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| 13 | %% Image and caption selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1403528188072040500 |
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| 16 | [[quoteright:279:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/at-the-opera_mary-cassat_2314.png]] |
| 17 | [[caption-width-right:279:Going to see and be seen.]] |
| 18 | |
| 19 | ->''"You don't know how refreshing this is. To meet someone who doesn't just come to the theater, but who gives over to it. That crowd in there, they only come because it's fashionable."'' |
| 20 | -->-- '''Sir Trevor Aimsley''', ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Basically where characters are attending an {{Opera}}, ClassicalMusic concert, {{Theater}} show or a similar performance to take in some high culture. Yet this is mainly about what the characters ''do'' in the velvet seats in the posh auditorium. What happens on stage is usually irrelevant, even though we do usually get to see a little of the opera or concert. If what is being performed matters at all, it's to give the attending characters something to emotionally relate to. If the story features characters involved with the actual production in an important way (such as the main character finally getting the big part he/she dreamed about), it's not this trope. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | In some stories, the real show is the people attending. They come in their finest [[SharpDressedMan suits]], [[PimpedOutDress dresses]], [[EverythingsSparklyWithJewelry jewels]], [[PrettyInMink furs]], and opera-length HighClassGloves, often tailored to fit the current styles... and by current styles we mean an unwritten DressCode that sorts out the OldMoney patrons from the NouveauRiche. As a consequence the patrons may not even pay attention to most of the show itself (which was the case in RealLife until about Music/RichardWagner's day) so they can talk and gossip. If they are in a private box, they may even play cards, drink wine, eat and even have an amorous dalliance or two... |
| 25 | |
| 26 | In some stories, this is just to show one or more characters trying to be cultured, while other characters are bored to tears. When MenAreUncultured, this is an opportunity to demonstrate masculinity by swearing off the flowery show to which their wives have taken them. Conversely, the more worldly man can take his less sophisticated love interest to the opera to impress and cultivate her. Sure enough, she is wowed by the glamorous surroundings and mesmerized by the performance, while he observes her contently. (See also GirlsStareAtSceneryBoysStareAtGirls.) |
| 27 | |
| 28 | Compare DancesAndBalls and ConcertClimax. See also SnobbyHobbies. |
| 29 | ---- |
| 30 | !!Examples: |
| 31 | |
| 32 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 33 | |
| 34 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 35 | * A [[http://youtu.be/WgxRg3pnBWo Bud Light commercial]] has two men bring bottles of Bud Light to an opera...only to have all the bottles [[GlassShatteringSound burst on them when the Fat Lady hits that one high note]]. Another, more savvy attendee shows that ''he'' brought ''cans''. |
| 36 | [[/folder]] |
| 37 | |
| 38 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 39 | * Episode 11 of ''Anime/NinetyOneDays'' takes place in the brand new playhouse that Vincent Vanetti has spent years and a fortune to build. [[spoiler: Avilio brings down the house when he assassinates Don Galassia in the middle of the performance, causing the Galassias to believe that the Vanettis have betrayed them and sparking off a massive MobWar.]] |
| 40 | * The GrandFinale of ''Anime/BloodPlus'' has the characters heading down to the Opera House to try to stop Diva from carrying out her plan to turn the world into [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Chiropterants]] via song. |
| 41 | * In the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession5BalladOfFallenAngels Ballad of Fallen Angels]]", Faye tracks the leader of the [[TheSyndicate Red Dragons]] to his box at the opera hoping to collect a bounty on him, only to find that he's already been murdered by his subordinate Vicious as part of a trap for Spike. |
| 42 | * ''Manga/Cyborg009'': 009 and 003 go to the ballet early on in episode 34 of the 1979 anime series. As they watch a performance of ''Theatre/{{Giselle}}'', 003, herself a ballerina, imagines herself in the role. |
| 43 | * ''Manga/EmmaAVictorianRomance'', being set in 1890s London, has several upper-class characters spend time at the opera. It's one of William and Eleanor's first dates. |
| 44 | * ''Anime/{{Gankutsuou}}'': Albert's first meeting with the Count [[spoiler: and when he gets the pocketwatch]] as well as the first time he sees Haydee. |
