Getting Into Culture: Opera
We continue our series where we speak to artists, poets, novelists, musicians, dancers and enthusiasts to ask them for tips to help beginners appreciate and learn more about their passion.
Today we speak with writer, retired teacher, and opera enthusiast Humbert Hernandez. Humbert’s latest books are the novel Luciano and the short story collection La venganza se sirve fría (Historias de Gibraltar).
YGTV: Why do many people find opera difficult or intimidating?
Humbert Hernandez: Most people may hear snatches en passant of women screaming hysterically and are unable to relate to it as a considered listener. Hearing is not listening. Little or no effort is made in schools to foster music appreciation of this genre. In fact, very few teachers and educators are opera lovers so they can only transmit their own prejudices to younger generations.
YGTV: How would you convince someone that opera is worth the effort?
Humbert Hernandez: I think the best way might be to ease a person into it be selecting popular arias which are lighter - for example, well-chosen excerpts from 'The Merry Widow' and also from zarzuelas. These can lead to listening to a complete work and from these it is only a step away from operas.
YGTV: How did you first come to love opera?
Humbert Hernandez: In my case, I was a lover of classical instrumental music and zarzuelas but I found venturing onto opera daunting. However, a friend of mine asked me to sit through a filmed version of 'La Traviata' featuring Plácido Domingo. Teresa Stratas and directed by Franco Zefferelli. I was spell-bound and that experience set me off.
YGTV: How do you first approach an opera? What steps should one take in order to appreciate an opera?
Humbert Hernandez: I consider that opera is a spectacle (as such it was conceived) and its components are all important: music, singing, acting, costumes, scenery and the director's conception. With these in mind I always like to watch a performance, preferably live, or cinematic, or a theatre performance if it is available in Youtube. In order to get fully acquainted with an opera I watch it repeatedly by different singers to sharpen my discriminatory powers. When I feel I am familiar with the material I move on to new pastures.
YGTV: Could you list some of your favourite operas which would appeal to beginners? (Please tell me a bit about each one)
Humbert Hernandez: Among my favourite operas (and having beginners in mind) are: 'Cavalleria Rusticana' by Mascagni. It is only an hour long and has a very strong and impacting storyline. Set in Sicily is a story of adultery, betrayal and revenge. Along similar lines is 'I Pagliacci' by Leoncavallo. It deals with a troupe of actors who stop at a small village and again it is a tale of adultery, deceit, revenge and death. A very gripping work. Again, only an hour long. Next I would recommend 'La Traviata' by Verdi. This is the story of a high-class prostitute whose life is a whirlwind of parties and entertainments. She meets a young man at a party and they fall in love. She is suffering from T.B. The young man's father objects to their liaison and asks her to make a sacrifice of giving up her beau. Complications arise at this point but I don't wish to give away the whole plot. This opera sports some of Verdi's most popular tunes which is joyous at times and most moving at others. Another one to tackle then would be 'La Boheme' by Puccini. It deals with the bohemian life led by artists in Paris and it is riotous at times and certainly a tear-jerker at the end.
YGTV: How do you go from being curious about opera to nurturing a life-long love of the form?
Humbert Hernandez: Having reached this point it's a question of experimenting and exploring some of the most well-known composer. Verdi is a good one to explore, so is Bizet with his famous 'Carmen', a favourite with all theatre-goers, Donizetti and Puccini come next. If you explore these you're hooked and you can then be daring and go for Rossini and who knows? Wagner and the German repertoire offer much enjoyment too.
