A friend invited us to the Dallas Opera; for weeks, I
anticipated seeing the whole production that includes a favorite aria: Nessun
Dorma. I came to love the music from a YouTube performance by Paul
Potts. No, my grasp of opera
is at best, limited.
Doug printed out the libretto – and I read up on the
narrative and wondered how such a grim story could produce such wonderful
melodies. Turandot and all the characters had serious issues! It would never make a good Disney
movie. Even though the guy got the girl – what a guy, and what a girl! Talk about dysfunction!
Unfortunately, I read the review of the first night's performance shortly before we were supposed to leave for the matinee – the
critic in the Dallas Morning News; Scott Cantrell was not
enthusiastic, describing many points in the production and performance that
went over my head – but his comments dulled my enthusiasm. My impression was now that it would be incompetent and
substandard.
Perhaps it was on the night he saw it; maybe that production was disappointing – but the performance we
saw was charming – more than competent – and enjoyable. (As long as I didn’t
think about the meaning of the words that were being sung.) In Italian, the
words sounded mighty, noble, romantic – thrilling. Reading them in English, I kept
thinking – “Seriously, did she just say that?”
All in all, my first opera experience was wonderful, nonetheless. While I
can’t say I will become an aficionado -- I admire the talent and discipline of so many artists and
musicians who managed to engage our attention, while telling a tale of
betrayal, revenge, murder, suicide and narcissism. It was like “Dallas” in Italian.
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