A Night at the Opera
This essay was originally written for a book commemorating Cincinnati Opera’s centennial in 2020. As the 105th season begins this week, it’s a great time to revisit “How to Fall in Love with Opera” and see how you can enjoy the 2025 season. (Details below!)
Rigoletto
Thursday, June 12, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 14, 7:30 p.m.
Springer Auditorium, Cincinnati Music Hall
Sung in Italian with projected English translation
Tosca
Thursday, June 26, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 28, 7:30 p.m.
Springer Auditorium | Cincinnati Music Hall
Sung in Italian with projected English translation
Fiddler on the Roof
Wednesday, July 23, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, July 25, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 26, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 27, 3 p.m.
Springer Auditorium | Cincinnati Music Hall
Sung in English with projected lyrics
Studio Sessions
Wilks Studio | Cincinnati Music Hall
Tuesday, June 17, 8 p.m.
Thursday, July 10, 8 p.m.
Thursday, July 17, 8 p.m.
For info and tickets visit www.cincinnatiopera.org.
I’m not going to lie to you – opera can be intimidating. So much singing in foreign languages, big theatrical gestures, towering sets, twirling dancers, and explosive feelings...yet not nearly as many horned helmets as those Bugs Bunny cartoons promised. But opera is worth the effort.
It’s fitting that the Cincinnati Opera performs in summer, which is considered blockbuster season, cinematically speaking. You will find thrilling chases, thunderous explosions, epic love stories, and hundreds of extras on stage at the opera that will put the multiplex to shame. Imagine a Michael Bay film but with an even more convoluted plot and an actual soul. That’s what opera can be.
I came to my appreciation of opera a bit later in life, which I chalk up to youth and inexperience, and have been making up for it ever since. Thanks to support from dear, opera-loving friends, I have grown to appreciate the art form and treasure the experience of going to the opera.
Though everyone has to find their own path in opera, as in life, I would like to offer a few recommendations that have eased my journey to opera admiration.
1. Use the Buddy System
For most things that are potentially frightening, like learning to drive a stick shift, poaching an egg, or picking out a wedding dress, it’s best to have a trusted guide. Find someone who has been through it before, knows the pitfalls, and can help you navigate the process.
One of my favorite parts of Cincinnati Opera season is at the beginning of a performance when Evans Mirageas, The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera, invites the audience to introduce themselves to each other and share a personal opera story, which could be mentioning first opera or their favorite one. It’s an opportunity to meet someone new or hear about an unfamiliar opera or find common musical ground. These exchanges create an instantaneous camaraderie among the audience members.
Going with a friend, and meeting fellow audience members, are wonderful reminders that at its heart, opera is a shared experience. The singers and the ensemble, the conductor and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the audience all create that special and immersive opera experience.
So bring a friend or two with you to add the charm and magic of the occasion. Having a support system also has a practical application, though, as you will then have someone to gasp when you gasp, cheer when you cheer, and hand you tissues when someone dies. (That’s not a spoiler; it’s opera, someone is going to die.)
2. Dress to the Nines
One of my favorite parts about going to the opera is that you can’t be overdressed! You want to wear a tux? Wear a tux! Haven’t found a place to wear that ball gown? You’re in luck! Going to the opera is not the time to be timid with your fashion choices.
Opera can be rich with excess and you, dear patron, have license to revel in it. The performers are often in gorgeous and detailed costumes, so you should take the opportunity to do the same. The elements of an individual performance can help take some of the guesswork out of what to wear. Heading to Pagliacci? Weave in festive clown elements by way of Fellini. Aida is onstage? Break out the gold sandals and eyeliner. The premiere of Fellow Travelers called for a fit-and-flare floral and pearls. Not only do these personal costuming choices help you get into the spirit of things, they also make for amazing conversation starters in the lobby.
