Moon River Opera
Moon River Opera in Savannah, GA has a mission to make Opera fun again!
Opera didn’t used to be boring. Now, I know that I’ve already lost most of you, since opera tends to divide people into two groups- those who like opera and those who don’t –with very little room in the middle for the opera-curious. Those of you who like opera are, I’m sure, offended by the very idea of opera being boring. “But,” I can hear you cry through the vast, open space of the internet, “what about the timeless characters, the lush harmonies, the obscene drama of it all?” And just as loud are the dissenting voices, “But the expense! The incomprehensibility! The absurdity of it all!”
And you’re right, no matter which view you side with- the operatic world is an absolute study in contradictions. It’s a beautiful glimpse into the very heart of humanity that seems to have never met a human being. It’s a universal language that still manages to be completely incomprehensible. It’s timeless and yet very much of its time.
Making Opera Fun Again
At Moon River Opera in Savannah, we believe in creating a space in this beloved/maligned art form for those anti-opera, the opera-curious, and the devotee to explore these contradictions. It’s time for one more contradiction- to move opera forward by moving it back. When one pushes back the dusty, velvet curtain of opera’s ostentatious past, a world full of life and vibrancy can be found. A world where audiences drank and laughed and ate from comfortable seats in well-lit theatres during performances. A world where the performers onstage were accessible to the audience, not just as a special treat for patrons at the gala, but before, after, and (shockingly!) during performances. A world where opera was fun.
At Moon River Opera we say, let’s bring back the fun to opera in Savannah. We’ll sing about champagne while actually drinking it. It’s time to bring the audience out of the dark hush they’ve been relegated to since Bayreuth. Opera will be a celebration of the human condition, all its contradictions a reflection of the contradictions found in each and every one of us, just as it was always meant to be. Let’s defy Shakespeare and give it vital growth again.
Thank you!