# Opera Companion?



## belfastboy (Aug 3, 2012)

Just wondered if you visit opera's alone or with another, and if so, who? Is your 'other half' into opera, and if they are not, do they go along anyway with you out of politeness or do you have an 'opera companion'?!


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

I'm lucky, in that my significant other is an opera singer. (Get it?.... Cavaradossi?... ) So he's an eager attendee. Although for the last several I've resorted to going on my own because he's been on stage.


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## belfastboy (Aug 3, 2012)

Cavaradossi said:


> I'm lucky, in that my significant other is an opera singer. (Get it?.... Cavaradossi?... ) So he's an eager attendee. Although for the last several I've resorted to going on my own because he's been on stage.


Oh lucky you!


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

When i used to go to the opera, i used to go with someone very close to my heart. I used to call her Tosca. But she's gone. And since i moved away from where opera was staged, i haven't seen an opera ever since. It's been a while.

I don't like going to any event without company (even though i had). Maybe someday i'll meet another Tosca.

BTW, i think i would never like to have an opera singer as my significant other. The chances about wanting her to sing to me instead of having "intimate" moments with her would be huge. But i don't know, i've never meet an opera singer intimately.


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## belfastboy (Aug 3, 2012)

dionisio said:


> When i used to go to the opera, i used to go with someone very close to my heart. I used to call her Tosca. But she's gone. And since i moved away from where opera was staged, i haven't seen an opera ever since. It's been a while.
> 
> I don't like going to any event without company (even though i had). Maybe someday i'll meet another Tosca.
> 
> BTW, i think i would never like to have an opera singer as my significant other. The chances about wanting her to sing to me instead of having "intimate" moments with her would be huge. But i don't know, i've never meet an opera singer intimately.


Awwww..Boss....me heart strings! The thought of going alone I have to say makes me uncomfortable, dunno why. My other half will go, but you know when someone is there just in body....you feel like if they had a newspaper they would be doing the crossword with a torch! I hope someday you will meet Tosca II !!


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

belfastboy said:


> Awwww..Boss....me heart strings! The thought of going alone I have to say makes me uncomfortable, dunno why. My other half will go, but you know when someone is there just in body....you feel like if they had a newspaper they would be doing the crossword with a torch! I hope someday you will meet Tosca II !!


Nahh Schoppenauer does wonders 

I understand when you go with someone there just in body. It's the same feeling when i show something like "Non piú andrai" and i start almost to cry with such music and the person next to me doesn't understand.

Normally what i do is to start explainnig what is going on, the motifs, the subtle changes, musical details, etc. and i try to explain it with all my heart. They end up liking but only superficially. That's at least something Once, about the Beethoven's 9th, i wrote a long letter to explain it in every detail possible (that i knew) before attending the venue. I think they end up having a completely different experience


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## belfastboy (Aug 3, 2012)

dionisio said:


> Nahh Schoppenauer does wonders
> 
> I understand when you go with someone there just in body. It's the same feeling when i show something like "Non piú andrai" and i start almost to cry with such music and the person next to me doesn't understand.
> 
> Normally what i do is to start explainnig what is going on, the motifs, the subtle changes, musical details, etc. and i try to explain it with all my heart. They end up liking but only superficially. That's at least something Once, about the Beethoven's 9th, i wrote a long letter to explain it in every detail possible (that i knew) before attending the venue. I think they end up having a completely different experience


You go to great lengths! I'd just say, sit there and listen (buy me a drink at the interval)....!!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

belfastboy said:


> Just wondered if you visit opera's alone or with another, and if so, who? Is your 'other half' into opera, and if they are not, do they go along anyway with you out of politeness or do you have an 'opera companion'?!


I don't have a partner & the first time I went it was on my own & I felt awkward, thinking everyone would be in couples but I was totally wrong. Lots and lots of people go on their own & I don't even think about it now.

