From "Opera, Schmopera" to "I ♥ Opera"

Opera is, well, opera. At first, opera and I did not get along. So I spent some time with the genre, reasoning that if I became more familiar with it, I would like it more. I went to a few operas:

Die Zauberflote
Cosi Fan Tutte
La Perichole
The Marriage of Figaro
Amahl and the Night Visitors
Suor Angelica




And then I had an epiphany: it is all about the music, baby. Ever since I figured that out, opera and I have gotten along just fine.

Opera is not about the story or the characters. It is the music. And some of it is sublime. And some of it is not.

(I suspect that opera composers keep the sublime moments to a minimum--because, just as in real life, there are lots of sub-sublime moments in an opera.) (I just made up that word--you cannot find it in the dictionary--go ahead, try)

Some of my sublime moments:

"Der Hölle Rache" from Die Zauberflote by Mozart
"O Mio Babbino Caro" from Gianni Schicchi by Puccini
"Je Veux Vivre" from Romeo et Juliette by Gounod
"The Flower Duet" from Lakeme by Delibes
"Quando Me'n Vo"from La Boheme by Puccini
"Brindisi" from La Traviata by Verdi
"The Marriage of Figaro Overture" by Mozart
"Caro Nome" from Rigoletto by Verdi

Opera is not much like real life.

Except for when money gets tight at the end of the month and someone can't pay his rent or when someone makes bad choices and has to face the consequences. No, opera isn't much like real life except for when someone is misunderstood or falls in love with the wrong person or goes lurking through a temple with a magic flute and a bird-man, looking for his true love (ok, maybe not so much the last one.)

I guess except for the complicated story lines and the fact that everybody sings all the time, opera might not be so far from real life sometimes. At least, real life if you're Italian.