| 45 | * ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. Rico and Henrietta assassinate two men during a performance of ''Theatre/{{Tosca}}'' at the Teatro Reale dell'Opera, with the girl's handlers explaining the plot to them. Back at the compound, Claes and Triela muse over how Rico and Henrietta would react if they saw the opera, and Claes even recites Tosca's Cry to God aria. When they return, Rico and Henrietta just say they hadn't paid much attention as they were working, being more interested in what their handlers thought of their performance. |
| 46 | -->'''Claes:''' ''(quoting Tosca)'' I lived for my art, I lived for love... |
| 47 | * In episode 61 (appropriately titled "Invitation to an Opera") of ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'', the Supreme Chairman of the [[TheFederation Alliance]] High Council is supposed to watch an opera together with the [[TheEmpire Imperial]] consul before he got himself kidnapped by rebelling soldiers. The Imperial consul watching the opera alone was not pleased about the chairman's tardiness. |
| 48 | * Done to a very small extent near the beginning of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', where Zechs debriefs Treize whilst the latter is at what appears to be an opera. |
| 49 | * ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': ''The Noahtic'' takes place on a cruise ship and centers around a ballet performance of ''Theatre/{{Giselle}}''...not that the performance is given much attention when the focus is on William contriving to reveal a Blitz Enders as a murderer on the ballet stage itself. |
| 50 | [[/folder]] |
| 51 | |
| 52 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 53 | * ''ComicBook/BatmanHush'': Bruce, Selina, Dr. Thomkins and Dr. Elliot are attacked by Harley Quinn while attending an opera at the Gotham Opera House. |
| 54 | * In Creator/AlanMoore's ''Lost Girls'', the final scene of part one is a visit to the opera, which is mostly an excuse for a bizarre, drug-addled initiation of Wendy into the pleasures of homo-eroticism. |
| 55 | * ''ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}'': Janet and Jack used to like to attend the opera together with Tim before Janet's death. Tim himself ends up at the Opera House after it's been heavily damaged by the quakes that triggered ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'', attending a vaudeville style production since the abandoned house has been taken over by artsy types who give out free food and let almost anyone perform, from poetry readings, to short plays, piano recitals, and comedy acts. |
| 56 | [[/folder]] |
| 57 | |
| 58 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 59 | * Set in December 2009, ''Roleplay/AbsitOmen'' featured a wizarding Winter Opera in which all the in-character attention was focused on those observing the event from the box seats, with the play described only in brief snippets...until the critical moment when the night took a turn for the worse. |
| 60 | * ''Fanfic/ArcPhantoms'': The prologue takes place during an operatic performance in Academia, where the readers get the first glimpse of PhantomThief Yuya Sakaki. |
| 61 | * ''Fanfic/EarthAndSky'': In chapters 12 and 13, Twilight, Rarity and co. attend a production of ''[[Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung The Ring Of The Neighbelung]]'' starring Sweetie Belle as personal guests of the Princesses. This gives them the opportunity to present the Princesses with the concept of the flight harness. |
| 62 | * In ''Fanfic/ASagaOfParallelWorlds'', Ted Woolsey meets the actors for [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Draco and Ralse]] at a performance of ''Theatre/TheMarriageOfFigaro''. The resulting vocalized Dream Oath Opera became the signature scene of the cartridge SNES game ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''. |
| 63 | [[/folder]] |
| 64 | |
| 65 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 66 | * Used in the Don Bluth movie of ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'', the Parisian Ballet is used as the setting of a few important revelations and fights -- and the ballet is the [[ShowWithinAShow extremely apt]] ''Cinderella.'' |
| 67 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Charlotte|2021}}'''s first scene: Charlotte and her family attend an opera in 1935 Berlin, which is interrupted by members of the Nazi party attempting to drive out Jews in the audience. The brutality of this is contrasted by the high-class setting. |
| 68 | * The climax of ''WesternAnimation/MickeyDonaldGoofyTheThreeMusketeers'' takes place at the opera. |
| 69 | ** Speaking of, the movie has a RunningGag in which, whenever Pete mentions the opera, the scene cuts to a poster showing the spectacle that was meant to play at the opera, and a fanfare plays. Pete even breaks the fourth wall on one occasion: |
