Listening for Something New

Listening for Something New

Last night, we attended Verdi opera scenes at the Center for Social Action.  As I walked in, I began to notice the amount of young adults in the audience.  As a singer and opera fan, I can never remember a time in which I’d sat beside someone my age- even at the Met.  Yet in Caracas, I was not only surrounded by young adults but I watched a young man with a mowhak give a standing ovation after La Traviata, a student independently filming the performance for further operatic studies, and a child sitting silently enthralled by the music.  I have to admit it was hard for me to focus on every performance because I kept finding myself scanning the room.  I was in awe.   What I was seeing is what so many symphonies in the United States dream of. How does this happen?  What is it that Sistema is doing that is attracting copious amounts of young people into its concert halls?  Well one answer could be the free tickets.  Anytime there is a concert at the Center for Social Action, all tickets are given for free and if the concert is anywhere else they come at a heavily discounted price.  Another answer could be…wait for it- it’ll shock you…the students actually like this music!! No way right? Young adults don’t really like opera, at least not this many of them… If you’d asked me years ago which I believed were more likely I would’ve said option 1; however, after being here for only a week I’m positive it’s option 2. 

It’s been said that you see what you look for and you hear what you listen for.  As I continue my travels here in Venezuela, I’m beginning to look and listen for something completely new.  Exactly how do you make classical music relevant to everyone?  It seems that in el Sistema they’ve found the way.  This week I’ll be in Barquisimeto, hometown of Gustavo Dudamel, with my eyes and ears watching and listening to music in a completely new way.  Stay tuned!