The Rebirth of Traditional Opera: An Encouraging Trend

More and more opera fans are seeking the return of traditionally produced operas, such as in Franco Zefferili's staging of "La Traviata." (Universal Classics)

Southern California is home to many opera companies. There are dozens of regional companies of varying sizes and specialties. Two of them are recognized in the national and international opera scene: Los Angeles Opera (LA Opera) and San Diego Opera.

When I was 10 years old, I decided that I wanted to be an opera singer. After enjoying singing Broadway tunes and Disney princess songs from a young age, I fell in love with classical vocal music after I started singing simple Italian arias.

My sister and I both studied operatic music, and my family attended operas. We went to productions at universities and professional companies throughout the area. We even traveled to New York City for the Metropolitan Opera’s production of my favorite opera, George Frideric Handel’s “Julius Caesar.” It turned out to be a Bollywood-inspired bloodbath full of flappers, red coats, safari outfits, zeppelins, breastplates, and machine guns, instead of what it should have been: the stately Baroque courtship of the Egyptian queen and Roman emperor.

That performance confirmed an opinion we were already forming after seeing California productions: Classical operas were no longer being performed traditionally.

The Pantheon setting of “Julius Caesar” designed by Richard Wyatt in 1772 for the Oxford Street production, 1790, drawing by William Hodges. (Public Domain)

I observed a change happening—in the settings and sprinklings of modern humor—and lost interest in attending live opera. However, since I became a professional opera singer myself two years ago, I’ve started going to operas in my area. Since the pandemic, I’ve seen a decided, welcome return of traditionalism.

For years, LA Opera was on the same level as New York’s Metropolitan Opera, while San Diego Opera struggled to find its direction, going through several managers. Recently, this company is proving that it deserves to be recognized among its excellent peers.  

San Diego Opera

San Diego Opera (SDO) usually puts on three full opera productions each season. In the 2023-24 season, they were “El Milagro del Recuerdo,” “Don Giovanni,” and “Madama Butterfly.” The first is a modern mariachi opera in Spanish by Javier Martinez, the second is the classical Italian opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and the third is a dramatic Italian opera by Giacomo Puccini.

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A scene from the San Diego Opera's production of "Madama Butterfly." (Courtesy of San Diego Opera)

Each production had two performances, a Friday evening show and a Sunday matinee. The trend the last two seasons has been to do a new opera in autumn, a modernized production of an old opera in winter, and a traditional production of a classic in spring.

I saw “Madama Butterfly” with my sister.  The performance was completely sold out, and the Civic Auditorium was full of opera fans of varying ages, backgrounds, and formality in dress. During the intermission, we looked for a spot in the lobby to pour the sparkling water we had just purchased, and two older patrons indicated that we could join them at a table. After we politely ignored each other for a while, the older gentleman, who had a subtle Spanish accent, asked whether we were enjoying the production.

A scene from the San Diego Opera's production of "Madama Butterfly." (Courtesy of San Diego Opera)

Since we were noticeably younger than the average opera patron, he seemed to sense the opportunity to conduct a little research. We enthusiastically declared that we were enjoying it very much. The friendly stranger discussed each of our answers with his companion, a white-haired woman.

As the conversation continued, I remarked that I was so glad to see such a beautifully traditional production of an opera by one of my favorite composers, Puccini. The woman agreed that the production was beautiful, saying that she liked it much more than another production she had seen recently. “Don Giuseppe?” she said slowly, trying to remember the title. “Don Giovanni,” I prompted, knowing that SDO had produced the opera in February. In disgust, she described the Gothic, minimalist set and how the orchestra was onstage behind the singers.

“I didn’t like it,” she said, shaking her head.

It was interesting to hear this reaction to “Don Giovanni.” I knew a lot about the production because I had a friend in the chorus. The older man’s description of the character’s costume as a leather vest and biker shorts was all I needed to hear.

When I later saw the press images, I realized that this show bore little resemblance to a traditional production of a Mozart opera. As is common practice in many productions today, it was a postmodern production, not set in any one time period, with a strange mashup of several eras and styles. Many women wore undergarments as outerwear, principal men donned pink suits, and the title character looked like a motorcycle gang member with a ponytail and leather jacket.

Traditional staging of "Don Giovanni" in film. (Carlos Saura)

Los Angeles Opera

Meanwhile, up north, Los Angeles Opera puts on many more than three operas per season, and many more performances of each. They mix classic operas and new works. The 2023/2024 season included four operas from the standard repertoire, “Don Giovanni,” “The Barber of Seville,” “La Traviata,” and “Turandot.”

Interestingly, the only one of these to be completely modernized was “Don Giovanni,” which, although grander, was as nontraditional as SDO’s production. The other three productions were set in the correct eras, using the company’s substantial resources for lavish sets and costumes.

For three out of four traditional LA Opera productions is impressive and a decided change from recent trends. A few years ago, I would have been impressed to see the company putting on one traditional production out of four.

As people return to the theater after the lockdown, perhaps they have missed the experience of seeing beautiful opera performed onstage. Perhaps opera companies are finally realizing that not everyone enjoys seeing “Rigoletto” set in 1960s Las Vegas or “The Marriage of Figaro” in a Mexican-American hotel.

Half Is Better Than None

As Southern Californian opera companies have illustrated this season, not all productions are modernized anymore. This spring, both the Metropolitan Opera and LA Opera put on Puccini’s epic swan song, “Turandot,” and both the Met and San Diego Opera produced the same composer’s beloved “Madama Butterfly.” All four productions were set in the correct time period and location and are being received with great success.

The LA Opera's production of "Turandot." (Courtesy of LAOpera)

These major companies pave the way for the entire American opera industry, so their traditional productions are a positive sign. But as long as directors seek to draw attention to themselves rather than to the music and composer’s traditions, postmodernist productions probably won’t disappear entirely from the repertoire.  

Opera can attract a strong new audience when younger generations have a chance to see the beauty and grandeur of traditional live opera.

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