Beyond the beauty of the music, set design, and choreography of the 2014 theatrical film version of the opera Orfeo ed Euridice was one shining detail that captured my attention: the lead role of Orfeo was played by a bald man. Being a bald man myself, I couldn't help but find this point particularly magnificent. Like Bejun Mehta, the American countertenor star of this filmed opera, could I too have had a career as a dulcet voiced opera singer? Probably not, since that would require the ability to sing well. Nonetheless, that Megabox (in COEX Mall, Seoul) regularly offers such cultural offerings from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Unitel Classica, as well as others is reassuring to know. Not only is it good for grown-ups like myself who can now playfully imagine an alternate reality for themselves where they are both bald and top billing, but it's also good for the youngsters with their families in the audience who are experiencing a world-expanding performance on such a big screen and in such a comfortable setting. For them, a life in the the opera very well could be their future reality.

*Above is a doodle of Bejun Mehta from memory.
February 10th, 2015

Link:
http://robpad.com/writing/opera
or
http://robpad.com/w/001