The Evolution of Opera

http://www.smithsonianmag.com

Opera changed dramatically as it developed during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, responding to the times, this is due to many factors including how people’s preferences changed. The purpose of an opera is that the music is integrated into the story, and it doesn’t just appear out of nowhere as in a musical or a play with music. Early music operas are different to those produced during the nineteenth century, which are also different from the operas that are produced today.  Opera companies have always tried to keep up with their audience’s changing preferences in many ways.  According to an article by Carolyn McDowell from the Culture Concept Circle,which is a credible arts and entertainment news website, “to gain an appreciation for any culture and it's art forms people have to be exposed to it, preferably one on one. If that’s not possible education is the next best thing.”  

Directors and producers have done many things to make a production more appealing to the current audience like how they interpret and block the scene, the sets they use, or what kind of technology they use.  One example of a personal experience is when I saw a production of La Boheme where the majority of the cast was pretending to do drugs during the dinner party scene.  This is how the director interpreted it, and surprisingly it made a few of my friends, who have had no prior  interest in classical music, ended up being interested in seeing the show.  People's preferences are a huge thing for Opera theatres to be aware of in order to keep their audiences interested.