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Since you're probably all wondering how my first brush with opera went, let me tell you.
To begin with, the opera I saw wasn't any of the "classic" ones that everyone has heard about, such as "The Marriage of Figaro" or anything by Wagner. It was "Jenufa", a very dark Czech opera about a young woman who is pregnant by her fiance, who eventually refuses to marry her because who sucks; her step-mother drowns the baby to preserve Jenufa's honour, but all still ends well because of the finance's foster-brother who is a good man and who loved Jenufa all along. Not a very jolly story, and the costumes and sets were very sober, but it was still very well done. In the role of the step-mother was Agnes Somebody, who is apparently very famous.
I know this because I spent the show hanging out with the opera clique. In line outside to buy the tickets, I met with a girl from B.C. who sings in an opera company. Once inside, we found ourselves with 3 other Canadians in our row, and the row behind us was a group young people touring with an operatic choir from Virginia. Very fun people, and we had a good time. Even went out for dessert after the show, so I got back to the hostel *very* late.
If any of you have been wondering about my occasional fainting spells, be reassured. Someone fainted during the performance, last night, and it was not me! One of the girls beside me fainted near the end of the first act. I understand her, because in the back, where we were standing all packed together, it was very warm and the air circulation sucked. Also, there was an old man standing in front of us who positively reeked, which didn't help. We kept hoping he'd leave during one of the intermissions, but he never did.
All told, I enjoyed my first opera and would like to see more, possibly something with a little more pageantry. I'm still sad about missing "The Sleeping Beauty" the other night, but you can't have everything. And I *did* go to the Viennese State Opera, so that's something, right? ^_^ If I were staying longer, I'd definitely see another show, but, well... another time.
Today I'm off to Prague! Wish me well, I'm a bit nervous about getting lost on the way to my hostel.
To begin with, the opera I saw wasn't any of the "classic" ones that everyone has heard about, such as "The Marriage of Figaro" or anything by Wagner. It was "Jenufa", a very dark Czech opera about a young woman who is pregnant by her fiance, who eventually refuses to marry her because who sucks; her step-mother drowns the baby to preserve Jenufa's honour, but all still ends well because of the finance's foster-brother who is a good man and who loved Jenufa all along. Not a very jolly story, and the costumes and sets were very sober, but it was still very well done. In the role of the step-mother was Agnes Somebody, who is apparently very famous.
I know this because I spent the show hanging out with the opera clique. In line outside to buy the tickets, I met with a girl from B.C. who sings in an opera company. Once inside, we found ourselves with 3 other Canadians in our row, and the row behind us was a group young people touring with an operatic choir from Virginia. Very fun people, and we had a good time. Even went out for dessert after the show, so I got back to the hostel *very* late.
If any of you have been wondering about my occasional fainting spells, be reassured. Someone fainted during the performance, last night, and it was not me! One of the girls beside me fainted near the end of the first act. I understand her, because in the back, where we were standing all packed together, it was very warm and the air circulation sucked. Also, there was an old man standing in front of us who positively reeked, which didn't help. We kept hoping he'd leave during one of the intermissions, but he never did.
All told, I enjoyed my first opera and would like to see more, possibly something with a little more pageantry. I'm still sad about missing "The Sleeping Beauty" the other night, but you can't have everything. And I *did* go to the Viennese State Opera, so that's something, right? ^_^ If I were staying longer, I'd definitely see another show, but, well... another time.
Today I'm off to Prague! Wish me well, I'm a bit nervous about getting lost on the way to my hostel.
