(Another aside: I’ll admit that while I was familiar with some of the music from Tosca, I did not know very much of the plot except that it was set in Rome during Napoleonic times and the antagonist was an evil police chief, Baron Scarpia. These are all a matter of preference, of course, but I’ve heard from friends who came back from the opera and hated it, and I really think they would have had a better experience if they had chosen their opera more carefully. Ultimately, there are three things to consider when choosing an opera: music (do you tend to like listening to Italian over French or German? Or Mozart over Wagner?), singers (do you want to see a big name opera star?), and sets (do you want your sets extravagant or do you prefer avant-garde?). Michael and I loved it, but I’ve read the sets are even more lavish in this season’s Turandot. We wanted to see more traditional costumes and sets, so we opted for Tosca. The Met usually has short clips from the current opera productions on their website.įor example, Michael and I read wonderful things about the Mets’ current production of Verdi’s Rigoletto, but it’s been updated from 16th-century Mantua to a 1960s casino. A little research beforehand, including reading recent reviews of the production, will ensure that you don’t end up disappointed. However, if you’re an opera newbie (like me!), I recommend choosing a well-known opera with arias that you might have already heard in pop culture. If you’re an opera buff, then you might be a little more adventurous in your operatic tastes. The Metropolitan Opera season (like that of most opera houses) is usually comprised of a selection of fan favorites and more obscure titles. Five more tips if it’s your first time heading to the Metropolitan Opera: 1. If you’re unfortunately no longer a student but still penniless from paying off your college debt, find a student that you can bribe to take you to the opera. Ultimately, if you’re a student in New York City who loves theater and classical music and rubbing shoulders with the upper crust, then you absolutely must take advantage of this fantastic opportunity. For Italian language operas, there is also an option for Italian, which I eagerly selected. There are individual display screens on the seat backs where you can choose to see the titles in English, German, or Spanish. I was incredibly excited not only over the fact that we were finally going to the opera, but also that I’d been studying Italian and this was an Italian opera. For just $35, Michael was able to buy two seats in the orchestra section for a Wednesday evening performance of Tosca. And the Met unveiled a new program for full-time students: the ability to purchase student rush tickets online. This fall Michael enrolled full-time in college. Michael and I must have entered every single one, but our names never turned up in the drawings. Last season, the Met gave away their rush tickets through lotteries. If we were going to go to the opera, we wanted it to be a truly unforgettable experience.
The cheaper seats usually offer neither.īut even though we could only afford the cheap seats, Michael and I decided to hold out. When you’re at the opera, two things are paramount: an excellent view and even better acoustics. Obviously, there’s the extravagant price tag. Tickets to the opera, however, have always seemed elusive. I’ve lived my entire life in New York and have made my pilgrimages to the ballet, the symphony, Carnegie Hall, Radio City, and Broadway. My brother Michael (he’s the true opera buff in the family) and I have been trying to score tickets to the opera for quite some time now. Puccini’s Tosca was absolutely breathtaking.
#Balcony photo view at the met opera series
I missed seeing the Mets claim their first World Series spot in fifteen years, but it was worth it. Two exciting things happened in New York this past Wednesday: the Mets won the National League pennant, and I saw my first performance at the Metropolitan Opera.
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