| 70 | --> '''Pete:''' "That little ditty's startin' to grow on me!" |
| 71 | [[/folder]] |
| 72 | |
| 73 | [[folder:Films -- Live Action]] |
| 74 | * ''Film/{{Amadeus}}'' naturally has several opera scenes: over the course of the film, we see bits of performances of ''The Abduction from the Seraglio'', ''Theatre/TheMarriageOfFigaro'', ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute'', and ''Theatre/DonGiovanni'' by Mozart, as well as the finale of Salieri's ''Axur, Re d'Ormus''. For the central characters--Salieri and Mozart--these are work, but the character of the 18th-century Viennese opera night is expressed rather well--that is to say, rich people in fancy dress chatting and drinking and only half-paying attention to the action onstage, with the ones who had their own boxes getting dinner served and sometimes drunkenly tossing orange peels and other refuse onto the audience below. |
| 75 | * ''Film/BatmanBegins'' eschews sending the Wayne family to the usual movie (Tyrone Power in ''Franchise/{{Zorro}}'') and instead has Thomas and Martha Wayne mugged and killed leaving the opera early. (The opera in question is ''Theatre/{{Mefistofele}}'' by Arrigo Boito, which shows thought from the writers: a lazy writer would probably have gone with ''Theatre/DieFledermaus'' for the name, but ''Mefistofele'' is much more thematically appropriate.) |
| 76 | * In a very unsettling subversion of the trope, ''Film/{{Birth}}'' has Nicole Kidman's character visiting the opera, and has the camera focus on her face alone for ''three full minutes'' while she seemingly undergoes a [[HeroicBSOD complete moral breakdown]]. |
| 77 | * In ''Film/Catwoman2004'', villain George Hedare takes his mistress to a Creator/CirqueDuSoleil-style performance; the latter is bored and leaves... just in time for the heroine to take her place in the private box and confront him. She dodges the security officers by jumping onto the stage and scrambling up the back wall; the audience thinks she's AllPartOfTheShow and applauds. |
| 78 | * ''Film/TheClimax'' centres around the opera, and the climax takes place during the opening night of an operetta that has not be staged for 10 years. |
| 79 | * ''Film/TheConstantNymph'': Lewis' new piece ''Tomorrow'' plays in a London opera house, but he doesn't really want to be there since he has left his love, Tessa, back home. |
| 80 | * In ''Film/TheDeparted'', Boston mob boss Frank Costello attends the opera with a hooker on either arm, and has the sextet from ''Lucia di Lammermoor" as his ringtone. |
| 81 | * ''Film/TheFifthElement'' has Korben and Ruby attend a literal SpaceOpera onboard the Luxury Liner. |
| 82 | * The Creator/ChevyChase suspense-comedy ''Film/FoulPlay'' ends with [[spoiler: a plot to assassinate the Pope at a performance of ''Theatre/TheMikado''.]] |
| 83 | * In ''Film/TheGettingOfWisdom'', Laura attends an opera performance with her music teacher Evelyn, [[TeacherStudentRomance with whom she's become romantically involved]]. There she meets Evelyn's friend Jim Meredith, causing her to become jealous when she incorrectly assumes that the two are involved in an intimate relationship when in reality they're JustFriends. |
| 84 | * The final scene of ''Film/TheGodfatherPartIII''. Anthony Corleone makes his debut in ''Theatre/CavalleriaRusticana'', while Michael and Kay seem to be reconciling and ready to start again. This is quickly overshadowed by the several deaths after his performance, including that of his daughter Mary, which is what finally breaks Michael's spirit. |
| 85 | * In ''Film/GuardingTess'', they went to the opera. She falls asleep, and Doug accidentally knocks her over instead of waking her up. |
| 86 | * In ''Film/{{Hannibal}}'', the title character attends an opera (a fictional adaptation of Dante's ''La Vita Nuova'') while in Florence. |
| 87 | * Connor [=MacLeod=] in the second ''Film/HighlanderIITheQuickening'' film attends a performance of ''[[Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung Gotterdammerung]]'', during which he has a flashback and introduces an [[FanonDiscontinuity extremely unpopular]] element to the series. |
| 88 | * Film/JamesBond: |
| 89 | ** In ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'', Bond meets his contact Saunders during a concert in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. He is assigned to aid the defection of a KGB officer, General Koskov, covering his escape from the concert hall during the orchestra's intermission. |
| 90 | ** ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' has a memorable sequence during a performance of ''Theatre/{{Tosca}}'', which the members of [[TheSyndicate Quantum]] use to have a HideInPlainSight conference, [[OvertRendezvous communicating via earpieces during the performance]]. |
