Old school
Of course opera fans all owe Agnes Varis a lot, what with the Met rush tickets and all that, plus La Cieca, being a lady of a certain age herself, should be the last one to talk. But she can’t help hearing this quote from Varis in the foghorn rasp of Miss Blankenship: “The opera’s like Broadway but better. It’s got sex, it’s got incest, it’s got rape…. You introduce young people to music, you’ve got them for life.” [Wall Street Journal]
My sincerest grattitude for dear Agie! I’ve taken advantage of the Rush program on four different occassions. I’ll sometimes extend my trip to NY when I generally see a Friday evening show and either come up to rush on Thursday or stick around to rush on Monday. It’s also a great way to talk shop with fellow rushers.
My first opera was Don Giovanni which I caught on television (with Gino Quilico as the Don, his father Louis as Leporello and Carol Vaness as Donna Anna). I remember tuning in during the Anna/Ottavio duet and being instantly gripped by their righteous anger. I was 13 at the time. Though I found the opera a bit too long (by “Non mi dir”, I was becoming restless), I was hooked. It took many years for Don Giovanni to become one of my favourites and for me to appreciate the sublime genius of Mozart’s operas but it still did the trick as a first opera.
What cemented my love for opera was the Met telecast of Aida with Millo/Domingo/Zajick. I still remember the visceral thrill of hearing Zajick’s chest notes. And of course, the story and music were very gripping. No turning back after that.
The next year, the Met presented their historic Ring telecast over the course of a week. I knew nothing of the story and was barely familiar with “Ride of the Valyries” but I stayed up every night well past my bed time. I still remember the sheer exhiliraton of watching Behrens in the Immolation Scene. I was simply transported and still remember the excitement with which I told my mom about it the next day: “She was drenched in sweat and she kept singing and singing. And when she came to take a bow, the whole place exploded”. Ah, to express that kind of discovery and wonder again…
As great as this is, I really think Agnes should have stipulated an age limit–say, 29. If she wants the elderly to have access also, then she could also have tickets available via phone for anyone 65+. But I really think that this kind of broad-base discounting with no specific strategy or targeting, is detrimental in the long term. It angers those who have already bought tickets at full-price as well as last-minute buyers who are unable to get tickets, even at full price, and ultimately de-values the ticket. All of this is avoided if an age-limit is instated–basically like an expanded version of student tickets. I’m sure many people will vehemently disagree with me, but keep in mind that none of you (nor I) are the opera newcomers who need to be reached by this type program. Having a chance to sit in the orchestra for $25 versus standing in the FC for the same price won’t change your devotion to opera, though it is a nice treat.
A bit out of subject here but I think that the Met will make cuts in Armida next season. On it’s website, its written “Approximate running time 3 hrs. 30 min.” instead of 3h50.
Agnes follows the Greek tradition going way back. All the theater productions of plays by Sophocles and the rest were subsidized by the wealthy, and admission was free for those who couldn’t pay.
A laudable tradition indeed, though I do have one small quibble with the comparison….who’s to say that those who enter the weekend lottery can’t afford to pay full price?
It was also No Girls Allowed, of course, on pain of being stoned to death.
Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes – but maybe not this time.
Ma chère Manou,
I just know that you don’t share the ethnic bias of a poet suborned by the patronage of a man who claimed Trojan descent. Old battle axes being kept sharp.
And I assure you that the 4 servants I employ to carry my litter are not only Greek but also the sweetest chaps you’d ever want to meet.
You’d especially want to meet them Donna ferentes. Under the hot sun, their muscles stand out with such superb, sweaty, gleaming definition as they carry their load.
Loincloths bejeweled by Cartier, of course.
DC
PS No puns about litter, puh-leeez.
Well, they didn’t have to “hook” me, but as a proverbially impoverished grad student, I do love being able to sit down in exchange for a few hours reading diligently (or eavesdropping on opera gossip) in the line. Many are the blessings I have heaped on her head… and several the friends I have introduced to opera with the offer of “It’s only $20 and you don’t have to stand!”
I love all the “first opera” stories! I decided in my sophomore year of college that I should widen my cultural horizons, and checked out the Pavarotti/Freni/Karajan “Boheme.” Of course I never looked back… and my first live was “Cenerentola” with DiDonato and Florez. I had NO idea how lucky I was, but I loved every minute of it.
God bless Mrs. Varis. May she have many more years of opera going pleasure. God bless the Toll Brothers too. I grew up in South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina & Kentucky and it was a serious drive to a cultural center. The Saturday Met broadcasts and Live From The Met performances got me through junior high school and high school. Thank the Goddess that my family finally moved to Washington DC when I was 15 and I got to see my first live opera. La Bumbry as Tosca! I will never forget the feeling of wlaking into the Kennedy Center. I felt that I had finally arrived and this temple of Art was where I belonged. Oh, I was already a pretentious little opera princess by that time and I could not wait to see a live performance. I didn’t even have to beg my parents to take me. They bought me a ticket and I hopped on the Metro to Foggy Bottom. I never looked back, but without music education and exposure to the classical music through radio and television I might never have gotten the bug. I have posted several times about my belief that music changes children’s lives. And sometimes that fantasy world of over blown emotion being sung from the stage is all young gay boy has to hold on to to get him through the horrors of puberty, coming out and dealing with your average day-to-day family dysfunction. Agnes and those like her will have a speacial place in heaven.
Oh and I just love the fact she just seems like a “tough old broad” in the best sense of that phrase.
Was it not Thornton Wilder who said money is like manure – it should be spread around encouraging young things to grow?
God bless this “tough old broad!”