I've been working on rounding out some of my exposure to the arts. Opera is not something I "get". Theatre? sure. Musicals? yes please! Classical music? yup. Subtitles on Foreign films? AOK. But Opera had been a scary frontier for some reason.
Last year we saw a reasonable price for seasons tickets come out and we decided to give er a go. We were told it was a well rounded season to get an idea of the art. OK... if nothing it's an excuse to dress up and go to the Jube for a evening.
I'm kind of glad I had a season to experience Opera without making a judgement. Opera Calgary is a very classy company that seems to attract some excellent talent. Definitely worth checking out if your interest draws you to Opera.
I also discovered Opera Calgary has a program for professional under 35s that allows for cheaper tickets and special events - Club Allegro. I didn't do the cheaper tickets because I had my season tickets but I did get to check out one of the events and they did give a little talk to help us understand Opera for beginners (as opposed to just the pre talk which can be a little over my head) which was nice. Ohh.. and free Jube water I could take to my seat... amazeballs.. that's like a $3 value!
I still find Opera challenging... maybe that's not all that uncommon. I still think I'd check out a play or symphony over an Opera but I'm not really scared of them and I'm growing to appreciate a very nice aria. I do still have a couple more years of Club Allegro to see if I can build on my understanding a bit more.