Is Opera For The Elite Only?

So, here I am. A teenager with my one foot stepping into the realm of adulthood and the other foot reluctantly following. Being a teen, people expect me to behave like one. True, I might have occasional emotional tantrums and emotional instabilities. But that's just it...My interests does not really correspond with my teenage self.

Take for example, music. My peers enjoy pop and rock music, but I find them unbearable (no offense). While they would enjoy the bass, the pounding of drums and the high-pitched electric guitar, these elements, are to me, inhuman. They lack the human touch, although they are played by humans.

To me, I enjoy the human voice. It is the fundamental substance that is quickly deteriorating in musics of our time. Throw me any modern songs, and I'll point out to you that the singing voice of the artiste seems so distant, as if serving as the prop and to complement the various instruments in the music. 

In fact, it has been mentioned in one article that various modern singers employ synthesizers in their music. I'll just skip the technical details and say that this machine enable even the most unqualified singer (tone-deaf people) to sing.

I am not what you would call a musical connoisseur and authority in music, but my bite-sized education in piano and singing had certainly provided me with the necessary background and foundation to appreciate the diminishing element in various musical genres.

It seems weird that a teen such as myself enjoys opera. Some of my friends even accused me of being pompous and freaky.To them, this genre is only reserved for the well-to-do and people with the right background. At this point, I have no choice but to voice out my arguments. As the late great tenor Luciano Pavarotti said, "I believe that music is for everybody".

First off, for a beginner listener of opera, they would certainly feel uncomfortable with the various high notes and "shrieks" projected by the opera singers. Nevertheless, a critic of opera would be able to discern and enjoy these notes; "What kind of emotion is the singer trying to convey?" etc.

This post would certainly be overlong if I were to delve into the various elements of opera. After all, it would be impossible to highlight the beauty of this beautiful and historical form of art in one post of my humble blog.   

To be continued...