Don’t Be a Snob

I just turned 61 and I’m still learning new things about myself.  For example, I learned last night that I am a cultural snob.  Friends invited us to join them for dinner and a “Pop Opera” performance in Boston. We had no idea what we were going to see and it didn’t matter as we just wanted to spend time with Steph and Joe. But once inside the theater, we noticed that the crowd looked nothing like the audiences we typically see at a Boston Ballet or Huntington Theater performance. This audience was a bit boisterous, a bit brash and clearly consisted of super fans of “Il Volo”.  They knew every word to every song, literally communicated with the performers by waving to them, touching them and shouting out to them and resembled the heartthrob fans of The Beatles or Elvis   The performers were charismatic, trained young opera singers who sang Italian opera “hits” as well as Simon & Garfunkel hits among other pop songs.  At first I found the audience's involvement and their vocal interactions off-putting and dare I say distasteful, but by the end of the concert, I understood their passion.  The purity of the voices, the authenticity and humor of the three good friends/performers on stage, and the communal experience of being entertained that evokes something deep from within was wholly unique.  Everyone walked out of the Opera House with a huge smile including me - the culture snob who learned that great art and great audiences take many forms.