A night at the Opera is one you'll never forget!

Fun Fact: Plcido Domingo celebrates his half-century with the Met in the baritone title role of Gianni Schicchi. This season marks his 700th performance!

Target Audience: Whether it's your first opera or 700th you will not regret a night at the Metropolitan Opera.   

Best Bit: Knowing these stories were written a hundred years ago and still bear relevance today on the human experience is remarkable.

Morning After Effect: I will absolutely be back and highly recommend a night at the opera!  

Full disclosure. Just a few years ago I knew nothing about opera. I knew singers were defined by their vocal range but I thought you only had sopranos and baritones. Turns out there are six voice classifications with several sub-types. That's mind-blowing! Opera literally expands your eardrums with sounds you rarely hear. I had heard music by Pavarotti, Bocelli and Groban before but had never sat through an entire opera although I was first introduced to grand operas by a little girl whom I took care of, named Penny. She would ask me to play La Traviata among several others, mostly starring the incomparable Rene Fleming. This precious little girl would be mesmerized and narrate the story to me. What a beautiful thing opera is, it can touch a child's curiosity to such lengths that she then inspires a grown-up from South Africa to finally get her toosh to the Metropolitan Opera!  

And so flash forward a few years later to December 2018, when I found myself racing out the office and to the Lincoln Center. I was off to see Giacomo Puccini's Il Trittico which had its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in 1918. I took a moment to think that a hundred years ago, just after World War I, someone was living out my evening to follow. I met my husband and a friend who were both dressed to the nines and excited to see the show. The questions flying back and forth were quite comical, we were all nervous for our first opera. What if I hate it? Can I go to the restroom? What if I fall asleep? It's so long - will we need snacks?

At last, we made our way into the iconic theatre! We found our seats which felt like sixty-two floors up but we could see the stage clearly. It took my husband about 20 minutes to realize that there were subtitles on the little screens in front of us which lead to a giggle attack. Once we settled in, however, we were completely swept away! The sets, the sounds and the sensations are quite marvellous. Il Trittico is written as three separate one act operas which was fitting for first timers and an absolute delight. There was intermission between each and we decided to indulge in overpriced Champagne to celebrate our new-found culture. What we didn't know was that you could not take drinks into the theatre and so we had to slug them down. Not so classy but lesson learnt for the next time. We had already decided that we could make an evening at the opera a new tradition. I have since learnt that this production is seldomly performed in its entirety given the scale. The sets alone require 27 truck containers! Another reason to feel extremely grateful for this magical night. Added to that is Plcido Domingo celebrating his half century and alongside outstanding cast of international greats.

There is no doubt that opera is lavish entertainment with a hefty price tag and some argue that the funds could be better spent. I wonder if this is the price to keep history alive and can only hope that as the years go by the audiences diversify. When you go to the opera it is not just your ear drums expanding. Music is the leading role and each note is riddled with history and hope for prosperity.

View our show pages for more information about Metropolitan Opera - Il Trittico, Metropolitan Opera House.