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How to turn an operaphobe into an operaphile

© Katherine Bryant

Welcome! Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Katherine Bryant, and I'm an amateur mezzo, a passionate music lover, and an opera and operetta fan from my childhood. The Saturday afternoon Metropolitan Opera broadcasts were a staple of my early years, and I have fond memories of sprawling out on the family room floor, playing with blocks while the unmistakable sounds of "Carmen" played on my parents' old record player. My connection with Gilbert & Sullivan operetta goes even deeper -- I'm a third-generation G&S performer, and can sing along with almost any of their works.

Now, not everyone has those fond memories of opera. To too many people, "opera" carries overtones of snootiness and incomprehensibility. Where can a newcomer to opera start? Which operas are the best for tempting an operaphobe? Of course, there will be at least as many answers to that question as there are opera fans, but here are my personal recommendations:

1. Start with light opera or operetta. Almost everyone knows of "The Pirates of Penzance", so why not start there? Much of Sullivan's music is quite operatic in style, and the humor of Gilbert's lyrics and dialogue are always audience-pleasers. Another wonderful starting point is Johann Strauss's rollicking "Die Fledermaus" -- as my father says, it's impossible to listen to a Strauss waltz without cheering up.

2. When you're ready to move to grand opera, there are so many to choose from that you're bound to find something to suit the person you're trying to win over. Here are four operas that I think are good choices:

"Carmen," by Georges Bizet. This dramatic story of a soldier and his doomed obsession for a fiery gypsy girl features the well-known Toreador's Song and Habanera. Just the overture is enough to catch anyone's attention -- when I was little, my brother and I called it "the bumpety-bump music." Introduce someone to the story beforehand, to help keep clear who's who.

"Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)," by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Most famous for its extraordinary coloratura soprano arias for The Queen of the Night, this opera's fairy-tale story and comic characters will captivate children, while its religious and moral overtones will intrigue the scholars. From the stratosphere notes of the Queen of the Night to the basso declamations of Sarastro, this opera demonstrates the amazing possibilities of the human voice. This is my personal favorite opera. The complete libretto of this opera is online, as is a synopsis.

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