Classic FM Aims to Break Down Opera Barriers with Animated Short Films

The lofty and expensive reputation of opera continues to prevail, with theatre goers remaining put off by the art form.

A survey of 2000 adults for Classic FM looked into the reasons why people were not attending.

Spurious reasons such as being too posh and too long were cited, as was not knowing when to clap and worry over what to wear.

‘Being full of words that are difficult to understand’ was another reason given, though whether this about basic comprehension skills or being unable to see the surtitles in unclear.

A 30 per cent of those taking part in the survey said that opera was too expensive and two-thirds just didn’t like it full stop.

Of those that had attended an opera, one in ten felt ‘nervous’ and that they didn’t ‘fit in’.

Classic FM has modernised Carmen, La bohème and The Barber of Seville into three short animated films narrated by Johnny Vaughan.

Classic FM’s managing editor, Sam Jackson said: “Despite Classic FM’s success in democratising classical music since our inception 25 years ago, opera is still viewed as elitist and we want to dispel that myth.

“Our research shows that while people worry that opera might be dull and too intellectual for them, many would love to go. “That’s why we’ve created these ‘opera shorts’, making the storylines accessible and appealing to a modern audience.”

Chopsy Bristol Comment: There’s absolutely no need to worry about going to the opera.

Generally, we don’t clap until the end of an act though that’s not a hard and fast rule.

We go to the toilet at the interval.

We wear what we like.

We don’t care about what others think about us, unless you are a person who cares about what other people think about you which is a bit sad really.

There are surtitles.

The tickets are no more expensive than other shows if you are in the provinces.

If you want to give it a go, start with something like The Barber of Seville or The Magic Flute.

Yes, some can be very long and involved or like Onegin, just very long without being involved. So do your research.

We wrote about going to opera recently here: http://chopsybaby.com/magazine/welsh-national-opera-give-go-opera-really-everyone/