Ten Tips for Opera Newbies!

So, you have listened to your opera-singer-friend (me) talk non-stop about opera, and you finally want to see what all the fuss is about. You have no idea where to start! Lucky for you, your opera-singer-friend (that's me!) is here to help you!

1. Start with what you already know. (Yes, you already know at least 5 pieces of music from opera, I promise.) 

I one hundred million percent recommend to people that they start with the pieces the recognize from Looney Toons or any other cartoon if this is their first operatic rodeo. Start with cartoons, parodies, or even pieces you've heard in car commercials, and go from there. 

2. Start with the HITS.

Take a look at the world's ten most performed operas, and pick any one of those to start with, and you would honestly be fine. I would recommend out of the top ten Carmen, La Bohème,  and The Barber of Seville the most to someone new, mostly because you're going to know music from  either of those, and those three are certified crowd pleasers.

3. Know Before You Go.

I cannot stress this enough: If you're thinking of attending your first opera, I highly recommend looking up the opera you're going to see first. Sometimes the plots can be confusing. Sometimes there is questionable content. Tosca is a great first opera, but it has some big #METOO stuff in there, so you'd maybe want to know that BEFORE you go. Things like content, opera run times, or show start times are all things you should absolutely know before you go!

4. Watch an opera for free!

If you are unsure if you could sit through a whole opera, outlets like PBS, the Met and SF Opera, and YouTube allow you to stream operas from the comfort of your couch. In face, OperaVision on YouTube lets you stream full operas for free! You can literally just pop "[title of opera] full opera]" into your YouTube search bar, and get multiple options, the vast majority of which are going to have subtitles.

5. Figure out what you like!

Are you a hopeless romantic? La Bohème, La traviata, The Merry Widow, Fidelio, and La Cenerentola got you covered!

Do you like a good  madcap screwball comedy? Marriage of Figaro, Die Fledermaus, and Barber of Seville are absolutely for you!

Do you like being scared? Check out Turn of the Screw, Elektra, and The Medium!

Figure out which genre(s) you watch in other media to determine what you'd want to sit through for an opera.

6. Don't speak the language? No problem!

99.9% of the time, you're going to have super titles above the stage during the performance (even if the opera is in English).

7. You don't need to dress up!

You are going to be sitting there for at LEAST 90 minutes minimum (Elektra and The Revolution of Steve Jobs are one act operas that clock in at a little over 90 minutes), but most run times are at least two and a half hours (La Bohème is about two and a half hours with intermission, Billy Budd is about 3 hours with an intermission, etc). So if you do not want to sit in uncomfortable clothes for up to three and a half hours, you absolutely do not have to do that and don't let anyone make you feel bad for not dressing up. Dress up if you want, or don't if you want! I would say stressing comfort over everything else is not a bad idea.

8. Sit in the cheap seats!

Opera is very expensive, and is cost prohibitive in most cases. I am not going to pretend that it's not.  However! One of the things I always recommend to people, as both a performer and someone who enjoys going to the opera is to sit in the cheap seats. There is nothing cheap about the experience those seats, and I honestly find a lot of the times it's a richer experience. Firstly, one of the things that most people understand about opera is that the performers don't use microphones. However, you don't really get a sense of how powerful that concept is until you sit very far back. And, because the sound in these spaces are designed to carry, often in the back seating, you are really going to get the best sonic experience.  Also--THE SETS. Opera is famous of its incredible sets. The Met is FAMOUS for its literal villages, real horses, Egyptian temples, whole freaking ships! As someone who  used to work on set construction, I absolutely recommend sitting in the cheap seats, because those sets are as much the stars as the singers.

9. Look for deals!

Once again, opera is VERY EXPENSIVE--however! Opera houses want new audiences. Opera singers want to share their craft with as many people as possible. Always look on the website for the cheapest tickets available, look for deals and coupons. I would also highly recommend physically going to the box office the day of a performance and asking what seats they have, because 9/10 times they want to just sell those tickets.

10. Opera is for everyone.

Opera might be your cup of tea, but you might not know until you get there. But whether or not you like it on your first try, it grows on your later, or you end up hating it--no matter what, opera is for everyone, and you belong there.