Yesterday marked an interesting day in history as so many people celebrated religious holidays remotely rather than gathering in large groups and with families. Andrea Bocelli, a famous tenor, performed an Easter concert which I thought provides an interesting opportunity to introduce (briefly) some opera stuff to students.
Probably the easiest way to think of opera is like the movies of the time. Before there was recorded audio and video, composers like Mozart, Verdi and Rossini would write operas. They would combine a story (comedy or tragedy) with amazing music in the form of Arias (pretty songs) and Recitative (plot happens that are less lovely). Listening to opera takes some getting used to for sure, but it’s a short learning curve when you listen to the beautiful, soaring melodies. I remember not caring for opera at all until I was doing my undergrad in my 20s, but now they are some of my favorite things to listen to.
A ‘soft’ introduction to opera that is enjoyable for kids are two short Bugs Bunny episodes - What’s Opera Doc and The Rabbit of Seville. I remember loving them as a youngster. There is some mild, suggestive violence as was often the case in cartoons back then, so please be aware.
One of my favorite operas is Rossini’s classic The Barber of Seville. Here’s a quick synopsis that’s good and pretty funny:
And the full opera: