Since around the year 1600, opera has served as a pastime for many people, especially across European countries. Opera hot spots like Italy, France, and Germany have integrated the musical form deeply into their cultures. However, here in America, we have a drastically different view of what exactly opera is; most Americans think it’s where rich people dress up and go see a woman in a big dress sing loud and high notes for four hours. If opera has been around for so long and has entertained dozens of generations, why is there such a stigma around it?
age
Opera is one of the oldest forms of music in existence. From the Baroque period beginning in the beginning of the 17th century all the way until the emergence of post-tonal music in the 20th century, opera was arguably the most significant musical development. It was made to appeal to Europeans living during the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, and at the time, opera was the thing to see and do. In fact, going to the opera house and seeing an opera used to be a very common pastime. Sitting quietly and listening to an opera in a dark theater is a somewhat recent development; during opera’s emergence, people would eat, drink, and play games in the theater, and the opera would simply be background entertainment.
Regardless, opera’s age can make it seem like it’s really outdated as a genre. Plus, I have no problem with being the first to admit that most opera is incredibly predictable: usually there’s a guy and a girl, they fall in love, and either chaos/hilarity or heartbreak ensues depending on whether the opera is comedic or dramatic, and then a surprisingly high percentage of the time the girl dies in the end.
This is one of the things that makes opera so unique, though. Because of its age, most compositions are in the public domain, meaning that copyright rules don’t apply and directors have a lot of creative freedom. In fact, this is pretty much the standard when it comes to directing operas. The stories are so old that you have to figure out something creative and innovative to do with the story in order for people to stay interested and entertained, and sometimes, seeing the creative liberties taken with a production because of the flexibility are what makes the opera fun. I was in a Puccini opera in the fall where the director had the entire cast come out on stage and whisper Latin words in Harry Potter Parseltongue style while the main character was drinking poison. I have a friend who did a Mozart opera recently that was changed to be set in Alaska, and they even changed some words in the music that reference original locations to reference Alaska. This is all possible because of how old opera is, and I think it’s really cool that so much can be adjusted and interpreted differently.
boredom
One of the biggest hurdles I have experienced when trying to get other people to be excited about opera is their expectation that it’s going to be boring. It’s definitely true that opera isn’t for everyone, similar to how anyone could dislike any genre of music or art solely because of their own tastes. However, I know a lot of people that are interested in music in general and would probably really enjoy opera if they were to see it, but the concept of it being boring is something they get too caught up on.
Opera entails a lot of singing, and because of its age (like I was mentioning earlier), it’s easy to think that none of what’s happening or what the characters are saying is applicable to our modern, everyday life, so therefore it’s easy to write off the characters and plot as unrelatable and get bored. In this case, it’s important to try to connect with the art regardless. If you really pay attention, you can catch really comedic moments that transcend hundreds of years. At minimum, the actors are still real people conveying real human emotions, and emotions are something that pretty much everyone can identify and relate to. Instead of waiting for opera to feel relevant to you, search for a moment or element of the performance yourself that you can connect with.
Another one of the frequent complaints I hear about opera in terms of boredom is that it is almost always not in English. English operas didn’t gain mass popularity until closer to the 20th century, and I do think this is a big mental barrier when it comes to getting Americans to take interest in opera. That being said, although most operas are in Italian, German, or French, there are very few instances where a translation (in English) is not provided. In fact, even when an opera is in English, it’s common for subtitles to be included anyway. When I studied opera in Germany, I saw one of Mozart’s operas, which is originally in German, performed in German with both German and English subtitles. Even in European countries, having English translations is very standard. Plus, seeing an opera in another language can even help with language skills; if you know that “grazie” means “thank you” in Italian, you will at least be able to make a connection in an Italian opera whenever you hear someone use the word or phrase. You may even be able to pick up on some new words along the way!
accessibility
In my experience, a lot of people think that opera is inaccessible to the average person. It’s viewed as something for the elites and people with money to waste. In reality, though, unless you’re attending the Met Opera or another big-name theater, a ticket to see an opera on average doesn’t cost any more than a ticket to see a musical.
Plus, free opera experiences are available everywhere if you look for them. Colleges have opera scenes programs usually at least every year that are typically free or cost very little. An opera scenes production is essentially where a cast of several different people each perform a few scenes or arias from different operas. For example, in my current scenes program, I am in a French opera scene with two others, and an Italian opera scene with one other person, different from the two people in my French scene. This means each scene is from a different story with different characters and plots, forming mini stories that make opera much more palatable for someone who isn’t a regular opera enjoyer. These programs also give the performers more opportunities to try out different languages and roles, meaning that the singers will likely be having a little more fun which usually translates well to the audience.
Believe it or not, there are also community events that feature opera geared towards families that tend to be easier to understand as well. The Kansas City Lyric Opera, the professional opera program that I’m geographically closest to and know the most about, adapts an opera to be more accessible to kids, families, and community members, and they tour around Kansas City with the production, stopping at schools and community centers to put on a free production. If you were to pay attention to opera and arts organizations you already know about, I can guarantee that an opportunity to see an opera will come along organically.