ChanteyLass, rather than suffer the running commentary, perhaps you could tell your friend frankly that you are trying to concentrate on the opera and find her commentary distracting. And if she could please file it until after the final curtain, you'd be happy to discuss it with her.

Unfortunately, there seem to be many people who attend operas that could benefit from a good dope-slap every now and then.

When my wife was in college, she had a woman friend who would go to a full-length opera production, then when the tenor or the soprano or the baritone had sung their big aria, would want to pick up and leave! Idiotic! Save some money! Buy a record of miscellaneous operatic arias and listen at home!

A little background:   A voice teacher in Seattle actually ran a small opera company (this was well before Seattle Opera got started) and had the use of a small theater that seated maybe 200 people. She didn't just teach young singers to sing, she taught the full operatic roles. Then, when she had a cast assembled, she would produce full-length operas in the little theater!

There was some criticism of this by other voice teachers because many of the singers were still teenagers, and they felt that singing a full-length opera was a bit much for a young, developing voice.

Nevertheless, I heard some really fine singing of well-known operas by these kids, on a stage not much bigger than a postage stamp (the Soldier's Chorus in Faust consisted of four guys marching in place while they sang). No orchestra. Mrs. Towers, the teacher, accompanied them on a piano.

I heard one girl, Monte, sixteen years old, do a really fine job of singing both Marguerita in Faust and Gilda in Rigoletto.

Then, years later, while attending a big production at Seattle Opera (with full orchestra, lavish costumes, and in a 3,100 seat opera house), of seeing and hearing Monte, all growed up, singing in the real thing!

Anyway, back to the point:   many of the audiences at the productions of the "Towers Opera Studio" were attended by parents and family of the kids in the cast, not necessarily confirmed opera-goers. And some of them, apparently wanting to display the fact that they know the music in the opera, when a big aria would come along (say, Monte singing "Caro Nome" in Rigoletto) would hum or whistle along!!

KILL!!!
Or at least administer a brisk dope-slap to about half the people in the audience!

ChantyLass, if your friend is trying to demonstrate how knowledgeable she is about opera, she is actually demonstrating her lack of knowledge of the protocols of being a sophisticated and appreciative audience member.

Don Firth

P. S. Although having young singers singing roles in full-length operas might be a bit questionable as to overloading their developing voices, Mrs. Towers was aware that many young singers don't make it into opera companies because when they appear for, say, the regional Metropolitan Opera auditions, they know maybe a dozen arias—but not entire roles. This means that if the Met judges like the voice and think it may be worth investing in, they will be paying the singer to learn entire roles over the next few years.

IF, however, a young singer already knows at least a couple of roles, the judges may find them far more attractive. Less time in training and actually on stage much earlier.

Mario Lanza, erroneously considered by some to be one of the greatest operatic singers of the mid-twentieth century, was unacceptable to opera companies in general. He had a really great voice. And he knew lots of arias, some of which he recorded (especially after he starred in the movie "The Great Caruso." But he didn't know any roles. And he was a notoriously lazy slob who wouldn't work at it, and he had a hard time keeping his weight under 300 lbs., which is why the movie studio scratched him from starring in "The Student Prince" and had the slender, handsome Edmond Purdom lip-sync to Lanza's pre-recorded singing.

Also, he had the musical taste of a warthog! My voice teacher at the time commented that Lanza had a truly great voice, but it was like giving a Stradivarius violin to a baboon!