Opera isn’t just an event for fancy people in gowns and tuxedos to watch for one evening at the Arsht Center here in Miami or the Lincoln Center in New York City. It is one of the most demanding, collaborative and competitive art forms out there.
After spending Nov. 12 and 13 behind the scenes of the Frost School of Music’s production of The Consul by Gian Carlo Menotti, I realized something: opera isn’t only alive. It’s thriving and needs to be more well known.
What goes unnoticed
Most people see the beautiful arias, the orchestra and thought out staging as the glamor of the opera. What you don’t see are the hours of rehearsal, the dozens of moving parts or the backstage chaos that somehow flawlessly comes together on stage.
I got to work on the shift team of The Consul this semester, moving props and reseting scenes in the dark while the story continues forward. It gave me the best view in the entire hall. Even standing offstage, listening to voices slice through the air with resonance left the music resonating with me. I understood how much precision opera demands from everyone.
Every prop we shifted was meticulously choreographed. Every moment depended on dozens of people working in perfect rhythm, whether they were onstage, in the wings or at the tech table. Watching the whole classical voice department create a show as complex and emotional as The Consul showed me that not only do the notes work in harmony, but the people do as well. This isn’t just with opera. Every single backstage performance, such as musicals or plays at the Jerry Herman Theater, shows the importance of working in harmony.
Opera still matters
Opera is often dismissed as outdated, but The Consul showed just the opposite. Menotti’s opera is a political show about bureaucracy, fear and freedom. It has themes of oppression, surveillance, human resilience and feelings uncomfortably relevant to today. Seeing this show embodied by young artists reminded me that opera has always been a mirror for society, even in storylines written years ago.
Classical voice majors spend hours each day refining technique in many languages, stamina, acting and musicianship. While learning one song takes weeks perfecting, a singing role can take months to prepare. An audience only gets to see the final product. That’s why it’s so important to remember and value all the work put into this wonderful art form.
Listen for Yourself
Opera isn’t just living on stages like Clarke Hall, but it’s finding new life online. Singers and students are bringing arias to TikTok, sharing opera clips on Instagram, and showing the behind-the-scenes work that usually stays hidden. I’ve been posting about opera and classical music on my own TikTok, and every time someone comments sharing their love for opera, I feel more connected to the community of classical musicians.
Social media is proving that opera doesn’t have to stay locked in tradition. It can be modern, accessible, humorous, experimental and emotional in a way that younger audiences can actually connect to. As someone who has grown up immersed in classical music — singing since I was little, performing on big stages, and now studying classical voice — it has shaped the way I see the world. It’s given me discipline, empathy and a sense of belonging that I carry everywhere and hope to share with others.
Productions like The Consul deserve to reach people far beyond the theater. If we want opera to keep evolving and share the emotional depth of a show, we have to let it meet audiences where they are — onstage and online. One performance at a time, we can help more people discover how alive this beautiful art form is and how to keep it thriving.