"What is Time?"

I had a conversation with my mom about opera over the phone. She laughed at first but once I explained to her, she immediately thought of looney toons. My mom loves old cartoons and is a big kid at heart. She referenced the bugs bunny opera episodes and what she knew about foreign opera. We both agreed that the image of large people with large voices and viking helmets were also an instant picture in our heads. The conversation then shifted to the way we perceive opera as being boring. In our eyes, most people see opera as being a long boring musical. This is definitely the picture painted in the minds of most.

The person I talked to about opera was my friend Garrett. I asked Garrett what he thought of opera, and he said that he has seen performances of the “Barber of Seville” and the “Magic Flute”. Garrett thought the “Magic Flute” was more entertaining and lighthearted, and saw the “Barber of Seville” as more intense and dramatic. He watched these operas performed in Italian so he did not know what was being said, but he was able to understand the plot based on the sets and movements of the performers. Next, I asked Garrett, “When you think of opera, what is the first thing that comes to mind?” He said that heavy vibrato was the first thing that came to mind. When I asked if Garrett enjoyed listening to opera music, he said that he can enjoy opera but it is not something that he would search out to listen to. He enjoys classical music and he would classify opera under the heading of classical music. Then I asked Garrett if he saw any connection between opera and time. Garrett replied that he can see a connection between opera and time, in that opera has changed over time. In opera, he said, there are more “fermata,” which means you hold the note for as long as you want and can cut it off when you want. The singer judges the time of the notes, and it is more free flowing than actual music.

A few days ago I asked my roommate what his thoughts were on opera.  He was immediately taken off-guard by the question, but was able to give me a few ideas of what opera was relative to him.  He said that when he thought of opera, he thought of oversized people singing in musicals on Broadway in New York City.  He claimed that the only people that go to see operas are very rich individuals with nothing better to do with there time.  He then went on to say that the word opera puts a vision of a large lady singing such a high, long note that glass begins to shatter everywhere.  These are some very interesting thoughts that he had to share with me and gave me an idea of what an indidivdual like him thinks about opera.

So the person I ended up talking to about opera with was my brother. He and I were raised around the same time so you’d imagine we would have practically similar views on a lot of things and well opera for that matter. I just asked so when I say opera what do you think of and the very first thing he came up with was that commercial for JG Wentworth and that completely clicked because I’ve literally seen it a thousand times. Now in that commercial there were large people with booming voices and dramatic movements however it was in English which to my knowledge is uncommon for operas. He did tell me he had to try and translate a French opera for class so he actually had an experience with one witch is pretty cool.

I decided to ask my friend from high school what he thought of opera  when I called him on the phone over fall break. He initially was caught off guard and I had to explain my reason for asking but then he went into his take on opera. he began talking about some JG Wentworth commercial that I had never heard of. He described a stage with people singing about the number to call to contact them and he mentioned how lame the commercial was. From what I could gather, the commercial consisted of several people singing opera on a stage, wearing furs and viking-like apparel, and raising their arms when they sing. He also said the main line was “877-cash-now.” I think this is very loosely related to actual opera, but it shows the perception of opera in today’s society. The viking gear and powerful gestures were consistent with my perception of opera. I could tell that neither he nor I knew much more about opera than that because we have only experienced what is put on TV. I think this is true for many Americans.

When I was skyping my mom and dad, I asked them what they both thought about opera and they had vastly different responses. My mom, who is intrigued by foreign cultures and history, said that she finds operas beautiful and mesmerizing. My dad, on the other hand, had trouble finding entertainment through a story being sang in a language that he did not understand. When I was 12, we all attended an opera together in Austria and unfortunately, I can’t remember much because I fell asleep fairly quickly; my dad did the same. My mom, however, watched the entire opera and found it to be a wonderful experience. She found the performer’s singing ranges to be astounding and she was captivated by their powerful voices. She did say that it was not something she needed to experience more than once. Because of our different culture, she is accustomed to more modern forms of music and plays, and prefers the more typical American style of entertainment. I think the majority of Americans these days feel similarly.

Looking back and remembering snippets of the opera I saw, and then comparing it to the Beauty and the Beast film that I watched for our class, there were many similarities, but I was pleasantly surprised by one of the differences. Perhaps I was too young and uninterested in the past, but as I watched Beauty and the Beast, I found it to be quiet humorous. I had never accompanied the idea of comedy with operas, but I found myself laughing quite regularly.

Over fall break, I went home to Fairfax, VA and I spent the weekend with my family.  My dad surprised me with tickets to a concert and I was super excited.  We got all dressed up and went to see an orchestra concert and after the concert, on the ride back home my parents and I started to talk about concerts we went to in the past.  We talked about seeing the Trans Siberian Orchestra and the Philharmonic orchestra and many other famous groups, but when the conversation started to die down, I brought up the topic of opera.  Though my family has gone to see many orchestra performances and ballet performances, but we only went to two opera concerts.  One, we went to when I was seven all I remember is that it was extremely boring, but a couple years ago, I went to another opera performance.  I don’t remember anything about this second performance either, but I remember I loved it.  My parents and I talked about how the music was fantastic and the costumes and the stage was incredible.  The conversation ended with a long discussion about how opera singers are able to project their voices throughout the whole theater.  Overall, I found that I liked opera a lot more than I thought I did.

I decided to talk about opera with my brother, Jay. For years now, Jay has listened to opera soundtracks as he does his homework. I was always confused by his choice of music, and I finally got an explanation as to why he listens to it. His answer was very simple: “I like the voices of most opera singers. It has a calming effect on me.” It all made sense once i heard that. Just as jazz music soothes me and allows me to concentrate on work, opera has the same effect on Jay. He went on to compare his attraction to opera to why he watches American Idol. He doesn’t necessarily like the show itself but he enjoys listening to talented artists. Therefore, the point isn’t whether or not he likes opera as a genre, but it has more to do with the performer’s voice, and the way he can connect to it.

My mom received her masters in music from Rice University and taught voice and piano for several years when we lived in Vermont so she was the logical person in my family to ask about opera.  Immediately, she reminded me of the time we went to Carmen with my aunt and sister.  I was only about 6 at the time, so naturally I did not remember much about the show but she tried to explain how truly amazing the show was to her.   My mom has seen many other operas, and although she could not force the love onto my sister and me, she maintains a thorough respect for the art.  She mainly focused on the vibrant, crisp voices of the performers, but also reflected on how she loved the exaggerated movement and acting.  The special effects, to her, were not as amazing as the passion that the performers seemed to have.  After our talk she noticed that she had not been to the opera in over 10 years and said she wanted to return…