Seriously, thanks for all the information/advice everyone. I checked the Met’s website and could not find a reference to supertitles. But, Ukulele Ike’s advice works fine for me if there are none. I am pretty fluent in French and Italian so that should help also.
The Met don’t have 'em. The New York City Opera does (ninety degrees to the south on the Lincoln Center grid), but they’re not as classy an operashun.
For that reason alone I’d suggest Aida.
I’d also suggest that you do a bit of your own research. Buy (or obtain from the library) a couple of operas with their librettos and see what trips your trigger. Listening to a few will give you a better appreciation of what you see on stage.
Hm. I should’ve previewed first.
Anyhow, Aida has a cheesy love story. On the up side, she gets it in the end…
I’m reasonably fluent in english, and yet, I need supertitles even in operas written in that language.
As far as clothing, I like dressing up for the opera, and I’ve never found myself the most-formally dressed person there, ever. (Of course, it’s not New York) Wear what you want.
Oh, yeah…clothing-wise, you’re safe.
I went to hear Salome last month and it was everything from business suits to black jeans and sweaters. Nobody’s going to throw you out for underdressing.
I recommend La Boheme - it is a very accessible opera, it has beautiful music, and the story is simple.
If you are to see it at the Met, the Met does indeed have super-titles - they are on the back of the seat in front of you and work very well.
Wear whatever you are comfortable wearing. I’d say be dressed up, but be comfortable. Lots of guys wear black turtlenexks, jackets, & jeans.
I believe Moulin Rouge was also somewhat inspired by La Boheme (at least I’ve noticed the similarities myself, as far as the storyline is concerned.) It is one of the favourite operas of the classical station here – I probably hear it at least once a month.
I like opera; my co-worker claims it’s because all evil people listen to opera. YMMV.
Moulin Rouge has storylines from both La Traviata (courtesan must renounce her true love without letting him know why, meanwhile she dies of TB) and La Boheme (starving writer living in a garret with bohemian friends falls in love with lovely lass who dies of TB). Baz Luhrman has a production of La Boheme on Broadway right now that is getting a lot of attention.
I love opera. I loved Moulin Rouge as well.
What the hell is wrong with Don Giovanni, that only one person recommended it? It’s got much better music than Entfurung, and Mozart is more accessible than most composers for newcomers. Plus the dinner scene at the end is fabulous.
Another La Boheme ripoff was the musical Rent. If you’ve seen Rent, you’ve seen Boheme without the good tunes.
Yes, yes it is.
But I’m a sucker for the Italians, myself. Pretty, simple, melodic. The eqivalent of Opera soda pop. If I had to pick my favorite, Turandot is the clear winner, but off your list, I’d have to say Madame Butterfly
AL
I suppose it’s a matter of taste. I usually recommend people new to opera start off with The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, or The Barber of Seville. Lots of laughs, lots of hummable tunes, not a lot of standing around (unlike Boheme which really drags in Act II) – a minimum of immediate turn-offs. If they like that, then you go for the big Verdi and Puccini shows.
But then, I also prefer Semele to Carmen, so my tastes may be a tad off the mainstream…