| 91 | * In a flashback sequence in ''Film/TheLostWeekend'', Don and Helen go to see ''Theatre/LaTraviata'' at the Met. Unfortunately for Don, the first aria of that opera is a drinking song, and he sits the rest of the opera out because the sight of everyone but him holding drinking glasses is too much to bear. |
| 92 | * ''Film/TheLoveParade'' (1929) has a scene where Queen Louise and Alfred attend the opening night of the opera and are forced to hide the strain in their relationship to avoid a scandal that could ruin the country. |
| 93 | * In either of the Hitchcock films ''Film/TheManWhoKnewTooMuch'', the climax of the plot takes place in the Royal Albert Hall during an orchestra's concert. |
| 94 | * ''Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation'': A big chunk of the second act takes place during a performance of ''Theatre/{{Turandot}}'' at the Vienna Opera. |
| 95 | * In ''Film/{{Moonstruck}}'', Ronny (Creator/NicolasCage) invites Loretta (Music/{{Cher}}) to see ''Theatre/LaBoheme'' with him, because he loves her and he loves opera so it would be his two favorite things together. She accepts. |
| 96 | * ''Film/{{Monte Carlo|1930}}'s'' climax is a CatchTheConscience opera [[ShowWithinAShow performance]] of ''Monsieur Beaucaire,'' where the events onstage parallel the heroine's life a little too closely for her comfort. |
| 97 | * Like the title says, ''Film/ANightAtTheOpera'' features an opera, namely Verdi's ''Theatre/IlTrovatore.'' The Creator/MarxBrothers show up and the opera is PlayedForLaughs, including a baseball game in the orchestra pit. |
| 98 | * In ''Film/PrettyWoman'', Edward takes Vivian to see ''Theatre/LaTraviata'', in the "cultured Gentleman introduces an uncultured woman to the fine things of life" version. She is, of course, enraptured. |
| 99 | * The TropeNamer is ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera''. There are several performances, but only two of them are shown, and then only because plot-relevent things occur during them; throughout the event, the main focus is what goes on backstage and in the audience. "At The Opera Tonight" is the name of the song leading up to the climax, sung by seven different characters all separately preparing to use the Genetic Opera as a stage to settle their grievances - exactly ''none'' of them are planning to just watch the show. |
| 100 | * A portion of ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'' sees Holmes attempt to stop a plot from going off at an opera production of ''Theatre/DonGiovanni'', with portions of DG's score even written into Music/HansZimmer's movie score. The entire opera plot ends up being a RedHerring, however, as when Holmes finds his way to the centerpiece of the plot, he finds a [[ChessMotifs chess piece]] left there by Moriarty, who gives him a gloating nod from his box. The real plot was elsewhere. |
| 101 | * In ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Anakin and Palpatine have a key conversation while attending...a SpaceOpera. |
| 102 | * The Polish film ''Sala Samobojcow'', or ''Film/SuicideRoom'', begins and ends at the opera. It opens with Dominik's family watching a performance. Later in the story, when they visit again, [[spoiler: Dominik has a breakdown, tells his parents he is gay and promptly begins making out with a marble bust.]] In a sad sort of symmetry, the story ends at the opera [[spoiler: after Dominik's suicide]] with his parents sitting in separate boxes. [[spoiler: They are now divorced.]] |
| 103 | * ''Film/TheTalentedMrRipley'' has a tense scene at the Roman opera where the titular character pretends to be two different people to keep up his ruse [[spoiler: of identity theft and murder.]] |
| 104 | * In ''Film/TheUntouchables1987'', UsefulNotes/AlCapone is seen attending an opera when Frank Nitti comes up and whispers the news that [[spoiler:Jim Malone has been killed]]. |
| 105 | * In ''Film/VigilanteDiaries'', the Vigilante abducts Andreas and Red from their box in the opera house because it is the one time he can get at them without having to go through Andreas' full security. |
| 106 | [[/folder]] |
| 107 | |
| 108 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 109 | * The beginning of Edith Wharton's ''Literature/TheAgeOfInnocence'' is a long look of this trope and a chance to get to know the setting. This setting is revisited a few times. Also, Wharton discusses how the crowd chatters as a matter of course during certain songs, but remain obediently quiet for the important songs. |
| 110 | * Lampooned in ''Literature/TheBaroqueCycle''. Nobody who's anybody in the time of Louis XIV attends an opera to watch the ''actors''; don't be absurd. |
| 111 | * In the ''Literature/YoungBond'' novel ''Literature/ByRoyalCommand'', with the noise from the opera masking his work, Wrangel picks up Gräfin Frieda von Schlick in her box, breaks her neck, and throws her over the balcony, making it seem that she died from the fall. |
