Wednesday, October 24, 2018

This Is Beautiful: Opera

So I just got back from seeing "La Traviata" and I keep forgetting how gorgeous opera music is. People like to talk shit about it, and I get that there are definitely barriers and issues to it, but it is so powerful to listen to. Having the classical orchestra and impossibly high sopranos and smooth-as-silk tenors really captures emotions in a way that most musicals never could. And the entire show is set to music, giving you a pipeline into the character's thoughts at any given time.

Now I know that there are valid criticisms about opera. It has been historically something that rich snobs go to. It's in a different language. There are a slew of reasons to dislike it. But that doesn't mean we should write off the whole genre. Broadway wouldn't exist if it wasn't for opera, and so much other art is indebted to opera composers and other artists (ballet, forms of pop music, theater, etc.). If you have never heard any opera before, I would strongly consider giving it a chance. There is a lot of different opera out there, and somewhere there exists an opera that you are going to love.

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