Today I went to the opera for the first time. Here are some observations and thoughts about the whole experience:

1. The average opera attendee is probably eligible for AARP.
2. The people who cart their children to the opera either have kids who are extremely cultured, kids who are extremely bribed, or parenting skills of the extremely naive.
3. Monochromatic sets are quite striking. I wonder how they keep the white set clean? Lots of Scotch Guard, probably.
4. Life would be much more entertaining if people conversed in opera. Because really, if people were to have fights with their boyfriend in high pitched Italian, I would be much more inclined to…okay, I would be much more inclined to watch domestic disputes. Hmmm…maybe that’s not such a good thing after all…
5. I don’t think that people suffering from mysterious illnessness would be singing like that on their deathbed.
6. I wish I had brought binoculars. Not so much because I wanted to see more but because I think it would have made the lady with the opera glasses next to me feel uncomfortable. I also wish that I would have brought up cultured topics for her to overhear during intermission: stuff like Monster Truck rallies and Ultimate Fighting. (I actually did talk to my brother about a video from College Humor…I might have come pretty close on this one…)
7. Reading the translations was great and not great all at once. I read the synopsis before each act with the intent of being able to know what was going on and just listen to the music. Turns out that I kept checking the translation for fear of misreading. A dad telling the son’s girlfriend that she was ruining the family couldn’t really be taking this long, could it? Yes, it could. Okay, just checking.
   On the other hand, I kind of felt like having the translations continually flashing up made me feel compelled to read them, and I think that it was much easier to enjoy the whole experience just listening and watching.

Overall, I really enjoyed the opera. The sets were fantastic, the singing and orchestra were beautiful, and the story was well-done and nicely conveyed. I was really prepared for the worst and was pleasantly surprised by the whole thing. Which is saying something because I was able to reach this enjoyment status in spite of a headache. If that’s not a ringing endorsement, I’m not sure what is.