| 112 | * Creator/HonoreDeBalzac used this trope to extremes. In almost every episode of ''Comédie Humaine'', the characters go to the opera for flirting or to make a scandal about their screwed up marriages and liaisons. The performances are unimportant, but usually some Rossini. Also, ''A Harlot High And Low'' opens with an opera ball. |
| 113 | * This is done early in ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' with people paying more attention to who's in the other boxes (one of whom is the mysterious count himself) than to anything happening on the stage. A bit of TruthInTelevision - at the time that the story is set, the opera itself was often incidental to the social act of simply being there and being seen (though the Count is very much there for the music). |
| 114 | * In ''Literature/DiplomaticImmunity'', Miles and Ekaterin go to the Minchenko Ballet. They enjoy the show, but the main purpose was to be seen. |
| 115 | -->"But there's no point in being seen enjoying their art if we just look like any other anonymous downsiders. Tonight, I think we should both look as Barrayaran as possible." |
| 116 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': |
| 117 | ** While what's happening on (and behind) the stage in ''Literature/{{Maskerade}}'' is ''very'' important, there is a nod to this trope; Granny observes that most of the audience is there to be ''seen'', not to watch. One significant minor character is a young social-climber who's dragged his mother along, and has also got a booklet that summarises the plot, since he's been told it's unlikely anyone in the audience would figure it out during the show. |
| 118 | ** ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'' has Vimes attending a dwarf opera with his wife, along with various other diplomats and dignitaries. He spends more time working out who among the audience is on his suspect list and why, and his main reaction to the opera (which depicts the creation of the stolen coronation artifact, the Scone of Stone) is to wonder which dwarf in the love story is which, as both dwarf sexes traditionally wear chainmail and have beards. The plot, which Sybil knows very well, does play a key role in the book's climax. |
| 119 | * In ''Literature/{{Evelina}}'' by Frances Burney, there's an opera scene mainly to show off how uncultured most of the other characters are. |
| 120 | * ''Exit Strategy'' book 1 of the Nadia Stratford series by Kelley Armstrong, has a large sequence revolving around an opera performance. Montage revolving around getting ready? Check. Montage of pretty people in pretty opera-attending clothing? Check. Everyone absolutely ignoring the performance, instead watching the rest of the crowd? TRIPLE-check. |
| 121 | * In ''Literature/MadameBovary'', [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bovaries_at_the_opera.jpg Charles takes his wife to the opera,]] but that is unfortunately where she starts another affair. |
| 122 | * In ''Literature/{{Overenskommelser}}'' by Creator/SimonaAhrnstedt, protagonists Beatrice and Seth first meet each other during an evening at the Stockholm Opera. |
| 123 | * In Libba Bray's ''[[Literature/GemmaDoyle Rebel Angels]]'' Felicity, Gemma, Pippa, and Ann all go to the opera. The important plot point there actually happens in the powder room, and in the lobby later all are focused on who's accompanied them and not the opera itself. |
| 124 | * ''Literature/TheScarletPimpernel'' has a people-socialising-at-the-opera scene. |
| 125 | * ''Literature/TheSevenPerCentSolution'' includes a trip to the Vienna Opera by Holmes, Watson, and UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud. The opera itself only matters insofar as Watson and Freud are terrifically bored by it--more important is who else is attending that night... |
| 126 | * The protagonist, AmateurSleuth priests of ''Literature/SmallerAndSmallerCircles'' go one night to the Cultural Centre of the Philippines—ostensibly for a Mozart concerto, but actually to meet a head of the foundation funding their forensic research. This being the Philippines, a lot of high-society figures are also seen visibly milling about, showing off their baroque finery and judging others'. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure NBI Director Lastimosa]] and his family are also in attendance, as is the SinisterMinister Cardinal Meneses. |
| 127 | ** In this case the performance isn't even needed except as a pretext to get several characters together; all the relevant scenes happen in the lobby before it even begins. |
