My Notes for the Composer After a Night at the Opera

I went to the opera. Box seats, velvet everywhere and four hours of singing in a language I don’t speak, so I filled in the story myself. Afterward, I wrote notes for the composer. He lived long ago, but feedback is timeless.

Notes

1. Length. Four hours is a lot. I’d cut it to forty-five minutes. Keep the loud songs. Lose the quiet ones.
2. The plot. I believe a man loves a woman, and then everyone sings about it for three hours. That could be one song.
3. The high note. The lady in the red dress hit a note so high, my glasses fogged up. Keep that. Put it at the start, so people know what they’re dealing with.
4. The intermission. Best part. Snacks, standing and talking about the opera. I’d have two.
5. The ending. I can’t comment. I left early to beat the traffic.

Final Rating

Four stars. Beautiful music, a gorgeous building, and the man next to me cried twice. I didn’t cry. I applauded at the wrong moment, twice, which is roughly the same thing.