We were there

Front row seats

as the orchestra took their places in the home of opera

What a treat

Beautiful bassoons and earnest violins

And an energetic conductor opening the night 

An explosion of colour, a musical delight

An incredible set and the greatest of fun 

That is

If you like opera

30 minutes in isn’t the best time to think

I don’t think opera is actually my thing

So I let my eyes wander

To the drummer listening to his drum as he tightens the top

To the audience, more earnest than the violins

Experiencing pleasure from every moment

Their smiles, their delight witnessed by each other

Not wanting it to stop

Here it’s a rich persons paradise

Where I don’t want to be

It just isn’t for me

On stage develops an Italian farce 

A whole (fake) Parma ham used as a guitar

Strings of sausages used in the dance 

No scrimping on fat sweaty men in white cotton vests

The surtitles too high to read

And my Italian is worse that the Parma hams

So I feast on the visual spectacle 

and silliness of it all

And wonder about the shelves of jam

And still the orchestra plays on

The singing is exquisite and I wonder

How hard 

it must be to sing and act at the same time

In an unflattering white vest

But, none of this wonder

My internal praise of this theatrical extravaganza

Can help me discover

Why opera just isn’t my thing