| 128 | ** Setting up the scene in such a way that the performance was never actually depicted had a very practical benefit in the film adaptation, as it saved the production crew the whole expense of awaiting or staging an entire performance just for the sake of the movie. |
| 129 | * In one of the ''Literature/TalesOfTheCity'' books by Armistead Maupin, two minor characters meet in the men's room of the opera house on Opening Night. One is doing coke, and the other reveals that he always replaces his hearing aid with a small radio and listens to a baseball game throughout. |
| 130 | * ''Literature/TheThinkingMachine'': In "The Problem of the Opera Box", Van Dusen investigates when a young woman is stabbed to death while surrounded by her family in a opera box during a performance of ''Theatre/IlTrovatore''. |
| 131 | * Occurs in ''Literature/VenusInFurs'' when Wanda learns that Alexis Papadopolis (whom she has only just met) will be attending the Nicolini Theater. She immediately sends the subservient Severin to reserve a box at the same showing. According Severin, she and Alexis ignore the performance and spend the whole evening making eyes at each other: |
| 132 | -->I saw her in her box dressed in blue moire, with a huge ermine cloak about her bare shoulders; he sat opposite. I saw them devour each other with their eyes. For both of them the stage, Goldoni's ''Pamela'', Salvini, Marini, the public, even the entire world, were non-existant to-night. |
| 133 | * ''Literature/WarAndPeace'' includes a scene where various characters socialise at the opera, with dramatic consequences for some of them. |
| 134 | * In ''Literature/WhereAngelsFearToTread'' Philip, Harriet and Caroline attend a performance of Lucia Di Lammermoor in a provincial Italian opera house. PlayedForLaughs as Harriet's BritishStuffiness is offended. |
| 135 | [[/folder]] |
| 136 | |
| 137 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 138 | * In ''Series/{{Angel}}'''s "[[Recap/AngelS03E13WaitingInTheWings Waiting in the Wings]]", the characters went to the ballet and incidentally showed the world that Creator/SummerGlau could act. |
| 139 | * On ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'' one of their few outings involves this. They attend a ballet in "The Erotic Dreams of Mrs Slocombe." Appropriately enough ... |
| 140 | --> '''Nurse:''' What ballet you are going to see?\ |
| 141 | '''Cpt. Peacock:''' ''TheNutcracker [[DoubleEntendre Suite.]]'' |
| 142 | * ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' had an episode where [[SternTeacher Mr. Feeny]] takes [[TheDitz Eric]] to the opera in an attempt to instill an appreciation for culture in him. Eric is bored out of his mind, but just as he's about to give up and leave, "Music/RideOfTheValkyries" begins to play, which he recognizes as [[WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc "Kill Da Wabbit."]] From that point on, he's utterly enthralled, to Feeny's exasperation. |
| 143 | * In ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' episode "[[Recap/CheersS4E22DianeChambersDay Diane Chambers Day]]", Diane takes some of the other characters along. They all, Diane included, end up sound asleep. |
| 144 | * ''Series/{{CSINY}}'': |
| 145 | ** Downplayed in "[[Recap/CSINYS02E13 Risk]]," when Lindsay shows up to a scene in a formal dress, having been called in while seeing an opera with some friends. |
| 146 | ** In "[[Recap/CSINYS03E07 Murder Sings the Blues]]," Peyton takes Mac to the opera for his birthday. He gets called to a crime scene during the standing ovation, interrupting the rest of her surprise plans for him. |
| 147 | ** Subverted for drama in the 9/11 10th anniversary tribute, "[[Recap/CSINYS08E01 Indelible]]." The opening is a flashback of Mac & Claire getting ready for work on the morning of 09/11/01. He surprised her with opera tickets for that very evening, but, of course, they never got to use them. At the end of the episode, he is revealed to have saved the tickets for 10 years, finally letting go of them in the tide as his way of saying good-bye to Claire. |
| 148 | * One episode of ''Series/CupcakeWars'' was about the LA Opera's revival of ''Theatre/LaBoheme''. |
| 149 | * In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie TV movie]], we first meet "Amazing Grace" Holloway in the audience of ''Theatre/MadameButterfly'' when she gets paged to operate on the Doctor. |
| 150 | * Given how often opera is mentioned on ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', the characters attend it on screen surprisingly little. Though they often mention trips to the opera, and/or meet in Frasier's apartment before a performance. (It's likely the budget of a sitcom just didn't cover lots of extras in fancy dress on many occasions). |
