Singing Loud and Clear

When you’re in Prague there are things you must experience.  The Opera is one of those experiences. I had never been to the Opera before last night.

Last night my classmates, the Prague Institute director, and I went to the National Theater to see the Rusalka Opera. The Prague Institute director said “It’s the Little Mermaid with an Opera ending.” My initial thought was 'I love the Little Mermaid! (thinking about the Disney film of the same name) This should be great.'

Some Czech people get completely decked out in their attire for the Opera. I was fortunate enough to bring heels with me, but unfortunate to be walking on cobblestone. But, I didn’t get my heel stuck in any cobblestone cracks, yay!

Once we began up the staircase, we were spiraling up in a very tight radius. Many of us reacted by saying things like “I’m getting dizzy”…"when is this going to end?" The staircase wrapped around so many times I had lost count.

The lobbies on each floor were beautiful. The craft of constructing buildings like this amaze me. The ornamentation definitely said “opera" because it was elegant.

When we finally reached the floor we were supposed to be on, we stepped into the theater.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Breathtaking. I was amazed at how much could fit into a small space. The ceiling is a circle, yet the stage isn't curved.

We had balcony seats and my seat was one seat off from center.

Beautiful for an architect or any citizen of Prague, right?

My expectations of the opera did not match what really occurred during my experience.

Preconception #1: There weren’t going to be subtitles. It would move me emotionally just by their singing and by their tone I could tell what was happening.

WRONG: Turns out I needed those subtitles to understand what was happening. There were sub-titles in Czech and English. The singing was fantastic and oh so beautiful. I would glance up at the screen and it read “My sea has plenty of goldfish.” I couldn’t believe it. How could something so beautiful sounding be about goldfish? The subtitles partially ruined the experience because the English almost "dumb-ed" down the perfection of the music.

Preconception #2: I would cry my eyes out because it would be incredibly emotional.

WRONG: By the end of it, I was so tired. I stopped reading the subtitles and just listened. It wasn’t as moving, emotionally, as I had planned.

Preconception #3:  It would be purely singing.

WRONG: There was dancing, a stage, people in the background, props, and even water on the floor. People even moved extremely slowly across the stage, making it difficult to take in the music with the words and actions. It took quite a few minutes for some to get halfway across the stage. People moved so slowly that you didn’t notice they were moving. One moment the main character is standing and moving extremely slowly down to the ground, so you look at something else, then look back at her and she’s laying on the ground. How long was I looking away?

One of the girls fell while she was crossing the waterbed on stage (I'm not sure how it worked, but there was a small cut out in the floor across the width of the stage, about halfway back, lined with a thin layer of water). She hit the ground hard. As a dancer with 15 years of experience, I felt so bad for her and sympathized with her.

Overall, it was a good experience. Some classmates left halfway through the Opera, but I’m glad I watched the whole thing. I can see how couples tend to go to the Opera together because the music, singing and atmosphere of the theater is romantic. 

The singing is remarkable. The orchestra was fantastic too. Only by comparison will i be able to know if this was a great performance or sub par. I am looking forward to another opera visit. Would I ever go to one in Charlotte? Maybe. I don't recall ever hearing of Operas being in Charlotte. Do we even have an opera there?

If your town ever has an Opera, you should definitely attend!