Classically Abby - March 04, 2020


IS OPERA STILL RELEVANT IN 2020？？ ｜｜ There's more to it than you think...


Episode Stats

Length

9 minutes

Words per Minute

194.37804

Word Count

1,897

Sentence Count

108

Misogynist Sentences

1


Summary

In this episode, I talk about why opera is still relevant in 2020, and why you should definitely give it a chance, even in 2020. I give you some tips and tricks on how to get into the swing of it, and how to make the most of it.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hello, beautiful ladies, and welcome to today's video where we're going to be
00:00:03.560 talking about why opera is still relevant in 2020.
00:00:10.160 So I know that opera is really something that I think most people think is out of their realm
00:00:14.800 and just isn't relevant to them in today's day and age. Most people haven't
00:00:18.440 listened to classical music at all, so why would opera be relevant to them? And I
00:00:23.080 know that it's so different that so many people think it's kind of silly sounding
00:00:26.360 and they pretty much only associate it with Bugs Bunny and that kind of thing.
00:00:32.220 Well, I'm here to tell you why you should definitely give opera a chance, even in 2020.
00:00:37.880 I want to preface everything I'm about to say with one thing, and that is that opera was never
00:00:42.380 meant to simply be listened to. People listen to opera on the radio and they think that that's
00:00:47.040 really all opera is, but opera was always meant to be performed on the stage, so seeing it is so
00:00:52.420 much more important than just listening to it. There's a whole other aspect of opera than just
00:00:58.180 the music. There's plot, there's staging, there's costumes, and if you're not actually giving yourself
00:01:03.240 the chance to experience opera in its entirety, then you're not really giving yourself the opportunity
00:01:08.240 to love opera. Listening to opera is great, but if you have the opportunity to rent a performance
00:01:14.060 or see Met in HD or go to a performance in person, that's what you should be doing because that's
00:01:20.080 always how opera was meant to be enjoyed. So reason number one that opera is still relevant today
00:01:25.540 is that opera has the most glorious music. I know it's really hard to get used to if you're someone
00:01:31.840 who's never listened to opera before at all, but let me give you a little trick for how you may be
00:01:35.840 able to kind of ease your way into it. Parotti is one of the greatest opera singers of all time,
00:01:40.940 and if you listen to his rendition of Ness and Dorma, I'm pretty sure you'll understand
00:01:46.260 why opera is so beautiful. But before you just go straight in and listen to it, first look up the
00:01:53.720 lyrics and see the translation, look up the context for why it's being sung, and then listen to it.
00:01:59.980 And after listening to it with the lyrics in front of you translated, try just listening to it with
00:02:04.900 your eyes closed. This is a trick my dad did on my mom when they were young, and I think it's a really
00:02:09.340 smart one, because the music itself has so much meaning, but if you don't give it a chance to
00:02:14.700 actually tell you what's happening in the story, it may not give you the same amount of meaning as
00:02:19.220 you would expect. So going through those steps will really make all the difference. But there are a
00:02:23.900 few reasons that opera is so intense. So the first is that operatic singing is done without a microphone,
00:02:30.120 and actually singing through a microphone can be difficult to do as an opera singer, because
00:02:35.340 you are used to creating so much sound and using something called formants, which are certain
00:02:41.820 registers and things like that to help your voice carry in large halls. So we actually sing in these
00:02:49.580 giant houses over an orchestra with no amplification. And getting an opportunity to just hear a voice
00:02:56.180 without any kind of electronic barrier between you, meaning you're hearing them through a speaker
00:03:01.320 or whatever it is, is a really raw experience. And opera gives you that opportunity. As well, opera
00:03:09.080 is done with a full orchestra. Now full orchestra means something different for every composer, because
00:03:13.720 a composer like Mozart had a much smaller orchestra as compared to Wagner. Wagner's was enormous. But in any
00:03:20.120 case, you're getting to hear a full orchestra with a singer, and that is just glorious. Getting to experience
00:03:27.240 opera is really fascinating as well. Because the reason that opera takes a little bit longer, I've
00:03:32.280 always thought, is that it gives you time to experience an emotional turn of events at the same
00:03:39.560 time that the character is. Because it's not happening super quickly, and you just have to kind of follow
00:03:44.760 along as the character changes. Rather, you're in the character's head with them a lot of the time. And that
00:03:50.520 is so cool. So you're getting to see them go through an emotional shift and hear them going through that
00:03:56.680 emotional shift. You get to experience it too. So going to the opera is an incredible experience
00:04:01.960 just for the musical aspect alone. Getting used to the way that opera singers sing might take you a couple
00:04:07.640 of times. But really, what you have to remember is that the way that we sing allows us to be heard
00:04:12.840 without any microphones. So that's why we sound the way that we do. Also, when you hear the kind of acrobatic
00:04:19.880 feats of the voice, and also just the beautiful length of notes that we sing, that kind of stuff
00:04:26.840 can end up being really impressive. So if you sort of look at opera at the beginning when you're just
00:04:31.720 getting used to it, if you sort of look at opera like an Olympic feat, and then you can kind of
