# Should Opera Go Back to the Future?



## Xavier (Jun 7, 2012)

_"Would opera benefit if performances were social events, as opposed to the solemn engagements they are today?"_

(Ugh… I've had it with that silly question!)

Full interview:

http://failuremag.com/feature/article/should-opera-go-back-to-the-future/


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Interesting article, but one based on false premises. Anyone who thinks that opera performances are "stuffy,solemn occaisions" obviously hasn't been to any recently . On the contrary, audiences are enormously enthusiastic and closely caugh tup in the action of whjatever opera is being performed .
It's true that audience behavior was somewhat different in the past; for example, people in the boxes in the 18th century would often be doing other things during the recitatives, such as talking, flirting, even eating meals etc, and would only begin to pay attention when a favorite singer sang a big, spectacular audience-pleasing aria . 
But the fact that people behaved differently at performance sin th epast does not mean that performances today are in any way "stuffy ".
Wagner is a completely different case . His stage works are not conventional operas, and he was aiming at a completely different kind of musico-dramatic experience . But it's a specious claim to say that he contributed to making performances in any way "stuffy and solemn". Parsifal is certainly solemn, but it's anything but stuffy ! It's no run of the mill opera anyway .
People demand silence when they go to the movies, and don't want other people distracting them .
Why should it be any different at opera performances ?


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Right, exactly. Operas are mainly joyful celebrations, sprinkled with the occasional hasn't-a-clue who thinks they should be learning something and the occasional dead-to-the-skin who had the tickets and thought they might as well go as not.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

I agree with everything said above. And unlike a movie, for me it's common courtesy to extend at least a minimum of sociability in the opera house should you have a stranger sitting next to you: a brief greeting and some trial small talk.

Our junior house in town, the Chicago Opera Theatre, does allow you to bring your lobby drink into the house during the performance and even has water hawkers roaming the seats during intermission. It does contribute to a more relaxed feeling.

A reversion to 18th century audience standards though would need to include a reversion to 18th century auditorium design too. In the spirit of this thread and reflecting on my recent La Scala box experience, I believe the appropriate modern day equivalent would be.... sky boxes. I mean, they practically invite you to luxuriate and socialize and ignore the proceedings on the field/court/ice... and allow you to do so without disturbing others there to focus on the event at hand. 

Considering that La Scala has five levels of ~40 boxes each with 3 to 6 seats per box, most of its seats are boxes or gallery. Only the front seats of each box get a full view of the stage, and even then many of those require a physical effort to do so. And the intimate nature of boxes (basically a long narrow closet with red velvet walls) makes being social pretty much a necessity. (Nowhere did my rudimentary Italian get used more.) And I gotta believe the padded walls are more than just voluptuous decoration: they definitely add a bit a sound proofing, to the aid of conversation and the detriment of opera listening.


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