Wow. I still have “Orest! Orest!” ringing in my ears. Last night, I finally saw an opera in the world-renowned Teatro Colón. National Geographic ranks Buenos Aires’s crowning jewel as the third best opera house in the world. Countless famous musicians have corroborated this assertion, commenting on the quality of its acoustics. A group of 8 of us from my program decided it was time for us to be a little cultured and bought tickets to Elektra, a German opera based on Greek mythology. Boy, did my ears get a workout. Wikipedia says that the role of Elektra is one of the most difficult pieces to perform in the dramatic soprano repertoire, and I definitely understand why. She does. not. stop. From the opening of the opera to its close 90 minutes later, the singer was trilling through the entire range of her vocal chords, hitting piercingly high notes complemented by warmer low tones. The woman who played her sister, Chrysothemis, was also fantastic. I heard her loud and clear over the thundering orchestra.

I just need to take a moment to comment on the orchestra. They were absolutely fantastic. Their sound filled the entire room and they flawlessly captured every mood of this tragic piece. I also had a great view of the musicians up in the nosebleed section, which was especially cool.

Back to the opera: I have always wanted to attend an opera, since I’ve sung a few operatic pieces in my voice lessons a few years back. But, I never seized the opportunity. Well, there was no excuse for leaving Buenos Aires without having seen an opera in Teatro Colón (with tickets being around $8), so I am so glad I made it a point to go. I was standing in the last row the whole time, but hey, my wallet was happy.

Walking into the glittering room of bright lights, velvet curtains, and intricate murals, I immediately felt like I was living in a dream. How many 20-year-olds have seen a famous opera?! So freakin’ exciting. It was truly surreal. Before the opera started, I took a few moments to myself to say a little prayer of thanks for this opportunity and waited with bated breath for the lights to dim and the curtains to open.

I can’t say that Elektra has converted me into an opera fanatic, but I am definitely happy that I went and plan to go to another in the future. Maybe one that’s a little lighter, like an Italian romance. In regards to the quality of the theater, it wasn’t quite what I expected. To be completely honest, I wasn’t overwhelmingly impressed by the acoustics. It was often difficult to hear the opera singers, since they didn’t have microphones.  The orchestra just overpowered them. But, it’s highly possible that that’s because of where we were standing. I’m not sure. I wish I could see another performance there for comparison. Regardless, it was an incredible experience, and I’m thrilled that I put aside the books for a moment and took advantage of this beautiful city in my last 19 DAYS!!

Location: Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, Argentina