Opera is Not Necessarily for Everyone, but Everyone Should have Access

It occurred to me that some people read my Monday notice about Thomas Hampson’s interview, but did not actually listen to the podcast. It’s an interesting discussion and well worth the 23 or so minutes. 

I’ve not listened to BBC Radio 3’s Hardtalk programme before, so I don’t know if the host is always so confrontational, but I found the second time I listened, the discussion made me feel very tense. The host tends to talk over Mr. Hampson (a really crappy interview technique), and is almost hostile towards him. She is the kind of interviewer who takes everything her subject says, and picks it apart and tries to turn it back on the interviewee, challenging him to contradict himself. But Mr. Hampson is not easily cowed.

He does not really say opera is for everybody, but he feels everyone should have an opportunity to be exposed to opera.  He doesn’t disagree completely with the opera snobs. It is good to know as much about the opera as possible—singers, directors, conductors, and audience alike.

But, he makes what I think is a great analogy. You don’t have to study Renaissance art (I am paraphrasing here a bit) to appreciate the beauty of a Renaissance painting or sculpture. Maybe when you are moved by such art, you might decide to look into it a bit more, and learn about the history and the style and the artists—or maybe not.

Similarly, you can hear an opera aria or duet, or trio, or chorus, and appreciate the beauty of it, without in-depth study. You can appreciate the excitement and beauty and characterizations in a Mozart ensemble, without knowing that he actually composed it in sonata form, that the melody is transformed in a subsequent work, or that he was wearing green breeches and no wig when he composed it. But once you are struck by the beauty, or intensity, or structure, or drama of the music, you just might want to learn more about it.

So, what Mr. Hampson is saying is not that opera is for everyone, but that opera should be made accessible to everyone. And those who are drawn in should be welcomed in, and (this is me talking now) they should not be made to feel stupid or inadequate because they don’t know enough about opera yet. (You don’t have to already know how to tie knots to become a boy scout!)

Mr. Hampson also made it a point to remind us of his attitude towards internet music. He thinks it should be free to listen to, but you should still pay to own it. That may be a teensy bit naïve, as so many folks have ways to capture internet streams. On the other hand, seeing a crappy, fuzzy, pixilated Trovatore from Munich on YT is great, but it’s not going to keep me from grabbing the commercial DVD when it comes out.

When you get down to it, Thomas Hampson wants to share the opera love. So, opera snobs, who feel there is only one true religion cult way to be an opera lover: we are not all the same, and we are not an exclusive, card-carrying, secret-hand-shaking, school-tie wearing, sherry-drinking club. 

And when someone wants to know more about opera, let’s share our love for the art form, instead of making people feel they can't possibly appreciate opera without hours and months and years of in-depth study.