00:04:37.240 develop your love for the singing in and of itself, that might be the way to do it. Because opera kind of
00:04:42.920 is a feat if you think about it. We're singing for a very long time without any microphones, and over this
00:04:49.080 enormous orchestra. So getting to hear that, think of it as an Olympic competition, maybe the first
00:04:55.560 couple of times, and then you'll end up being able to appreciate it on its own. The second reason that
00:05:01.720 opera is still relevant in 2020 is the stories. Now of course there are some stories that are outdated,
00:05:07.720 that don't really work, that may not take some great stances in our political climate, but a vast
00:05:14.200 majority of opera stories are actually really, really relevant. And you can know that because a
00:05:20.280 bunch of musicals are actually based on the same stories that operas are written about. So you know
00:05:25.240 it's not just something crazy and out of left field. But most of the stories in opera really revolve around
00:05:30.680 human interactions and emotions and things that we go through today that they went through 300 years
00:05:35.720 ago. Love triangles. Wanting to marry someone and your parents not approving. Loving someone who
00:05:41.640 might not be right for you. Shakespeare stories. I mean everything across the gamut has been covered
00:05:47.800 by opera. If there is a story that you love, it may have already been made into an opera.
00:05:53.240 And there are also fairy tales. There are things that are appropriate for children. There are things
00:05:57.080 that are appropriate for adults. There are so many different options of stories, and I'm sure you can find
00:06:02.920 one that will appeal to you. And they all have this dramatic passion that you know people are already
00:06:08.600 longing for if you think about soap operas or any drama that you see on stage or in movies. And there's
00:06:14.040 just so much there that you will be able to dig through as a viewer. Number three is the experience.
00:06:21.400 Going to the opera is so cool. You get to dress up if you want to. You get to see a lot of other people
00:06:27.880 dressed up. You get to see live theater. And the sets and the clothing are usually so beautiful to
00:06:34.120 look at. It's an experience that you won't get anywhere else. It's so in a way elevated, but it's
00:06:40.360 really welcome to anybody. So I don't mean it in the way that only people who are fancier can go,
00:06:45.640 but more in the sense of you get this experience that's just so unique. And it's so worth doing.
00:06:51.000 So I mean one of the things that I think is great about the opera is that we have intermissions.
00:06:55.000 So the first half, you get to sit and just watch. And then you have a break. And during that break,
00:07:00.120 this is a great time to go on a date. You experience the first half. And then during the intermission,
00:07:04.440 you and your partner can just go out and talk about it. Then you sit through the second half.
00:07:08.440 And then afterwards, you get a drink. I mean, it's the perfect evening. Plus, you have an excuse
00:07:12.840 to put on a gown. Who doesn't want that? And just to answer any questions about why opera and not
00:07:19.240 musical theater and why opera and not a play. First of all, opera is an experience that is
00:07:24.520 entirely different from any other. So it wouldn't replace either one. Musical theater is really fun.
00:07:31.000 And I love it. It's just much more modern. And I don't think that it explores emotions in the same
00:07:36.600 way. It does explore emotions. Don't get me wrong. But it's a little bit more surface level sometimes,
00:07:41.000 depending on the show. And with opera, you have a sung through performance where people are literally
00:07:49.480 throwing their voice on the stage. It's just a different experience. Plus, like I said,
00:07:54.600 that raw emotional connection when somebody doesn't have a microphone on, you'll only get in an opera
00:08:00.520 house. Plus, in musical theater, you're not getting a full orchestra. And you do definitely get that
00:08:05.640 in an opera. And the stories are just very different. The stories in opera have really heightened emotions,
00:08:11.960 whereas in musical theater, I think it's more similar to what we experience
00:08:15.400 in our day-to-day lives. The reason that opera has so much more of a heightened, dramatic,
00:08:20.440 emotional experience is because seeing someone else experience the height of their emotions on stage,
00:08:26.680 I think, breaks the barrier between you and the performer and allows you to go through your own
00:08:31.960 experience as well while they are going through theirs. It reminds you of your own because watching
00:08:36.920 someone else go through it and to that level of really feeling how they're feeling, it kind of
00:08:45.000 breaks down that wall for you. Now, why is opera different than a play? There's something so special
00:08:50.360 about having music and the story tied together. Music, I think, amplifies everything that happens in a
00:08:57.080 play. I love straight theater, so that is not to put straight theater down at all. I just think it's worth
00:09:02.360 doing all three. Plays have a place, musicals have a place, and opera has a place. And you should be
00:09:07.880 able to enjoy all of them, but don't replace any of them with the other. Have you ever been to an
00:09:13.240 opera? If you have, what was one that you absolutely loved? And if you've listened to an opera but not
00:09:18.200 seen one, would you agree that it wasn't necessarily the best experience and that you would like to go see
00:09:22.920 one instead? Let me know in the comments below. Thank you guys so much for watching today's video.
00:09:27.720 Please subscribe to my channel and vlog if you haven't already. Head over to my Twitter,
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