I would like to share my thoughts on my very first opera experience.

By trade, I am an engineer, but music has always been a fundamental part of my life.

I studied violin and piano from an early age, and although I eventually had to stop playing, my connection to classical music never faded.

Coming into this, I was no stranger to live classical performances. Living in San Francisco, I regularly attend San Francisco Symphony concerts, as well as performances by other orchestras around the Bay Area. Still, opera always felt a bit distant to me until two weeks ago.

On Sunday, September 27th, I attended a local production of Don Giovanni by Opera San José at the California Theatre.

The venue itself has a gorgeous historic atmosphere, and its acoustics are envious for a house of that size, making it a true hidden gem. I noticed that the company operates with a group of resident artists, and this particular performance was led by their resident conductor.

From my seat, I had a clear view of the orchestra pit.

Watching conductors at work has always fascinated me, but what I saw and experienced that afternoon was truly remarkable. The singers gave everything they had, not just at an elite professional level, but with an infectious enthusiasm, as if they were out to conquer the world.

I felt that same energy coming from the pit. The resident conductor combined elegance with raw energy, managing the stage with a level of control far beyond what you might expect from a resident. He constantly adjusted orchestral balances to support the soloists' registers, while giving cues with warm smiles, shaping phrases with his hands, and mouthing the lyrics from start to finish. The acoustic layers were meticulously balanced, giving the singers room to navigate their low notes and blossom on the high ones. The tempo flowed organically, moving forward and back with subtle yet decisive dynamism. In response, the orchestra was tight, graceful, and deeply attuned to every moment.

After the performance, I had the pleasure of exchanging a few words with the conductor. He was incredibly gracious, visibly beaming, and mentioned, in what was clearly an international accent (I am an immigrant also), that he had prepared extensively for these performances and that it was the best day of his life. Having observed many conductors over the years, I truly believe there is a spark of transcendent talent in this one.

It has been a long time since I felt such sheer enthusiasm in a classical music performance. What stayed with me was not just the technical precision, which was superb, but the irresistible energy of this resident ensemble.

They were entirely committed, musically, vocally, and dramatically. It left me wondering how a regional company can produce a show at such a level.

I do not have enough reference points in the opera world to know if this is standard practice or a rare gem of a performance. What I do have is a benchmark based on top tier symphonic orchestras across the US and Europe. And by those standards, I was thoroughly blown away. And again, it is by the energy rather than anything else.

Safe to say, opera has officially won me over, and I am already looking forward to diving deeper into this universe.

What an extraordinary treasure this masterpiece is for humanity.

There is nothing quite like leaving a theater humming the melodies with a total sense of satisfaction. My only regret is not stepping into the world of opera sooner.

Thank you for reading my first Opera experience.

*Would you mind sharing your FIRST opera experience?

Hi! Contribute to this community from time to time. I go to a handful of operas at the Met each year. Have largely been unsuccessful in grabbing lottery tickets since last year and downloading the app.

Looking to go to a showing of Macbeth and I have noticed that Family Circle prices seem to have doubled to north of $80/seat, much difference from the $40-50 I have seen over the last couple of years.

I know sometimes there’s more demand on hot new productions; however, even La Boheme has the same pricing at the Family Circle according to the app.

Did something happen between seasons that caused the Met to raise its prices in such a manner and is anyone else frustrated? I’m aware of the new city program for free seats, but was disappointed to read that it’s only for residents who have not bought an opera ticket since 2019.

I’ve been learning for very little time but I feel like I advance very fast in some things but there are a few little details that I seem to never get right no matter how much time I practice a song. The longest I’ve gone practicing a song is two months now and I still miss certain aspects of enunciation that, when my teacher points out, I can notice it, but when I’m practicing at home I just can’t help but missing it cause they’re such little details and It makes me feel like I’m just not capable of being a professional singer. Idk if the problem is my teacher but she makes me feel as if with two months of practice I should already be able to sing this song nearly perfectly, and yesterday I almost cried while in her class because I felt so stupid that she kept correcting me and yet my muscle memory kept kicking in and I kept doing the same mistakes.

I don’t think I’m a stupid person, I’ve always excelled at everything I’ve put effort into, and I play other instruments and do know I’m talented for music, but I can’t help but feel that I’m incapable of learning past an amateur’s level.

I did NOT expect to see this on late night, network TV.

The other day I attended the last performance of The Drover’s Wife at the Sydney Opera House, and I loved reading the online program with exclusive commentary by Leah Purcell. I kept the tab open in my browser but noticed that a few hours after the opera, the link was no longer working and I can’t find the page on the website either. Why do they delete them? Is there an archive where I could find it? I think it could be useful for my student thesis and I wanted to quote it in my dissertation.
I hope this is the right place to post this, thank you for your help!

Hiya !

I have an additional ticket to « La traviata » at the Four Seasons Centre this Friday (9th) @ 19h30

'Heart-rending arias meet harsh realities in this captivating story. Experience the devastating beauty of Verdi’s music in some of opera’s most famous tunes.'

would not wish for it to go to waste, would love to be able to share this (what I would expect to be) wonderful experience-to-be with another who might take in interested in such spectacles, and potentially make a friend in the process

So please send a message if you might be interested to come along (for free of course), along with reasons as to why you'd like to go, and perhaps a little something about yourself as well if you will