I've since made friends with fans from other parts of the country & sometimes meet up & go with them but still love going on my own. I'm a bit of a Stage Door groupie & often make friends with other fans while we wait for the artists to appear. This is how I met Jon, my gorgeous gay boy friend. This is us at the ROH Stage Door in May after the _Falstaff_ rehearsal.



I also make friends on the internet & this is me with Anne (who I met on Twitter) after _Les Troyens_ rehearsal with Fabio Capitanucci who sang the role of Chorèbe.



(Just realised I'm wearing the same clothes - I _do_ have other clothes! :lol

But I've made the most friends right here on TC & this year I've met several in person & five of us saw _Les Troyens_ together in July. That was very special.


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## belfastboy (Aug 3, 2012)

sospiro said:


> I don't have a partner & the first time I went it was on my own & I felt awkward, thinking everyone would be in couples but I was totally wrong. Lots and lots of people go on their own & I don't even think about it now.
> 
> I've since made friends with fans from other parts of the country & sometimes meet up & go with them but still love going on my own. I'm a bit of a Stage Door groupie & often make friends with other fans while we wait for the artists to appear. This is how I met Jon, my gorgeous gay boy friend. This is us at the ROH Stage Door in May after the _Falstaff_ rehearsal.
> 
> ...


What a great response - complete with pictorial evidence! (gorgeous gay boy friend: :wave I was kind of hoping of making a few opera buddies around this neck of the woods (Belfast) who would enjoy visiting! I don't want to sounds like someone advertising for friends! Seems a bit...I dunno.....


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## Jeremy Marchant (Mar 11, 2010)

Well, I've probably been to fewer than twenty operas in my entire life so I don't have a specific companion. I once saw Szymanowski's_ King Roger_ at ENO with a friend who threw up on the bus afterwards. Really, it wasn't that bad.

And on Thursday I'm seeing _Mittwoch _in Birmingham with my brother. No doubt we'll meet other Stockhausen aficionados when we're there.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

belfastboy said:


> What a great response - complete with pictorial evidence! (gorgeous gay boy friend: :wave I was kind of hoping of making a few opera buddies around this neck of the woods (Belfast) who would enjoy visiting! I don't want to sounds like someone advertising for friends! Seems a bit...I dunno.....


In the future, if you want to hop over the water to see an opera at ROH or ENO, let me know & we can go together. My biggest problem for the rest of this season though is I don't have any Annual Leave left until 01/04/2013 when my new leave year starts.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

dionisio said:


> BTW, i think i would never like to have an opera singer as my significant other.


If the opera singer were Jonas Kaufmann, I sure would!! :kiss: 

Seriously, I've almost always gone to the opera by myself -- once in a great while, with an opera-loving friend. However, I do meet some of my other friends (married couples) at intermission during performances we're all attending.


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## belfastboy (Aug 3, 2012)

sospiro said:


> In the future, if you want to hop over the water to see an opera at ROH or ENO, let me know & we can go together. My biggest problem for the rest of this season though is I don't have any Annual Leave left until 01/04/2013 when my new leave year starts.


Seriously tempting suggestion - one which I may take advantage of sometime! ;-)


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

belfastboy said:


> Seriously tempting suggestion - one which I may take advantage of sometime! ;-)


Yes, please do. I'd love to meet up with you.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Cavaradossi said:


> I'm lucky, in that my significant other is an opera singer. (Get it?.... Cavaradossi?... ) So he's an eager attendee. Although for the last several I've resorted to going on my own because he's been on stage.












Are you going to tell us his name?


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

dionisio said:


> BTW, i think i would never like to have an opera singer as my significant other. The chances about wanting her to sing to me instead of having "intimate" moments with her would be huge. But i don't know, i've never meet an opera singer intimately.


Oh there's nothing intimate about having an opera singer around. They are trained and need to practice at full auditorium-filling volume, even in the confines of home... or so I'm told. Lately I've "had to" put up with a nightly rendition of _"Ah, leve-toi soleil"_.



sospiro said:


> Are you going to tell us his name?


