every opera ever. I have a hard time understanding music lyrics regardless of language.
May 25, 2015 · “A frustrated listener might well define grand opera as musical theatre where you have a hard time making out the words even when they’re being sung in your own language. Conceding the point, many opera houses nowadays always flash surtitles above the proscenium.
Aug 16, 2012 · Is opera healthy today, or is it a 400-year-old art form struggling for its life in the face of fractured budgets, aging audiences and an explosion of new media options to occupy our eyes and...
- Tom Huizenga
Jan 26, 2020 · Generally, operas are really only about two-and-a-half or three hours long. Today, many people think nothing of binge-watching away a weekend on Netflix.
People also ask
Why do some people find operas difficult?
Why do people love opera so much?
What happens if you don't like opera?
Do operas tell a story?
Why is opera perceived as expensive?
What if operas were not made in Italy?
A lot of the Bel Canto showpiece roles are notoriously difficult, often due to very sprightly coloratura, crazy high notes, leaps, excessively long solo passages, and all of the above. One of the most famous is Lucia in Lucia Di Lammermoor, famous for her insanely difficult Mad Scene.
