Youth Are Awesome, commonly referred to as YAA, is a blog written by youth for youth.
YAA provides the youth of Calgary a place to amplify their voices and perspectives on what is happening around them.
Youth Are Awesome is a program of Youth Central.
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When it comes to defining opera, you may believe that it is a dramatic representation of music in the theater world. While that is true, there is still much more to that story, a lot more to learn from it. A couple months ago, a fellow blogger, Jeanne Y., and I were blessed with the opportunity to interview directors associated with opera. The director that I interviewed was Stephania Romaniuk, the Director of Learning and Engagement for the Calgary Opera. Personally, I too had believed that opera is a dramatic representation of music, but after preparing and conducting the interview, I had learned there is so much more to opera than we may know. If there is only one thing you can extract from this blog post, then it has to be my favorite quotation from Stephania Romaniuk:
“The biggest doorway to Opera is having open ears and an open heart”
Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay
What is the purpose of Operas?
A common playwright to associate operas would be none other than Mozart. In my interview with Stephania Romaniuk, I was introduced to her comparison between Mozart and Shakespeare and their parallels in their literature works. Of course, many great stories have an intriguing plot and insightful themes. Both Mozart and Shakespeare presented these ideas through their plays and embedded information that is palpable and applicable towards our real lives. In Opera, these dramatic musical performances allow “very vivid characters to come alive through music.” Opera invites many art forms, such as the visual arts, music, and drama. It is true to consider opera as a musical performance, but the dimensions it provides, through an artistic and literature stance, leaves much to comprehend, even after watching the same opera 100 times. They are not only made for everyone’s pleasure, but also to understand more about ourselves and living a harmonious life.
Stephania Romaniuk had mentioned that “many themes of operas are to find your moral code, your moral center.” With that in mind, there is no right or wrong age to find yourself at an opera. Operas are made for everyone; to be witnessed; to be performed; to be indulged.
No matter how old you are, they can provide many lessons towards our lives and how we should behave. Stephania Romaniuk had said it best when she said that “it (operas) are perfect to start developing your sense on how you want to act in the world and how you can act without harming others.”
Although this may seem directed towards the younger age, navigating the world without harm is a challenge we all face at any age. To assist us in our journeys throughout life, developing our moral centers through opera allows us to become more aware of ourselves.
Before we begin this benefit, I have to reveal my inevitable bias towards it. Personally, I have participated in drama classes at school. Because my school has had an excellent theater, each class would conduct a mainstage production for other classes to watch. I had learned many lessons from these so my appreciation for real time performances had already existed beforehand. Now, the impact of this benefit entirely depends on the person. However, I want to approach it from a general perspective as much as possible.
During my interview with Stephania, she had made the comparison between experiencing the live opera vs. watching it from a screen. Every one of us reading this blog post knows what it’s like to experience something from a screen (hint: you’re experiencing it right now). However, compare this as if I were to verbally articulate this content towards you. It would surely be different.
Stephania Romaniuk had labeled opera as a “mental health antidote to screens.” Not only does opera relieve us from our screens, but it can open our excitement to artistic development. This opening is what allows us to experience the real time experiences. Operas can detach ourselves from the locked reality and attach ourselves to free creativity.
3. It is an opportunity with a lot to gain
“There’s no harm in trying [opera] and there is only so much to be gained.” Another one of my favorite quotes from Stephania Romaniuk. It may cost money to watch an opera, but with what’s mentioned earlier, there’s a lot to gain from opera. The potential insight that we could gain from just one opera is unreal. There may be themes that you could understand when you watch the actual opera. In spite of that, the connections to real life are what’s gained way after witnessing the opera.
Appreciating the hard work done by the contributors and the literature itself can go a long way into our lives. Even if you don’t like the opera itself, there is still lots to learn from it. After all, a main purpose of operas themselves is to change us to become a better person upon reflection on their themes.
Part of my interview with Stephania Romaniuk included questions about Don Giovanni, an opera that was being performed at the time. Thanks to her perceptive information about it, I am able to establish the opera as a case study after all that’s said.
Don Giovanni is an opera all about consequences. As a condensed summary, Don Giovanni is shown as a seducer, rapier, liar, cunning murderer and is condemned for his actions against women. At the end, Don Giovanni is dragged to hell by the very man that he killed (which was also for his wrongdoings against women). This opera is more or less about the women and how they stand up against Don Giovanni and his wrongdoings. It is where the weight of justice is felt upon the audience, revealing how consequences can play a role in our lives.
So what can we learn from this opera example?
For starters, we can learn about standing up for ourselves. Mozart created this opera around the 1700s, but this message is still relevant today. It encourages us to have the confidence to fight for what’s right and to know that you aren’t alone. Second, it reveals the karma between our actions and consequences. This allows us to become aware of the cause and effect cycle of our actions, whether we intend them or not. Lastly, this condensed summary brings us the idea of acting in a way that we wish to be treated. Similar to the Golden Rule, where we treat others how we want to be treated, we are reminded to treat others in goodness. We are reminded to be confident, conscious of our actions, and kind in our daily lives.
There is much more to discover on your own than reading this condensed example.
Image by misterfarmer from Pixabay – Mozart’s statue
Closing Statement
“The biggest doorway to opera is having open ears and an open heart.” My favorite quotation from my interview with Stephania Romaniuk, significant enough to be mentioned twice. Opera is commonly referred to as a dramatic representation of music in the theater world, but there is much more depth to that. It is made up to be witnessed, as well as performed, by anyone, regardless of age, gender, or other factors. They can teach more about life itself and how we can build ourselves to become better people for the future. For example, Don Giovanni teaches us the importance of standing up for ourselves and being aware of our actions. Opera is an opportunity that will benefit everyone, enlightening us and our actions. Beyond its musical appearance, operas can teach us more about life. You should go watch an opera!
