Central and Eastern Kentucky
(2009-08-28)
Listen Now:
null
Cassidy Brettler hosts "Confessions of a First-Time Operagoer," a documentary series chronicling her experience watching "The Ring" opera.
Photo By Florangela Davila
"Well, I have my phone but only for intermissions. I won't turn it on for the opera. I have some cheese. Got some grapes, a granola bar, a chocolate bar because five hours is a long time. It's a long time not to eat.
Five hours is also a long time for Brettler to stay quiet.
"I'm really bad at sitting still and not talking for a while."
But 20-year-old Brettler has been sitting quietly a lot this past week. Eleven hours so far. And she's about to marathon-watch the opera for one final night. The performance is Richard Wagner's "The Ring" made up of four operas with gods, mortals and a magical ring granting world domination.
Sung in German it's a heavy piece of work and in the hands of the Seattle Opera, an $8 million sensory spectacle: Airborne warrior maidens; pyrotechnics; and a giant dragon.
Still, opera isn't something you're born loving, says Seattle Opera Executive Director Kelly Tweeddale.
"My first reaction was why would I want to go to an opera and why would I like it? But I was curious and I was just blown away by the power of the emotion that I was hit with. And it becomes this thread and everything starts unraveling and you become more and more engaged."
Which brings us back to Cassidy Brettler who is making her way to her seat. On a Friday night she'd typically be sitting in front of the TV or playing board games or maybe, hot tubbing. She's an opera newbie.
"I never would be hanging out with my friends and say, Oh, let's go see an opera now.' It wasn't really anything on our radar, anything that crossed our mind as something to do; something to go see."
But she's here at the invitation of the Seattle Opera, which has commissioned a reality-TV series for the Internet. Brettler is the series host, beating out 48 other contestants in an online public vote.
"Confessions of a First-Time Operagoer" goes backstage and into the theater with Brettler who also blogs and writes about her adventures on Facebook and Twitter.
Says the opera's executive director Tweeddale: "We wanted to see what happened from their perspective. And tell it honestly and have them tell the story rather than us tell the story. And we really had to let go."
The company hopes the series and its social media efforts will attract new, younger patrons who might be holding onto stereotypes that opera is 1.) boring and 2.) only for old people.
Social media has already crossed into the opera-sphere with London's Royal Opera House composing a new work based on a Twitter-feed.
But Seattle Opera officials insist regardless of is audience's age one youthful activity will continue to be banned: texting during an actual performance.
The temptation to text was great for Brettler, but she didn't. Nor did she fall asleep. At intermission she whips out her phone to check in with friends. And she gets recognized in the lobby, partly because she's being billed as a quasi-celebrity for the video show.
"Right outside the door where I sit they have a sign that says, Meet Cassidy at intermission.' So anybody who's in here can come talk to me and ask me questions and tell me what their favorite part of 'The Ring' is."
Like Verna Parino from San Francisco. She is 92 years old and this is her 53rd time seeing "The Ring."
"The more you go the more you want to go. It becomes a way of life. Almost like you have to have a fix."
Brettler gets that. By now she's caught up in the story.
"Siegfried and Brunnhilde, before this opera, were in love. But now Siegfried's in love with this other woman so he's trying to then get Brunnhilde to fall in love with this other man. So she doesn't love him anymore. So it's kind of making me angry. It's like a big soap opera with singing."
When it's all over she emerges exhilarated. And after 16 hours of opera that most-famous piece of Wagner music - "The Ride of the Valkyries" - sticks in her head.
She hums the music.
"It's a good one. It's a great tune. I talked to someone today at intermission who said that she sets that as her alarm."
The opera, Brettler's discovered, can be affecting entertainment and she'll definitely return. But first, it's off with the heels and into some flip flops for something to eat.
Seattle Opera Confessions of a First-time Operagoer © Copyright 2012, KPLU
