February 25, 2008
by Kaitlin Barr

I went to the opera Friday night. I’ve always wanted to say that. Well, maybe not always, but certainly since watching the theater intrigues in books and movies like Persuasion, Vanity Fair and Madame Bovary. What was so captivating about the opera?

I got my chance to find out when San Diego Opera donors offered subsidized student tickets for Mary, Queen of Scots.

Mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich, as Queen Elizabeth, determines that her half-sister Mary, sung by soprano Angela Gilbert, poses a threat to the throne of England and must die. Opera is not about a captivating plot, or even accurate history (Elizabeth and Mary never actually met), but rather broad strokes of emotion. At center here is the vicious power struggle between two would-be queens.

“You love opera, and you don’t even know it,” Nick Reveles, director of education and outreach, said in a podcast on the San Diego Opera’s Web site.
“Your entire life has been surrounded and scored, if you will, by opera.”

Indeed, attending the opera was like watching a flawlessly scored movie. The orchestra swelled and ebbed around the voices in exquisite nuances of emotion. Elizabeth, proud and fierce, declares her hatred for the enemy of her state, which is sharpened by their rival affections for the Earl of Leicester. Mary defends herself in their venomous confrontation scene, but ultimately submits to her fate with noble grace.

Through a pair of binoculars, I spotted J. Craig Johnson, associate professor of music at PLNU, among the chorus. I listened with relish as Mary spit out her infamous “vil bastarde,” or “vile bastard!”

Though it was sung in Italian, I understood every line, thanks to a projected English translation. The elaborate costumes recalled the lush fashion of the era. The sets, minimal but stylistically evocative, effectively enhanced the action of each scene.

It’s not just about the opera, I discovered, but about the entire experience. To experience the passionate combination of the singers, orchestra, sets and costumes, and to sit side by side with people who can afford the ticket I only got through the generous donors’ offer—that is what captivated me.