Well this seems like a pretty tame board, but this being the internet and me being new here, I better err on the side of discretion. Besides, he's really still in the 'young artist' stage.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Cavaradossi said:


> Oh there's nothing intimate about having an opera singer around. They are trained and need to practice at full auditorium-filling volume, even in the confines of home... or so I'm told. Lately I've "had to" put up with a nightly rendition of _"Ah, leve-toi soleil"_.


OK seriously jealous here. My other half has just bought a small boat so I've had to put up with nightly discussions about marine grease, bilge pumps and whether it's better to have a holding tank for the loo or flush it into the open sea.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I go to the opera by myself.


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## Dakota (Jun 30, 2012)

I would LOVE to have a steady opera buddy; I have three occasional buddies now (who will go to one to three a season) but only found that many by active campaigning (badgering?) and I still go to at least 50% of the operas on my own.  It's always been this way, once (ONCE!) I actually had a full car.

I really have thought seriously about taking out an ad.............. But in the meantime, I refuse to miss operas or concerts just cuz I am on my own; life is too short...........


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> OK seriously jealous here. My other half has just bought a small boat so I've had to put up with nightly discussions about marine grease, bilge pumps and whether it's better to have a holding tank for the loo or flush it into the open sea .


Oooh now _I'm_ jealous. You can go snorkelling when you want!


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

From my early years, when I was already keen on classical, and modern / contemporary classical at that, I learned if I waited for a (high school) chum to share my interests and go to concerts with me, I would be waiting a very long time and not be attending those concerts.

So, I went solo. There, I met others who 'went solo' because they too, would not be held back by not having friends or a companion who shared that particular interest. Funny thing that. Go solo, meet the others who attend, solo or as friends - meet those who ARE interested in the same thing 

There are football widows, Opera widows and widowers, etc. If you're single, one does not get to haul that complaint out of the drawer.

Buy that single seat. There is always the interval, wherein you overcome your shyness, and approach one or a group of people and ask them simply if they are enjoying the performance. If you are not all versed in the vocabulary in which they speak of the music or singing, just say so.

It is an opportunity vs. a sad misfortune to attend these events on your own. The first of course is Getting To See /Hear the thing you want to see / hear. The next is social, and not a bad place to meet people.

Enjoy yourself.


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> OK seriously jealous here. My other half has just bought a small boat so I've had to put up with nightly discussions about marine grease, bilge pumps and whether it's better to have a holding tank for the loo or flush it into the open sea.


Some people have all the luck! I've signed myself recently to take a Skipper license. One of my dreams is someday to have a small boat with sails.


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

I'm single and I usually go alone to concerts and opera. Most of the time, I connect with others, talk about the performance or just have some small talk during the breaks. I don't like to bring someone unless they also like the music. Tried it, but it's better to go alone in stead. It's just uncomfortable if you can't enjoy it both.


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

Dakota said:


> But in the meantime, I refuse to miss operas or concerts just cuz I am on my own; life is too short...........


Yes, I agree. Carpe diem !


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

PetrB said:


> From my early years, when I was already keen on classical, and modern / contemporary classical at that, I learned if I waited for a (high school) chum to share my interests and go to concerts with me, I would be waiting a very long time and not be attending those concerts.
> 
> So, I went solo. There, I met others who 'went solo' because they too, would not be held back by not having friends or a companion who shared that particular interest. Funny thing that. Go solo, meet the others who attend, solo or as friends - meet those who ARE interested in the same thing
> 
> ...


Exactly!!!!!


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

PetrB said:


> From my early years, when I was already keen on classical, and modern / contemporary classical at that, I learned if I waited for a (high school) chum to share my interests and go to concerts with me, I would be waiting a very long time and not be attending those concerts.
> 
> So, I went solo. There, I met others who 'went solo' because they too, would not be held back by not having friends or a companion who shared that particular interest. Funny thing that. Go solo, meet the others who attend, solo or as friends - meet those who ARE interested in the same thing
> 
> ...


