Jay and Opera

I think the examples that Chris gave for operas that are still relevant in a 21st century context were great. These are truly multimedia, multidimensional works that supply music and visuals that push the envelope in terms of innovation and entertainment. That said, I think that opera is at the end of its rope as a fixture of mainstream culture. People like Tod Machover with Opera of the Future, whom I've mentioned in class, are working on some really interesting and innovative projects using the basic idea of opera as a vehicle for epic multimedia spectacles, but the major opera houses in the country don't appear willing to take a chance on productions that are geared toward an audience with more of a rock 'n roll sensibility, so the newer and bolder work is going to be confined to a niche market while the aging fans of conservative opera slowly die off and take the genre with it. I won't be that sad about it. I have a degree in music composition, I love classical music and I have a good understanding of all the sub-genres from plain chant through 12-tone music and I've found something in most genres that I find brilliant and captivating. Classical era opera is not one of them. I listened to The Marriage of Figaro for this week's class, and I found there was absolutely nothing in it that spoke to me, moved me, or provided anything musically that was even remotely interesting. First of all, I'm not a big fan of Mozart's music with the exception of his Requiem Mass which I really love. Classical era composers moved away from the epic and grand sound of the baroque into a highly structured and stripped down style. Mozart in particular provides a very sunny mood within a musical context of ordered perfection. To me, it's really boring. Secondly, I find the belle canto style of singing incredibly irritating. The wide vibrato and pretentious tone of voice transports me straight to the courts of 18th century aristocracy, and that's not really where I want to be. It's not that I don't like vocal music. My favorite piece of classical music is Te Deum by Arvo Part, which never fails to give em the chills. However, it's a choral work and there's no vibrato on the vocal. Listening to an opera is also difficult because there is so much lost. Unless you are sitting down with the libretto in its original language side by side with the translation there is no way to follow what's going on. Therefore, the story is lost, the characters are lost, and all that's left is the music. To my ears, the music in Figaro is stuffy and cliche. I've heard the overture a million times... in commercials. It has been transformed before I've even listened to it for the first time. I'm not now, and I doubt I ever will be, a fan of this music. The only hope that opera has is to continue expanding it's multimedia potential to keep up with a world that is increasingly tech-saavy and hungry for everything new.