I just started listening to and watching operas about a year ago. It's one of the few musical genres I was unfamiliar with, and clearly I've been missing out.
Our local theater broadcasts the Met Opera live every few months. Next Saturday's is La Traviata, and I'm scrambling to catch up on work so I can attend. I'm really hoping I can make it, because the opera after that is Lohengrin, but I don't care for Wagner. And after Lohengrin, nothing until the spring. I can stream them at home, or course, but the big screen is better. Attending an opera in person would be wonderful, but . . . that's not gonna happen until I can get out of state.
Wow! That's great, Kathy!
I started listen to the opera when I divorced my first wife but hadn't met a new one yet.
I was lonely, I read Nietzsche and so my first opera was Wagner's Tristan and Isolde
I was serious.
La Traviata is one of the best operas! But be careful, modern minimalist productions can spoil the impression.
Have you seen Rigoletto? It is ideal grand opera, nothing more, everything is in place.
But it took me maybe 5 times of listening before the understanding came to me and I fell in love with it.
This guy is helped much me to understand and to love opera:
(it is in English)