That's why i want to leave this place, where i live, and move to a place with an opera theater...or at least with a concert hall...

Thank God we have internet nowadays or else, if we lived back in the days when operas we like were premiered, or we would never have the chance to hear them or would have just luck living in that place.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

dionisio said:


> Thank God we have internet nowadays or else, if we lived back in the days when operas we like were premiered, or we would never have the chance to hear them or would have just luck living in that place.


You don't have to go that far back. 22 years ago I moved to New Zealand from London and left behind my subscription to the Royal Opera House. The internet was not around then, and I remember being so depressed about the local opera scene that I gave up on opera completely util about 4 years ago, when I discovered the joys of the One-Click, YouTube and opera forums.


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## Bas (Jul 24, 2012)

I would love to have both a significant other half, as well as someone to go to the opera or other classical performances with. And if possible: those two things combined in one person please 

I mostly go by myself. Something I don't really mind at the moment of 'going'. However, when a performance is finished, the last opera I've seen was die Zauberflöte, I was quite dissapointed that I had no one to share what I saw, heard. No one to rember it with, no one to talk about it on an equal level of understanding (talking with someone that appreciates classical music). It is always nicer to share experiences then to have them solo, I think.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Bas said:


> I mostly go by myself. Something I don't really mind at the moment of 'going'. However, when a performance is finished, the last opera I've seen was die Zauberflöte, I was quite dissapointed that I had no one to share what I saw, heard. No one to rember it with, no one to talk about it on an equal level of understanding (talking with someone that appreciates classical music). It is always nicer to share experiences then to have them solo, I think.


I absolutely agree with this, I don't mind being there by myself, it's the talking about it after which I miss.


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

Bas said:


> I would love to have both a significant other half, as well as someone to go to the opera or other classical performances with. And if possible: those two things combined in one person please


Maybe you should set up a TC dating thread


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> I absolutely agree with this, I don't mind being there by myself, it's the talking about it after which I miss.


I understand that but sometimes i used to leave in absolute silence, at the end, and leave myself lost in my toughts after what i'd just heard.

I remember when i saw a Don Giovanni production (the first and only one i've yet seen live of this opera). Before the opera i was all exciting and talking a lot, but in the end i could not say a word. i asked my companion if she'd liked and she said (just) "Yes, it was interesting". I did not even really heard what she said, i had seen Don Giovanni.


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

dionisio said:


> I remember when i saw a Don Giovanni production (the first and only one i've yet seen live of this opera). Before the opera i was all exciting and talking a lot, but in the end i could not say a word. i asked my companion if she'd liked and she said (just) "Yes, it was interesting". I did not even really heard what she said, i had seen Don Giovanni.


Yes, a good performance of Don Giovanni can do that. I'm sure after a while you had something to talk about ! Which production did you see ?


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

dionisio said:


> I understand that but sometimes i used to leave in absolute silence, at the end, and leave myself lost in my toughts after what i'd just heard.
> 
> I remember when i saw a Don Giovanni production (the first and only one i've yet seen live of this opera). Before the opera i was all exciting and talking a lot, but in the end i could not say a word. i asked my companion if she'd liked and she said (just) "Yes, it was interesting". I did not even really heard what she said, i had seen Don Giovanni.


I understand exactly. I felt overwhelmed after seeing Macbeth & didn't want to talk to anyone who didn't feel the same.


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

Dongiovanni said:


> Yes, a good performance of Don Giovanni can do that. I'm sure after a while you had something to talk about ! Which production did you see ?


It was a local performance nearby and honestly i cared little for the staging. But the orchestra did a fair job and Zerlina, Donna Elvira and Dona Anna sang well. Unfortunately Don Giovanni, Don Otavio and Comendatore were not as good as i would like.


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