Yeah, I like to be punny. But most of all, I’m a curious lady who likes to learn new things, and tonight, I get to do that. I’m going to my first opera. Well, kinda. You see, Fathom Events carries a series of opera productions called Live at the Met telecast directly from The Metropolitan Opera in New York City to movie theaters everywhere in the U.S. And… tonight, I and a friend will be watching our first opera by way of this series. I realize it’s not quite the full experience of going to an opera. It also does not carry the same weighty ticket price either. But I’m just as excited as if I were going to be sitting right there in the NYC venue.
Do I expect to love the opera? Hmmm… not particularly. I certainly could but I am not putting pressure on myself to love this new experience or I may set myself up to have a disappointing night. I am going in as open and accepting as I can to whatever comes at me. I’m sure it is going to be like my experience first discovering and experimenting with different wines. It will take time for my palate to get acquainted and appreciate it. But I’m a true believer that we do not grow and lead richer, fuller lives if we don’t introduce ourselves to people and places and experiences that lie outside our comfort zone and usual “neighborhood” and opera is certainly the case. We are the product of all of our experiences (hence the goofy blog title here because WE ARE WHAT WE MEET, I seriously believe this). And I am a rock and roller with a serious strand of R&B flowing through her from growing up listening to predominantly Motown and Ray Charles in my house. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to broaden my musical tastes as I have other areas in my life to keep an open mind and heart. And I’m glad that I have. This is how we remain youthful, I believe. By continuing to leave an open spot for something new to come along and intrigue us — whether it’s a different genre of film, music, TV, books, hobbies, food — we continue to build into much more complex, interesting people who are more knowledgeable and accepting of what may seem different to us.
So what am I seeing, you opera fans may be wondering? The Merry Widow. It was originally performed live in January 2015 and is being rebroadcast as part of the summer encore of the Live at the Met series. I’ve already read up about the opera, its background and basic storyline by act, so I can follow along and not get too confused. I try to do this before going to any new theater show so I can be as prepared as possible and get the most out of my experience. I expect I’ll have some late night tweets to share about the experience, but I’m so thankful my friend Shelby also had this long-time passion to see opera live.
The way I look at it is… this could be the first day of a newly discovered passion of mine or it can end up just a treasured experience I had with a good friend. Either way, I win. And because it’s in a movie theater, I also get the added delight of the scumptious aroma of freshly popped popcorn and tasty treats in my oh-so-eager M&M popping fingers.
I can’t wait. And I suspect this won’t be the last time you hear from me today. ~ Chris
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