Well…here we are…
Y’all. I was not a normal kid. While other kids were cultivating normal, sane hobbies, I was laying on my bedroom floor memorizing Susanna fromThe Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) and trying to learn the pronunciation for the Italian from the little libretto book that came with the CD…like a PSYCHO.
Its safe to say I have loved opera harder and longer than anything in my life. Combine that with the fact that I am [quite conspicuously] the granddaughter of a Southern preacher and
*I feel*
that my participation in this online opera evangelism project OSSIA is attempting…definitely tracks.
*OperaPreacher, new band name, I call it*
I guess I love opera because I find it to be the most grandiose way imaginable to communicate a story. It is the pinnacle of vocal, musical, dramatic, poetic, and artisanal skills combined to produce a living and breathing piece of musical art. It is quite literally EVERY KIND OF ART happening SIMULTANEOUSLY. Kind of incredible if you think about it…
One of the industry shortcomings of late has been a failure to gain a foothold in the popular cultural consciousness in a way that has expanded the audience. I don’t think that’s because people don’t like opera anymore…I think it’s because people don’t know enough about it to care and frankly, I don’t think that’s their job.
It's the opera industry’s job to keep people informed, included and involved in the art form. It requires meeting the audience in the places they are consuming and interacting with culture and creating a community where people can engage with opera on their own terms. There is so much opera spanning so many centuries that there is ABSOLUTELY something here for everyone to enjoy. Whether you’re coming for the costumes, the music, the poetry, the drama, the athleticism, the fashion, the sets, the society, or the community, you will find it at the opera. My hope for this project is that it gets us all TALKING about opera, THINKING about opera, SINGING about opera, and TALKING ABOUT THINKING ABOUT SINGING ABOUT opera!
*This is a joke that only I laugh at and I don’t expect that to change, especially minus the panache of my usual vocal delivery*
So that’s why I’m here y’all… I just love opera and I want y’all to love it too.
-A
Look for more of my stream-of-consciousness ramblings on the blog on Tuesdays and a weekly roundup and playlist of what I’m a-lyssnin’ to on Fridays. You can also follow me @alyssa_explains.it.all and @__ossia__ on IG.
