How do people understand Opera?
Great answers and I’d like to add a few things: first of all, good for you for trying! Opera takes a little while, but it is really cool. Listening to opera is harder than watching an opera, and watching or listening in English at first is easiest. Subtitles are a good second-best. Be sure to read the stories before going to see an opera so that you know the characters’ names and the story line ahead of time. Operas are usually pretty detailed and can be confusing, especially something like Magic Flute! I’d start with some easier and shorter operas such as The Medium (by Menotti) or Suor Angelica or Gianni Schicci, and watch videos of each as well as get to know the stories. As creepy as it is, one of my favorite operas is Salome, which is amazing and only an hour and a half. Try any of these for starters. I think you’ll enjoy any of them. Then you can build on your listening skills by going to longer and more complicated ones. Most of all, have fun with it. We all have our favorites a
