Our life. An opera?
All of us have worked with, perhaps lived with, or attended school with individuals who seem to be able to accept life on life’s terms with aplomb. They may experience and express surprise, disappointment, sadness or even hurt. They give off the impression they know they will do what needs to be done and move on with life in a confident and overall positive manner. We also know those individuals who experience many life events with over the top emotions – positive and negative. They seem to be auditioning for an operatic performance sans grand costume, orchestra and amazing singing talent.
Personally, I love attending a professional opera performance. It happens that I live near a city which hosts one of the top opera companies in the country and perhaps the world. Whenever I have an opportunity I attend their performances.
For the most part the story line of most operas is not in and of itself interesting. In most famous, classical operas, greed, jealously, power and sadistic plots dominate. If one was just interested in the story the opera is portraying one merely has to observe much of the day to day life of teenagers and a segment of the adult population.
By definition an opera is a dramatic composition in which all parts are sung and accompanied by an orchestra. The singing includes arias, choruses and recitatives (spoken passages) . A musical play, on the other hand is usually singing plus dialogue.
The distinction between a modern opera and a musical might be a bit narrower than with classical opera. Some might have been lucky enough to attend performances of modern operas such as Nixon in China, Powder Her Face, Atalanta, Dead Men Walking, Jackie O: The Opera or Alice in Wonderland.
Personally I love opera. I love the sets, the costumes and the singing. It does not matter that I might not be able to understand the words although I try to be familiar with the work prior to attending. Often the words are projected on a screen during production. If I had to just listen to or watch the story I would get bored pretty quickly. The dramas which unfolds in the lives of we humans are not very creative or interesting. The same stories have been unfolding since the arrival of we humans and probably before.
Yet it seems that many of us humans seem to think that if we dramatize our life events others will find them as interesting as they do. Not so! In and of themselves our stories are not very interesting or nearly as dramatic and original as we might think.
It seems as if some of us early in life learn to trust our emotions to tell us how to experience our stories. If our emotions tell us that some event is a big deal, some task is overwhelming, or that we are fragile and “just cannot handle life on life’s terms” we believe the emotion and, thus create a self-fulfilling prophecy. One then feels a need to share this “opera” sans orchestra, costume, staging and amazing singing talent with whoever can be cornered or trapped into listening. I am sure all the readers will have experienced being thusly trapped. A few might have noticed themselves as the star opera performer.
Often those living with the disease of addiction, anxiety or depression may not have learned to differentiate between the performance at the Met in New York and their personal stories sans music, singing, costume and staging. Without realizing what they are doing they reinforce the operatic intensity/passion of their life experience and “just cannot handle life on life’s terms”. They then attempt to recruit unpaid cast member in this dully presented opera.
If one must share an operatic version of their life dance I do hope one remember to hire an orchestra, obtain grand costumes, create an amazing set and perfect the talent of a Jessie Norman or a Luciano Pavarotti. The alternative is to remember that we are well equipped to handle life on life terms; to remember as the author Richard Carlson reminds us, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and It Is All Small Stuff.
Written April 23, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickettt.org
All of us have worked with, perhaps lived with, or attended school with individuals who seem to be able to accept life on life’s terms with aplomb. They may experience and express surprise, disappointment, sadness or even hurt. They give off the impression they know they will do what needs to be done and move on with life in a confident and overall positive manner. We also know those individuals who experience many life events with over the top emotions – positive and negative. They seem to be auditioning for an operatic performance sans grand costume, orchestra and amazing singing talent.
Personally, I love attending a professional opera performance. It happens that I live near a city which hosts one of the top opera companies in the country and perhaps the world. Whenever I have an opportunity I attend their performances.
For the most part the story line of most operas is not in and of itself interesting. In most famous, classical operas, greed, jealously, power and sadistic plots dominate. If one was just interested in the story the opera is portraying one merely has to observe much of the day to day life of teenagers and a segment of the adult population.
By definition an opera is a dramatic composition in which all parts are sung and accompanied by an orchestra. The singing includes arias, choruses and recitatives (spoken passages) . A musical play, on the other hand is usually singing plus dialogue.
The distinction between a modern opera and a musical might be a bit narrower than with classical opera. Some might have been lucky enough to attend performances of modern operas such as Nixon in China, Powder Her Face, Atalanta, Dead Men Walking, Jackie O: The Opera or Alice in Wonderland.
Personally I love opera. I love the sets, the costumes and the singing. It does not matter that I might not be able to understand the words although I try to be familiar with the work prior to attending. Often the words are projected on a screen during production. If I had to just listen to or watch the story I would get bored pretty quickly. The dramas which unfolds in the lives of we humans are not very creative or interesting. The same stories have been unfolding since the arrival of we humans and probably before.
Yet it seems that many of us humans seem to think that if we dramatize our life events others will find them as interesting as they do. Not so! In and of themselves our stories are not very interesting or nearly as dramatic and original as we might think.
It seems as if some of us early in life learn to trust our emotions to tell us how to experience our stories. If our emotions tell us that some event is a big deal, some task is overwhelming, or that we are fragile and “just cannot handle life on life’s terms” we believe the emotion and, thus create a self-fulfilling prophecy. One then feels a need to share this “opera” sans orchestra, costume, staging and amazing singing talent with whoever can be cornered or trapped into listening. I am sure all the readers will have experienced being thusly trapped. A few might have noticed themselves as the star opera performer.
Often those living with the disease of addiction, anxiety or depression may not have learned to differentiate between the performance at the Met in New York and their personal stories sans music, singing, costume and staging. Without realizing what they are doing they reinforce the operatic intensity/passion of their life experience and “just cannot handle life on life’s terms”. They then attempt to recruit unpaid cast member in this dully presented opera.
If one must share an operatic version of their life dance I do hope one remember to hire an orchestra, obtain grand costumes, create an amazing set and perfect the talent of a Jessie Norman or a Luciano Pavarotti. The alternative is to remember that we are well equipped to handle life on life terms; to remember as the author Richard Carlson reminds us, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and It Is All Small Stuff.
Written April 23, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickettt.org
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