OPERA 101

Everything you ever wanted to know about opera
(but were afraid to ask).

"We need opera … It is an enormous, passionate, melodramatic affair that helps put the little business of our lives into perspective … Opera, more than any other art form, has the sheer muscle and magnitude to pull us into another world, and while that world may be as fraught with heartache as our own, it is infinitely more gorgeous. Through voices … we are lifted up, temporarily transformed. Opera reminds us of the tremendous beauty we are capable of …”
— The New York Times

People either passionately embrace opera as the ultimate art form or they envision large women in horned helmets singing in a foreign language.

Opera doesn’t have to be intimidating. You don’t have to speak Italian. It’s not necessary to wear a tuxedo to the hall. You don’t even have to know an aria from an arena.

You’ve heard, and probably enjoyed, opera without even knowing it. The music in that classic helicopter scene from Apocalypse Now? Wagner. Opera. The rock musical Rent is based on the classic opera La Bohème; Broadway’s Miss Saigon is based on Madama Butterfly. Even Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd took a shot at singing opera in the classic animated features, What's Opera Doc? and Rabbit of Seville.

Opera is one of the fastest growing of the performing arts with more than 20 million people attending annually. With the assistance of The Atlanta Opera, we have come up with some helpful hints and useful information to take some of the mystery out of opera.

(No women in horned helmets allowed.)