Where would you time travel to? (Please read the setup)

[panache45]

I’d go back and hear one of Rossini’s operas, in his own lifetime. Just to witness the vocal techniques used at the time, e.g. vibrato.

[MrDibble]

@Raguleader

So would you say that was a misconception on his part?

I’ll gather the pitchforks, the rest of y’all get the torches…

[Darren_Garrison]

@MrDibble

Me, I’d like to view the Burgess Fauna

As nice as it would be to see the Burgess biota, they are mostly variations in phyla we know and are familiar with today (even if different in details.) If I had only one visit to early metazoan life, I’d have to visit the Ediacaran biota and see if I could figure out what the heck some of those things are within the “look but don’t touch” limitations set up by the OP.

[Annie-Xmas]

I’d go see Shakespeare do an original play at the Globe. Maybe Romeo and Juliet.

[Gyrate]

@Gyrate

That was my first thought. Personally I’d go for the premiere of one of the Mozart operas or maybe Beethoven 9 (which was, shall we say, not overly successful), but if we’re recording it might be fun to grab the 1913 premiere of Rite of Spring, just to see how bad the riot really was and what prompted it.

@panache45

I’d go back and hear one of Rossini’s operas, in his own lifetime. Just to witness the vocal techniques used at the time, e.g. vibrato.

That’s given me a better idea - go see Farinelli and Senesino performing Arteserse in London. Not only would we finally get a decent recording of what good castrati sound like but the performance was notorious for Farinelli’s technical brilliance. I can think of a few musicologists who would sell their firstborn for a recording of that.

[Chronos]

Quoth ekedolphin:

I’d do a lot of research into certain Old Testament Bible stories to see if they really happened or if they simply serve as a mythological basis for the origin of the modern-day Hebrew people (I suspect the latter is true. I have far less difficulty believing the New Testament). Adam and Eve, Noah’s ark, Sodom & Gomorrah, Jacob’s ladder, Joseph in Egypt, the Exodus.

Well, Jacob’s Ladder was a dream, so what you’d see of that one would just be a dude sleeping.

[Pabitel]

If I’m going back I’m going whole hog. Send me back to the first Indus valley settlement with over 10,000 residents.

[Chimera]

@Pabitel

If I’m going back I’m going whole hog. Send me back to the first Indus valley settlement with over 10,000 residents.

Yes yes, the Indus civilization would be very cool to check out.

[Czarcasm]

@chrisk

Okay, just so I’m clear, we can’t use this thing to go forward to the future at all?

Which future?

[MrDibble]

@Darren_Garrison

As nice as it would be to see the Burgess biota, they are mostly variations in phyla we know and are familiar with today (even if different in details.) If I had only one visit to early metazoan life, I’d have to visit the Ediacaran biota and see if I could figure out what the heck some of those things are within the “look but don’t touch” limitations set up by the OP.

Yeah but as far as we know, most of the Ediacarans would just be … sitting there. I want to see Anomalocaris do its thing. Note that by the terms of the OP, any truly groundbreaking insights will already have been done by other people.