I'm rather amused by the translations. Five minutes of singing translate into things like "I burn with love for you, my dear!" And I have just enough background in romance languages to pick up non-equivalent words, sometimes, even though I don't speak Italian.
I realize a lot of people don't relate to opera, but I relate to music, and that's really the bottom line. It's also gratifying to see it becoming fashionable again. And San Jose has just recently restored the Fox Theater, which is totally gorgeous in itself. I think the total experience is what really makes it, with the orchestra, the singers, the production values, and the theater all coming together as a whole. And it's fun to have an excuse to dress up a bit, though by no means required.
