Reflections

Love permeates opera performances.

I'm not talking about the passions that you see between the characters onstage; rather, I mean what happens beyond and behind the lights.

There's a camaraderie that develops in a cast, something anyone who's ever done a high school play or community theatre knows well. There are little inside jokes based on what happens during rehearsals, hugs and happy sentiments shared, all of which arise over the course of the months where you wander this Dramatic Work. There is a potent brew created by the intensity of the time spent together, the various emotions that you evoke so that you can explore how to convey these characters, the empathy you have to revel in to understand characters, and the vulnerability any good performer has, the honesty and the tightrope wire risk you take in stepping onstage for a live performance. All of these ingredients fuse together and give rise to a deeper sense of emotional warmth.

Then there is the love that performers have for their art. Most people who perform have a deep-seated and abiding love for doing it. Otherwise, the risks and costs wouldn't be worth it. (Risks include both the financial and the personal -- putting yourself out there every night for critique and for the chance of messing up. Think of how nervous people get just doing public speaking. Costs include also the financial and the personal. The personal side is that there must be some emotional cost to a good performance. It drains you in some way, while exhilating you, too. If you see a performance that seems "wooden" where the actor/singer just doesn't feel connected to the text or music, that's when we say that "it doesn't cost enough." A great performance that brings you to tears likely cost the performer a lot.)

There is also love in the audience. Love for the art form - what keeps bringing them back. There are patrons who love the opera company and strive to support it financially and by coming to see the shows. There is a rush of warmth and gratitude that many people feel when they hear the opening strains of the music, a silent prayer of thanks to God for blessing Mozart with such talent so that centuries later, we can still be moved with his glorious notes. There is also a love for the singers and actors who move us, a sense of gratitude there, too, and a love for The Voice -- that one singer's unique gift that makes us anticipate and revel in every moment he/she sings and that keeps echoing in our ears long after the curtain falls.

Love and music. What a wonderful combination.

~Hope