I attended the opera and actually liked it!

Throughout my life, I’ve been introduced to music and art appreciation, school plays and lessons in history, but I don’t feel like I ever really understood their importance. I lacked an appreciation of how these arts lend themselves to culture. On Saturday, April 9^th, as the red velvet curtain at the Detroit Opera House opened, I realized that as I get older and become more open-minded to these cultural experiences, the more I enjoy them.

I recently traveled with friends to Detroit, Michigan because I wanted to see the Opera, “The Magic Flute.”  As a student in the Liberal Studies Program at Indiana University South Bend, I am required to take a certain number of classes in the disciplines of Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences.  To fulfill this requirement, I had enrolled one summer in an opera course, because it was the only Humanities course offered.  I wasn’t at all excited.

I thought that operas were all the same, really fat people singing words I couldn’t understand in very high pitched voices.  I remembered telling people that I was not a fan of the opera - a stereotypical statement that I didn’t have the right to make since I had never attended one or even listened to one on the radio. 

Throughout the semester, Dr. David Barton had introduced us to operas written by Mozart, Verdi, Monteverdi, Wagner and Puccini.  Not only did he teach us about librettos and arias, but during every class we would watch scenes from the various operas.  My view of opera quickly changed from my initial thoughts of high pitched vocals spewed from the mouths of fat women.

My research on “The Magic Flute” led me to have a greater appreciation for acting, for the vocal ranges presented, for costume and set design and for the imagination it took for Mozart to create the libretto. I had watched “The Magic Flute” many times on DVD so that I could write about its significance and many uses of symbolism in my paper and now I was seeing it in person.

The lights dimmed at the Detroit Opera House at exactly 7:30 and the orchestra began.  For several minutes the curtain stayed closed as the music was playing.  Then, the curtain was raised and a beautiful set design was exposed, and I was in awe.

Sopranos, baritones, tenors, altos and bass singers filled the stage throughout the next three hours, bringing to life an opera that had been written and performed since 1791.

Several times throughout the opera I caught myself with a small smile, absolutely amazed at the talent that graced the stage. It was definitely worth the money for tickets and time to travel to Detroit, and I am sure that I will see another opera.  The only downside was that it was about a half hour too long. It wasn't necessary the opera that was the problem, I was just uncomfortable sitting in a suit for that amount of time. I would have been fine sitting on a couch, wrapped up in a warm blanket while watching in my pajamas.

I’m glad I am branching out and learning to appreciate music and art more and would encourage everyone to be a little more open-minded to new cultural experiences.