However, before this event, I had, for years, been aware of a perhaps uncomfortable association of classical music, especially live concerts or opera, as an elitist activity not deemed accessible to many people.
I began this post stating that I was lucky to be gifted this trip, almost like a premature defence against anyone assuming it was expensive, or even, paranoically, someone associating a person who goes to the opera as a frequent visitor who takes these things for granted. This is all quite ridiculous really, especially as, in actual fact, though expense is one of the main reasons for this association, the tickets were £12.
The point I want to stress is that anyone can enjoy classical music, and though companies put on many events at reasonable prices, probably as part of an effort for inclusion, it can be as simple as rejecting any negative associations and giving it a listen at home, if that’s all that’s holding someone back.
I know I have been guilty of covering up the fact I listen to classical music, and it confuses me sometimes why it’s viewed so differently to other music.
People can perhaps feel intimdated by it. But you do not have to know about different instruments, composers or pieces. I only know the little I do from having some played in the background when I was younger, singing in choirs, and expanding on what I’ve heard or sang, out of interest.
When I went to the opera, I recognised about 5% of what I heard. One of the parts was the Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen, or, as I recalled, the piece they used at the beginning of Disney’s Up. When the flautist played the dance from the same opera, I had Homer Simpson’s version going round my head (“I can’t remember how much beer I’ve had...”).
Classical music is everywhere. People know more than they think, and if you find yourself tapping or humming along, try some more.
It is enough to just sit, listen, and enjoy. In fact, that’s the best thing you can do, and what it’s there for. I think you open up a whole new dimension of musical enjoyment when you let classical music in.
I write this and immediately panic about coming across as some patronising, upper-class 20 year-old. But this proves my point, and the thing I want to challenge and bring across in this post. All I want is to discuss the association I consider confusing. And classical music has such a positive, life-affirming impact on my life, that it would be a real shame if we let this get in the way.
Evie x
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