Seattle Opera and some quick Italian

I was able to catch Cosi Fan Tutti at the Seattle Opera over the weekend. Though the quality of the singers was what you would expect from a Sunday afternoon at the Seattle Opera, the production was wonderful. The production designer was Dr. Jonathan Miller who put the same show on in several other cities. If you are in Seattle and have a chance to take in an opera, even if you have little interest in them, it is worth it just to see the opera house itself. The singers wore modern costumes and during the recitatives, they referenced current events and local cities, even going so far as to make a joke or two about things like "Tacoma aroma, and two dudes from Federal Way."

I have been partial to the "modernization" of the production since I was exposed to it by a small opera company on in Moscow in their production of Verdi's Aida. It was in the setting of World War II where instead of Ethiopia and Egypt, the sides were Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. I have not visited much in the last 10 years, but the theater apparently still exists.

During the performance of any opera you will notice that applause will often explode at the end of an aria, duet, or whenever else other people clap. There are times when people will scream "bravo" to express some measure of their satisfaction. There are a few nuances to this exclamation, and if you mess it up, the Seattle Opera goers, will do absolutely nothing. Even if they do shoot you a pair of evil eyes, you will not see them because it will most likely be dark. Anyway, pay attention to these guidelines:

Shout "Bravo" if you enjoyed the performance of a male who sang alone.

Shout "Brava" (emphasize the last A, bru'VA) if you enjoyed the performance of a female who sang alone.

If it was a group of men whose performance pleased you, shout "bravi." If at least one woman is in the group, shout "brave."

In fact, I advise just clapping, and if you really liked it, just clap a little harder.

For a quick look at what these words mean, see the wiktionary.

Again, it probably makes little difference, but I always thought that if you are going to bring attention to yourself, try to make it neutral or positive. Of course, there are people in Boston looking for jobs in the legal field who may disagree.