The bluffer's guide to opera

Q: What is opera?
A: Opera is a drama in which the actors sing. It emerged in the late 1500s in Italy as an attempt to revive the singing that was a feature of ancient Greek drama, and quickly spread across Europe.

Q: Why should I see one?
A: People are moved by both stories and songs. Opera combines these; Wagner, who wrote some of the biggest operas, called opera a Gesamtkunstwerk (total artwork). The emotional impact of characters' lines can be enormous when you have a human being in front you, looking the part, singing with a striking voice, and backed by an orchestra of superb musicians.

Q: What terminology might I hear people using at interval?
A: The words are called the ‘libretto' and the music is the ‘score'. Semi-sung dialogue is known as ‘recitative'. Songs are called ‘arias', and if involving more than one person, ‘duets/trios/quartets' etc. Male singers range from ‘bass' (lowest) to ‘bass-baritone', ‘baritone', ‘tenor' and ‘counter-tenor'. Female singers range from ‘contralto' (lowest) to ‘mezzo-soprano' and ‘soprano'.

Q: Which opera should I see?
A: Choose a story and style that interests you - just like the movies, but a more considered purchase. Read the plot summaries and watch the videos at Opera Australia.

Q: Will I be bored?
A: Except for rarely performed epics by Wagner, most operas are about three hours long, including one or two intervals of 20 minutes. So it's no bigger risk of tedium than a play or film.

Q: How much are tickets?
A: Full price tickets are $105-270, depending on where you sit, except for operettas by Gilbert & Sullivan, which are shorter and cheaper.

Q: How do I get them?
A: You can buy tickets from Opera Australia, Sydney Opera House or in person at their box offices, but the best way is to phone OA (02 9318 8200) during business hours. Staff are insanely well informed; they'll warn you about seats where you have to lift your chin to read the surtitles, and help you choose the best value available among stalls (downstairs), circle (upstairs) or loges/boxes (on the sides). Be flexible with dates because Saturday evenings are more expensive; matinees (1pm on Saturdays) and weekends and opening nights are typically more heavily booked (meaning worse view for same money).

Q: Er, what's that about subtitles?...
A: Oh yeah - most of the best operas are in Italian. But don't worry: English translations of the lyrics are flashed on a screen above the stage. You'll also get a free plot synopsis/cast sheet as you enter the theatre.

Q: Do I have to dress up?
A: Casual dress is fine at the Sydney Opera House. The penguin suit (black tie) is an endangered species, except at opening nights. Many women like to "frock up" but it's not required.

Q: What if I'm hungry?
A: If splurging, book a 5.30pm pre-theatre menu at Guillaume at Bennelong (02 9241 6766). It's $75 for three courses. Or, for $45, share eight tapas dishes at the stunning Guillaume at Bennelong bar. Bistro Mozart on the box office level offers cheaper, quality cafeteria-style bistro food. And if you're in a real hurry you can get fresh sandwiches at the Opera Theatre bar.

Q:What time should I get there?
A: Plan to get to the Opera Theatre (the second-largest, eastern shell) in plenty of time because doors close promptly at 7.30pm; don't be left in the foyer watching on TVs until a break. Arrive around 7pm, check out the celebs and the frocks, and enjoy a glass of sparkling wine while watching the sunset - maybe even pre-order another round to be waiting for you at interval. The northern foyer (past the ticket checkers, at the top of the stairs) has a magnificent harbour view, a major aboriginal artwork, and two bars. The cloakroom downstairs is free, and is required for anything larger than a handbag. Once you're seated, for God's sake switch off your mobile!

Q: When do I applaud?
A: At the end of each act. People sometimes clap or even shout "Bravo!" during the performance; you're safe cheering while others are. You should also applaud the orchestra conductor when s/he comes out at the start of each act.

Q: Are my options limited to Opera Australia?
A: No. Sydney's Pinchgut Opera company specialises in Baroque Opera on instruments of that period (1600-1750: for a sample, listen to Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas or anything by Vivaldi). The production values of the staging can't match OA's budget, but the quality of the music and singing is absolutely world class, in the superb acoustic of the City Recital Hall in Angel Place. In December they're staging Joseph Haydn's The Soul of the Philosopher.
 

Where to start...

Opera Australia (OA) has four productions running in March

Tosca
Highlight: ‘E Lucevan le Stelle' - Mario's lament before execution
This classic Italian grand opera from 1900 is so popular that its heroine's suicide leap off the castle roof has become legend, spawning urban myths about Toscas who bounced off safety trampolines back onstage. That splatter ending is so dear to some fans of Puccini that at opening night some booed the director who dared change it in this grimy production (which we loved). Until 27 Mar

La Traviata
Highight: ‘The Brindisi' (Drinking Song), one of the most famous duets ever written.
Verdi's 1853 opus is a fine choice for a first opera experience. The story involves a high-end sex worker who meets moral challenges but doesn't live happily ever after because she's dying of tuberculosis. Here, Russian soprano Elvira Fatykhova sings exquisitely despite supposedly suffering from that highly romantic lung infection. Verdi took the plot from Alexandre Dumas' 1848 novel The Lady of the Camellias. This production is very traditional, with beautifully detailed costumes and sets from Paris in the Belle Epoque. Until 29 Mar

Bliss
Highlight: Check out the 80s outfits - on stage and in the audience.
A rare thing this month: the world premiere of a new opera. Don't expect a typical night; this should be strange and wonderful.

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Highlight: Tobias Cole (Oberon) leads a tremendous cast.
This is a revival of Baz Luhrmann's widely adored 1993 production of Benjamin Britten's 1960 opera of William Shakespeare's 1595 comedy. Luhrmann dyed the Bard's fairies blue and moved the woodlands of Athens to a colonial India; it's like Bollywood on nitrous oxide. Test-drive the 1990 Decca CD with Britten conducting. Until 24 Mar

More on Opera? Opera Australia.

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