While it’s fun to dress up, maybe formality isn’t for you. Even though the renovation of Music Hall greatly improved the building’s air conditioning, July is still July in Cincinnati. A more casual approach can be a good idea in the heat and humidity. And I guarantee someone wearing a tux will say you look great and express regret to you that he is not doing the same.
3. Embrace the Surprise and Delight
The feeling you get walking into Music Hall on an Opera Night is one of overwhelming joy.
As mentioned above, you will have many opportunities to make new friends. Opera fans are not a shy lot. They talk to their old friends and strike up conversations with people they’ve never seen before. Topics range from opera (natch) to architecture, literature to politics, and wherever it was you found that incredible hat you’re wearing. From waiting in the lobby for the auditorium to open to mingling at intermission and chatting at after parties, a night at the opera offers the chance to meet many people who might not otherwise encounter.
The crowd at the opera is among the most vibrant, diverse, and engaging you will find. Even if the night’s performance is a tragedy, the people assembled will be welcoming, expansive, and delighted. It’s a glimpse of what the world that could be all the time -- strangers and friends creating a joyous community centered around music and art.
4. Suspend Your Disbelief – Every Bit of It
Opera exists in a magical realm that is accessible to mere mortals only during the heat of a Cincinnati summer. Allow yourself to be swept up in the opulence and beauty of grand opera, captivated by the intricacies of experimental works, charmed by the blossoming of new love, or delighted by mistaken identity and the attendant confusion.
The characters in an opera will not make the same decisions you do. Butterfly isn’t going to fight for custody of her child and send Pinkerton packing. (No matter how many times I tell her to!) Aida isn’t going to bring an army to rescue her lover. No one in The Marriage of Figaro is going to have a simple explanatory conversation with anyone else.
These things are never going to happen. You just need to go with it.
Plus, sometimes there are ghosts or camels or literal deus ex machina.
Opera is no place to quibble about historical accuracy or realism, but to immerse yourself in incredible artistry and supremely talented performers among kindred spirits.
Roar over the slapstick. Sob through the tragedy. Hiss at the villain. Swoon when the lovers kiss. Applaud. Stand, and repeat.
5. But Notice the Details
My favorite way to see an opera is from the front row. Purists might argue that’s too close for the right musical balance, but to me, there’s no way better way to experience the show. Along with seeing the singers’ raw emotion and catching the most subtle movements from all the players, you can watch the musicians use their entire bodies to play their instruments and even catch a glimpse of the conductor’s highlighted and dog-eared score.
But there’s not a bad seat in the house at Music Hall. In the center of the auditorium, the sound is perfect, offering the ideal balance of instruments and voices. The balcony affords a “big picture” view with the chance to see everything happening all at once. In an opera, the sets, singers, and musicians all play to the back of the house, so you can experience the full power of a great show no matter where you are. No matter where you are, the surcaps will help you follow the story.
So does this all work?
I was fortunate to participate in a leadership development program many years ago along with a friend who worked at the opera. He organized a class outing as a way for us to learn more about this Cincinnati arts institution. So a number of us ventured out together to see a contemporary opera and then go to the opening night party after the show.
Since it was summer, I wore a floral slip dress and threw on a pair of opera gloves. As it turns out, the perfect place to wear opera gloves is the opera, as was pointed out to me by a fellow patron in the lobby.
The opera, Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar, was a gorgeous, tragic story about the poet Federico García Lorca. At the after party we met the incredible cast, saw people in fabulous outfits, and heard more gorgeous music in the exquisite setting of Music Hall. It was amazing. I wish you could have been there.
I treasure that evening, and so many like it, that offer a little bit of magic on a summer night. The feeling of being thoroughly modern and wonderfully timeless; in the center of your hometown yet also faraway and cosmopolitan; swept up in the grandeur of it all while chatting with your closest friend.
That warmth and community is what defines Cincinnati Opera for me. In a world that can be harsh and dispiriting, opera offers a perfect tonic that is is bright and gay and uplifting. Couldn’t we all use more of that?
– Tricia Suit