... don giovanni, oh what a rake and seducer are you ...

my flat in paris was directly across the street from the opera de le bastille, or, more commonly opera bastille (the bastille opera house) -- i had a perfect view of the building from my window but failed to snap a shot with my own camera (thus, the photo below is lifted from here). the bastille opera house is a modern opera house in paris, inaugurated in 1989 as part of president françois mitterrand's "grands travaux," or grands projects culturels, an architectural program to provide modern monuments in paris, symbolizing france’s role in art, politics, and economy at the end of the 20th century.

i am fairly new to the opera (so i certainly wouldn't call myself a fan, yet), but, thanks to the influence of my friend sue, who, along with her husband, is an avid and well-informed opera fan, i am learning to cultivate an appreciation (and an enjoyment) for the art form. in the last year, i've seen two operas: the italian opera La bohème, which i saw with sue at the decc via a simulcast sponsored by the metropolitan opera; and the french opera carmen, which i saw performed by the duluth superior symphony orchestra (dsso) and the lyric opera of the north (loon). why not, then, elevate my opera going repertoire by securing tickets to the opening night of the italian opera don giovanni (composed by mozart) at the bastille opera house? in paris? exactly. ticket booked. and opera-going attire packed.



to prepare myself for the paris event, i did two things: 1) since the opera would be performed in italian, i read several different synopses of the opera so i would at least have an understanding of the story and the characters (and the english (and french) translation was provided via a teleprompter for the audience, which was something i did not expect); and 2) watched the 1984 film amadeus, to, you know, get to know mozart better.

photography was obviously strictly prohibited, but i did snap these two mediocre shots of the venue before the performance started. the place is massive, massive! and it appeared that all of the seats were filled, at least all of the seats on the main floor, which is where i was seated (towards the back, as you can see, left of center stage). i sat between a fellow solo opera-goer, who did not speak any english (this i learned when she tried to ask me if she was sitting in the right seat number) and a gentleman of a gentleman-and-lady duo, who did not speak english as his first language either (this i know because i overheard him speaking to his lady-friend, who subsequently responded, in a language that was not english).

the performance started promptly at 7:30 p.m. and began with a message from, i am assuming, the director, who addressed the audience with the full chorus, all dressed in black, standing behind him (i am not sure what he said because his speech was not translated). after he finished speaking, the chorus sang a song. when the song was over, the audience applauded mightily and offered a standing ovation (which i didn't quite understand, to be honest, but followed suit and stood and clapped with the others). the house lights came up again, several minutes passed, and then the lights went down, the orchestra began, and the set was revealed. i have to say that i was surprised to see a modern set -- i was expecting to see something reminiscent of the early 19th century (the period in which the opera was written). instead, the primary backdrop was a multi-story office building and don giovanni and leporello were dressed in suits (the other characters were also costumed in modern garb).

clearly, i am not an opera reviewer, but i can say this of my experience: the singing was beautiful --  it's actually hard to believe that such sound can come from a human mouth (and appear as if emitted effortlessly); the music was dark and intense, captivating really; the modern setting made the whole experience more engaging (and interesting), at least in my opinion; the opera was performed so well that i found myself more caught up in what was happening on stage, rather than trying to keep up with the translation on the teleprompter (see, the pre-work really paid off!); and i was surprised to find that it was nearly midnight when i returned to the flat across the street (that says something, too, the unnoticeable passage of time, about the quality and my enjoyment of the performance).

ultimately, i think going to the opera is a bit like reading shakespeare: comprehension takes some time and some effort: you have to get a feel for the language; it can help to read a plot synopsis before reading the actual script; it's most useful (and helpful) to read aloud and discuss with others; and the scripts become better and better with every re-read.

thus, i say: to shakespeare! to opera!