The 2010 Spring Season, organized by BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, made a spectacular beginning with an Opera: Henry Purcell’s ‘The Fairy Queen’. The hall of arts was tremendously huge, with large audience to match.   This was a show, certainly not to miss.  Many people asked what an Opera really was, which was quite funny as even without knowing about it, they were willing to pay at least 100 dollars.

The Fairy Queen is an Opera, which is an anonymous libretto from A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare.  This story is basically a play, but it was performed in the form of an Opera.  Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text (called a libretto) and musical score.

The Opera started with light playing of instruments as part of the orchestra.  The notes were played in such a way that one could easily tell that the music was going to tell a story.  The curtains opened and a bright light shined from the stage and the play started.  That was one of the most beautiful beginning of any Opera.  The main characters of the play were: Theseus (William Gaunt), Hermia (Alice Haig), Lysander (Nicholas Shaw), Demetrius (Gwilym Lee), Helena (Joanna Herbert), Bottom (Desmond Barrit), Quince (Paul McCleary), Titania (Amanda Harris), Puck (Jotham Annan), and Oberon (Finbar Lynch).  All these characters were singing from time to time in the course of the Opera.  The melody and harmony sung by these characters had cheered the audience with surprise.  Each and every note of the song played by the orchestra was matching the singer’s voice and lyrics.

The show was great, but there were some things that bothered the spectators, one was the seating arrangement.  There is less room to spread your legs out, for comfort.  The singers in the Opera sung the same lyrics so many times, which really drives out the spectators mind.  The other thing was the arrangement for the free sip of champagne.  There were some minor students, who weren’t eligible for that offer, so it was not a correct choice of drinks for all.

If one needs any suggestions to attend and enjoy an Opera in BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, one needs a good sleep in the afternoon and remain exercised, to bear the discomfort of the seating arrangement.  No joking!  But it is really necessary.  Many people had to leave the Opera just as soon as soon as it was the intermission.  But the excellent performance particularly by the subordinate artists in the play kept hold of most of the audience in the second part of the play.  The singers in the concert had a challenge that they made it look easy; it is not easy to sing without a mike in a big hall with proper articulation.  Musicians surely had a good amount of practice, which paid off with their excellent performance right from the beginning of the Opera, till the end.  The concert deserved three and a half out of five stars.