A visit to the opera

Last night I went to see my first opera, Cyrano. The Philadelphia Opera Company is putting on an original adaptation of the famous French play, based on the life of a Frenchman named Cyrano de Bergerac. I apparently can't escape my historical work, because as it turned out, the program had an entire section on a topic I've read a bit about recently--French salon culture. The heroine, Roxane, represents the literate and intellectual women of the salons who expected men to woo them with eloquent writing and wit. My favorite scene was when her lover is trying to win her over and declares several times, "I love you!" to which she responds "Oh! without a doubt!--and then?..."

These lines, of course, were all sung in French and in the curious trilling of opera. I must admit, I've avoided opera in the past because I'm not a fan of the singing style, and I haven't been won over yet. But there is something amusing about seeing mundane conversation sung melodramatically by people in fantastic costumes. And the price couldn't be beat--$5 for ampitheatre seats, from which I could almost touch the beautiful ceiling of the oldest grand opera building in the country.