# Opera in English?



## JustJosh (Nov 25, 2009)

There is a performance of the Marriage of Figaro that I had intended on taking my wife to the weekend of Valentine's Day.

I recently was made aware however that this Opera will be performed in English.

Does anyone have experience with Opera in English? Is it worth going?
Disappointing? A worthwhile experience?

Any input is appreciated.


----------



## DCLawyer68 (Jun 1, 2009)

JustJosh said:


> There is a performance of the Marriage of Figaro that I had intended on taking my wife to the weekend of Valentine's Day.
> 
> I recently was made aware however that this Opera will be performed in English.
> 
> ...


Don't let this deter you. This practice was once fairly commonplace, but has become less so with the advent of supertitles.

Personally, I have enjoyed Opera in English recordings (Chandos has one for nearly every major opera, and many of them are highly regarded), and find that the quality of the performance rather than the language dictates my enjoyment.


----------



## JustJosh (Nov 25, 2009)

Much appreciated, our tickets have been secured. :icon_smile_big:


----------



## niffcreature (Jan 27, 2010)

i saw some english opera on public television, but it was overly political... about the history and philosophy of communism a while back and stuff... just extremely ridiculous that it was so dramatic and in english. like someone just telling you all of the lyrics but being involved enough to scream it.
i expect figaro will be quite different, i hope the same thing that made the english opera i saw horrible will make it amazing for you and your wife.


----------



## sko (Jul 1, 2009)

I saw a season of Opera Theatre of St. Louis a while back, which performs everything in English. It was fine and, supposedly, makes the Theatre more accessible and popular. Considering the fact that many of the great European operas were translated between French, Italian, etc., seeing an opera translated into English shouldn't make much more of a difference. Hope you have fun. Figaro is one of the greats.


----------

