Yesterday I went to a fabulous performance of «Rigoletto» at the opera in Cologne. It was my first time seeing a Verdi-Opera and it blew my mind. I was lucky to go with a friend and opera-aficionado, who briefed me on the train ride.
Opera is all about context: The trends and sidetrends at the time it was written. The original intent and how it evolved over time. The function of music for narration. The sublimity of the singing. The story. The deeper you get with all this, the more layers you can connect while watching. It made me think of just how interconnected everything is. Performance is just the first layer. What makes the opera grand, is the layers below.
Later we went out with some of the performers for Kölsch and Schnitzel, talking fine arts and politics. We had a blast.