26 October, 2019
My and my plus one’s first opera experience!
I wasn’t sure what to expect and was mainly just hoping I would be able to understand what was going on!
From the little research I had done on the storyline prior to the show, I was already hooked on the tragic romance.
Whilst waiting for my tickets I realised I was the youngest by probably forty years.
Think many wheelie walkers.
The start was both dramatic and capturing.
The use of aerial dance throughout the opera had us both gasping several times throughout the opera, it was incredible to watch.
I also thought the musicians were fantastic.
Special shout out to the harp player who had me mesmerized several times.
Now to the actual singing.
Both stars were clearly incredible at what they do.
To sing beautifully operatic is one thing but to do so in fluent Italian is a whole other level of impressive.
There were a few issues though.
I felt at times the incredible, and frankly distracting, dancing took away from the focus of the day, the opera singers.
There was a lot to focus on with up to 8 dancers on the floor, aerial dancers, the chorus and subtitles to try and read.
At times I forwent reading the subtitles in order to focus on the dancers or the two lovers however then was a bit lost at where we were in the storyline.
Overall, my impression was whilst this was a beautiful performance, there was a lot going on.
An interesting, if not overwhelming, introduction to opera.
I will be back for further Opera Queensland performances for sure.