I began liking Wagner when I was seventeen.
The Blues at forty, Jazz at fifty.
I’ve been to a few operettas and a couple of operas, and loved them all, when I was in my 20’s. We went because we were dating and wanted to do cultural things now and then, in addition to plays and the occasional ballet. I certainly didn’t get any exposure as a student! I really only know the famous bits and pieces and love them, wish I’d been able to go more often and learn more. I spent the other day at home with TCM on, they were showing old Mario Lanza movies (I don’t know if that counts) and I occasionally turned the sound up so loud it scared the cat right out of the room. Now that I’m way old and have the money, I would still like to go to the opera - if someone would promise to go with me, drive us downtown, find a place to park, and take us out for a little something after. Fat chance of that happening!
I am envisioning a synthesis of the two, since if you think about it, opera is the NASCAR of musical theater. Loud, clashing cymbals, sturm und drang, death hovering nearby…
I can see operas being performed on the infields at NASCAR races, with HUGE PA systems to blast over the engine noise.
Also, perhaps they can develop a form of improvisational jazz opera. The can put a punch of race monitors in front of the orchestra, so they can see and react to smashups, caution flags, the checkered flag, etc.
I’m a lifelong classical music lover, but don’t like to listen to opera at home or in my car. It may be interesting to attend an opera for the staging and acting aspects and to follow along with the plot, but I don’t like to listen to that vocal style. I’m generally not much of a fan of choral music either. I’ve always had this aversion, and don’t notice any reduction of it as I grow older. Maybe once a year, I’ll watch some NASCAR on TV, usually with a Budweiser.
I like opera, but rarely get the opportunity, mainly due to cost.
My wife and I attended a performance by Chicago’s Lyric Opera last year, and we were both surprised by how unsnooty it was. I mean, certainly a bit of snoot here and there, but the crowd mostly seemed like the NPR-listener set.
I know the OP has been long banned, but…4-hour Wagner? Talk about getting off easy!
And, because it is de rigeur in opera threads and I didn’t see it linked anywhere upthread, Miss Anna Russell:
I’m sure our banned OP would be gratified to learn that The Onion shares his erroneous opinion.
- just to re-iterate why I say the opinion is erroneous.
As a recommendation for ‘beginners’ I would suggest the first opera I saw “Carmen”. Accessible in that many melodies are familiar.
I got into opera when I was around 28, through an interest in costuming. My two best friends make (1) court costumes for ren faires and (the other) period costumes for stage. We got season tickets to the Kennedy Center upper balcony, I think it was 7 shows. This was several years back, and we did it several years in a row. I liked the music. We used to bring binocs and examine the costumes on stage during the show and the costumes on the crowd between acts 
- many people dressed to the hilt. We didn’t, nor did most of the balcony crowd.
Best costume: Magic Flute, Queen of the Night. Her gown filled the whole stage, formed the ‘set’ backdrop, and was covered with sparkling stars. She was in the middle of the air and the gown fanned out from her. The rest of the cast was in front of it.
I’m 65 and detest opera. Also ballet. While I appreciate some of the music, sitting through one is painful.
Memo to Self: Play Wagner for Chefguy during next online argu…discussion.
Young people mostly dislike serious music (AKA art music). Not a surprise. Given how much they watch “Glee” and “Top Idol” or whatever, they probably like musicals, which are IMO written for children or drunks who want to take a nap.
Plenty of adults dislike opera. Probably many of them dislike serious music as well. It takes training, effort, and experience to appreciate the nuances of art music, as with any art (sculpture, books, movies, mathematics).
FWIW I’m 35 and like good operas. But I’m nearsighted and don’t care about what happens on the stage – I just listen to the tunes. And I don’t care for too much melisma unless Schoenberg’s writing it.