Just a Few More Notes ♪♫ About Opera

Dafne, one of the first operas in history--that we know about--was the musical re-telling of the story of a nymph named Daphne who, upon being chased by Apollo, was turned into a laurel tree. It seems that a lot of the earliest operas were inspired by Greek and Roman myths. This opera was written by Jacopo Peri and Ottavio Rinuccini in 1597, in, where else, Italy. (the "i"s at the end of their names should have been a dead giveaway) The librettist Rinuccini was convinced that his opera "gave pleasure beyond belief to the few who heard it." I guess we will just have to take his word for it.

Bel canto opera means beautiful singing and generally, they are not kidding. Many operatic songs were written for the express purpose of showing off a particular singer's voice.

Opera seria is a noble and serious style of opera written for, and usually about, nobility.

Opera buffa is opera that is light and comic, usually with a happy ending, written for the common folk.

In an opera, it is usually the soprano who sings an aria to express her innermost feelings and share them with the entire world. Then she insists on repeating it several times in case you missed it the first time. And then she sings it one more time for good measure.

A recitative is sung to keep the plot moving along and to explain things. However, the whole purpose of the recitative is defeated if the opera is sung in Italian, unless of course there are subtitles or you happen to speak Italian.

Most operas are in Italian although there are some in German and French. It is probably good that many operas are sung in another language because words tend to be distracting. There are those of the opinion (mainly me) that music is the language of opera and who listens to the words, anyway.


Before going to an opera it is best to do some serious preparation so here are some hints in case you decide to venture into the world of opera:

1-Fortify yourself with a good meal because it might be some time before you get to eat again. (especially if you go to a Wagnerian opera which I haven't even mentioned and probably won't because that is a bit beyond me) Have a cup or two of coffee...just not too much.

2-You ought to at least read the libretto, study the life of the composer and listen to all the music of the opera you are going to as well as some of his other compositions. (I wonder why all the opera composers seem to be men...I may have to look into that) In this case, familiarity does not breed contempt. In fact, after you have heard the opera several times, it becomes more like a dear old friend.

3-Arm yourself with some good old fashioned opera glasses or a discreet pair of binoculars because you want to be able to see the expressions on the faces of the singers. And the details of their costumes. But try to ignore the microphones. They kinda spoil the effect.

4-Do not take candy with noisy wrappers and please, pre-open your Ludens cherry cough drops if you suspect you might be overtaken by a fit of coughing. There are some serious opera lovers out there and I will not be responsible if one takes offense at your wrapper-rustling.

5- Try not to get bogged down by the repetitiveness of the words or the implausibility of the storyline. Enjoy the moments you find sublime and let your spirit fly away with the music.

6-A final thought: music expresses emotion and opera is all about emotion. Just expect that and don't get all emotional about it. Or take plenty of tissues.