# Is there really an opera where

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-an-opera-where/211338>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 4, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-an-opera-where/211338 "2003-11-04T14:18:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-an-opera-where/211338/21 "2003-11-06T02:24:56Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Kizarvexius \*  
> \*\*- Translations of the text are often projected over the stage so that you can follow along without brushing up on your Italian or German or Russian first. I’ve even seen supertitles (as they are called) used when the opera is in English.  
> \*\*

My parents took me to several operas when I was a teen. I was always amused to see the notice in the program thanking some company for sponsoring the captions. It said "Supertitles underwritten by… "

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**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-an-opera-where/211338/22 "2003-11-06T17:03:05Z")

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**Cisco** , I don’t know anything about the opera companies in Arizona, but the Sante Fe Opera in New Mexico is highly respected. The El Paso Opera (with whom I have performed) puts on some excellent shows, though the season is very short – only 2 productions a year. I imagine that any major city will have at least one professional opera company.

The first professional performance I saw was _Prince Igor_ at the Dallas Opera, when I was a freshman in college. I got a couple of nosebleed tickets and brought along my girlfriend, who apologized in advance for the fact that she’d probably be falling asleep (since opera wasn’t “her thing”). Not to worry. She was riveted from the opening notes, and gladly accompanied me to many other performances. And I was hooked for life. To this day, _Prince Igor_ is still my favorite opera.

**Drewbert** , don’t be surprised. A single performance of an opera can cost $100K or more. _Everything_ is sponsored by somebody. Each page in the program has a sponsor. Sets and costumes are underwritten. Someone on the board of directors has likely donated funds to cover travel, room and board for each soloist. It’s an expensive undertaking, and ticket sales don’t begin to cover the costs.

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-really-an-opera-where/211338/23 "2003-11-06T18:25:15Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Voyager \*  
> \*\*A real Lil’ Abner type, as Anna Russell calls him. And every woman he meets is his aunt.  
> \*\*

Is Russell speaking of Brunhilde or Gutrune when she says “He immediantly falls in love with her because she is the first woman he’s met to whom he is not relted?”

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