5 Things Opera Fans Need To Keep in Mind Amidst the Super Bowl Buzz

A friend of mine recently shared this article purporting the 5 things you need to know about opera before the Super Bowl. The author suggests that because Renee Fleming is singing, people should educate themselves about her genre. I found the article to be very similar to a lot of articles about opera that get passed around on Facebook by fellow opera singers and lovers. It's largely self-serving (look how educated we are! Look how old our art form is! But it's relevant too!) and not actually beneficial to people who don't know or appreciate opera. Honestly, I think to presume that there's anything you have to know before encountering opera would do more to turn someone off from opera than to make someone embrace it. So, my two responses:

1 Thing You Need to Know About Opera Before the Super Bowl

Absolutely Nothing. Enjoy Ms. Fleming's performance!

5 Things Opera Fans Need to Remember Amidst the Super Bowl Buzz

1. Ms. Fleming Will Not Be Singing Opera

She is singing the National Anthem. If she were to bust out with a bit of Rusalka, that would be one thing (not to mention, awesome), but she's not. She may or may not chose to sing it in an operatic style, since this is a diva who loves to dabble in other genres. Either way, it's our National Anthem, not opera.

2. People Are Not Converted to New Genres at the Super Bowl

Remember in 2010 when Carrie Underwood sang the National Anthem and you were like "OMG, I have to start listening to more Country music NOW!!!!"?   No?  Neither do I...and I already liked country music. 

3. Most People Probably Won't Care And/Or Remember Who Sings the National Anthem

Since the commercials are a crucial part of the Super Bowl experience, lots of people will be using this moment of patriotism to run to the bathroom before the game starts. Other people will forget as soon as it's over. If you can name the last 3 people who have sung the National Anthem without looking it up on Wikipedia first, you're better than I am. This is nothing to take away from Ms. Fleming's moment in the spotlight; she'll still have a multi-million person audience and I'm sure she'll do fantastically, but people will move on, and so will she.

4. No One Cares How Trained You Are, Nor Should They Have To

Honestly, if I hear one more opera singer taut how many languages we speak or how many years of training we've had, I might throw up.  Stop trying to make people appreciate you and don't confuse appreciation with love. I loved the Beach Boys' music long before I appreciated how tight their vocal harmonies were. I loved swing music long before I appreciated its origins, and I loved watching figure skating on TV long before I realized just how early in the morning figure skaters had to wake up to get the ice to themselves. Appreciation usually comes after love, and to try and force it may get in the way of people falling in love at all. Which leads me to...

5. Opera Can Defend Itself

Opera is beautiful. It's interesting, it's passionate, and it's capable of expressing the whole range of human emotion. It has lasted as an art form for 400 years because it's GOOD, not because people parade out its virtues in lectures.  One of my favorite examples of this is in The Shawshank Redemption when Andy Dufresne uses the PA system to blast the letter-writing duet from the Marriage of Figaro across the prison yard. It's a gorgeous moment, and I've seen moments like this in real life when kids encounter opera for the first time. There's this sense of wonder and connection and it doesn't require any knowledge at all. A good opera moment can blow you away no matter who you are or how much you know about opera. So singers, please, a little less defending, a little more with the blowing away.