First trip to the opera house? You have opera tickets....now here are some opera tips to make sure your first night at the opera is not your last trip to the opera.
So you have never been to an opera before. There are probably several questions that you are asking yourself about what to expect from your first opera performance or trip to the opera house. Below is a quick reference guide to not just surviving your first opera house experience, but making your night at the opera a memorable one.
What should I do before the performance?
Two things come to mind here. First you need to get a ticket. An important thing to know about opera tickets is that the most expensive seat is not always the best seat in the opera house. The most expensive might be the closest, but not give you the best sound. It is always best the first time to buy the tickets at the theater box office if possible. The people working in the box office will often be able to tell you what your best options are to enjoy the entire experience of the drama and the music by showing you the opera house seating chart.
Secondly, it is also a good idea to do at least a little research about the opera that you are attending. Taking 10 minutes to review the basic opera plot information about the opera or hearing an opera cd of the piece, so that you are familiar with what you are about to see, will allow you to better enjoy all that is going on on stage. Here is an example of a basic opera plot for Barber of Seville.
What should I wear?
One of the fun things about opera is that there is no set dress code. You will find people dressed in anything from business casual, to Sunday best, to what I like to call the “fur-brigade.” About 75% will wear what they might wear to a church service, but by all means if you have that formal gown and are just dying to wear it out, you will not feel out of place. Ripped jeans and a t-shirt will not get you kicked out of the opera house, but you might consider cleaning up a bit. On a side note, if you are going to a premiere or opening night, people tend to dress on the fancier side of things.
When should I get there?
One of the best parts of going to the opera is people watching. This can be almost as entertaining as the show. People who are dressed to the nines, peacocking around as if they were royalty, making small talk about “operatic things.” I would recommend getting to the theater early enough to make it to the bathroom before the show starts. Opera acts tend to run pretty long, and lines at the bathroom during intermission can be even longer. Go before hand and you will have more time to people watch. Getting there early also allows you to find your seat and not have to climb over people and disturb others as they are watching the show.
What do I do during the performance?
Enjoy the show and take it all in. It is inappropriate to hum or tap along. It is also inappropriate to talk during the performance. Please turn off all phones, beepers, and pagers. Most theaters will also not allow you to record a live opera performance, so no cameras or camcorders either. Again, just sit back and enjoy the show!
How do I understand what is going on?
Many opera houses now have what are called Super-titles. They work like closed-captioning on your TV, allowing you to follow along in a translation of the music that is probably in a language that you don’t speak. These are usually projected on a screen above the stage. If you are watching your first opera at the Metropolitan Opera, they have put the screens on the backs of the seats in-front of you, like an airplane, letting you turn them on and off as you please. Often in larger opera houses, you will get English titles for works in English as well, so that it is easier to follow the action. Most programs will also have a brief synopsis of the action by act that you can also refer to.
When do I clap?
This is always a fear for someone who is spending a night at the opera for the first time. As a general rule of thumb, there are a few key places when clapping is a good idea, assuming that the level of the performance warrants clapping:
- When the conductor comes out to start the overture.
- When everyone else around you is clapping.
- At the end of an act or the end of the opera and the opera singers are taking bows.
When in doubt, it is better not to clap than to clap and get the evil stares of people around you. Also you are bound to hear cheers from the audience of “Bravo.” Bravo for the beginner can be a bit scary, as the word changes based on whom you are saying it to. Here is a quick guide to Bravo:
- Say Bravo (Brah-voh) to a single male performer’s exceptional performance.
- Say Brava (Brah-vah) to a single female performer’s exceptional performance.
- Say Bravi (Brah-vee) to a group of all male performers or a mix of male and female performers’ exceptional performances.
- Say Brave (Brah-vay) to a group of all female performers’ exceptional performances.
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