| 151 | ** In the episode "Hot Ticket", Frasier and Niles see the last play by a notable theater actor. But they care more about the prestige of the play than the content, so rather than admit they had to miss it, they fake seeing the play. Frasier manages to bluff seeing it to the actor himself, who laments how people often care more about such things because they are fashionable than caring about the art itself. |
| 152 | * ''Series/{{Hannibal}}'' uses this for one episode. The title character attends a performance (benefiting world hunger), and runs into a patient. |
| 153 | * The pilot for ''Series/{{Harlots}}'' has Margaret taking her daughter Lucy to the opera...so that the men in the audience can bid on her virginity. |
| 154 | * In the ''Series/HumanTarget'' episode "Imbroglio", Chance and Ilsa try to protect her sister-in-law when a hostage situation develops at the opera. |
| 155 | * The ''Series/GossipGirl'' episode "The Tantrum of the Opera". |
| 156 | * ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': |
| 157 | ** "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder In Throes of Increasing Wonder...]]": The first opera Louis de Pointe du Lac and Lestat de Lioncourt attend together is ''Theatre/{{Iolanta}}''. Louis is so dazzled by the performance that he was "near weeping when the curtain fell," while Lestat prefers to study the [[PrettyBoy gorgeous facial features]] of his LoveInterest despite being an opera aficionado. |
| 158 | ** "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E2AfterThePhantomsOfYourFormerSelf ...After the Phantoms of Your Former Self]]": The couple later see ''Don Pasquale'' at a more upscale, formal venue (they dress in tuxedos instead of suits) and Lestat pays for a private box, but the big downside is that black people are barred from entering unless they're a servant of a white person, so Louis must pose as Lestat's valet. Although they were impressed by the soprano Sofia Consoli, their date was marred by the tenor who portrays Ernesto, whose singing was out of tune throughout the show. Lestat decides to [[DisproportionateRetribution punish the tenor by making a meal out of him]]. |
| 159 | * ''Series/JeevesAndWooster'' has an episode where a group of young men, including Wooster, attend an opera and fall asleep. |
| 160 | * In the third episode of ''Series/TheMeetingPlaceCannotBeChanged'', Zheglov and Sharapov go to a performance of ''Theatre/SwanLake'' in order to catch Pen-Master and his accomplice with the goods. Sharapov is unhappy that he has to watch the criminals instead of enjoying the ballet, but Zheglov doesn't care about the performance at all. |
| 161 | * The pilot for ''Series/MurderSheWrote'' has Jessica watching the rehearsal of a murder mystery play, and giving away who the killer is before the first act was up. Some later episodes have her attending plays(occasionally based on her own works) and ballet productions, and inevitably helping solve murders that take place at these events. In one episode, she tells a detective, "There are three things in life that you can never have enough of, Lieutenant; friends, chocolate and theater." |
| 162 | * In ''Series/MyWifeAndKids'', leaving the opera early means the father catches the son trying to get it on with his girlfriend. |
| 163 | * In the 2002 miniseries ''[[Series/Napoleon2002 Napoléon]]'', UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte goes to the opera and other public events in Paris so his enemies, the Austrians and Russians, won't expect his "Grande Armée" as it secretly marches across Europe without him. |
| 164 | * In the first episode of ''Series/ThePalace'', Prince Richard and Prince George weasel out of a [[Music/RichardWagner Wagnerian]] opera to go clubbing -- but they do end up at the opera house later that night, after [[PlotTriggeringDeath their father dies unexpectedly]]. |
| 165 | * Audrey in ''Series/RulesOfEngagement'' accidentally finds out that [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Russel]] is secretly a [[HiddenDepths theatre/musical enthusiast]]. |
| 166 | * ''Series/RumpoleOfTheBailey'': |
| 167 | ** Claude Erskine-Brown is almost defined by his love of opera (specifically [[Music/RichardWagner Wagner]]), but we rarely ever see him attend a live performance. However, it does appear once or twice. |
| 168 | ** Rumpole meets the actual culprit in "Rumpole and the Official Secret" in a box at Covent Garden. |
| 169 | * ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' had an episode at the opera. [[SeinfeldianConversation It focused on how The Maestro kept his pants creased.]] |
| 170 | ** There was also the one where they get tickets for the opera but spend the whole night paranoid about Crazy Joe Davola. |
| 171 | * In one season three episode of ''Series/SexAndTheCity'', Carrie accompanies Charlotte to an opera, only to spot Big there, with the typical drama between them ensuing. |
| 172 | * An episode of ''Series/SisterSister'' has Ray and Lisa go to a performance of ''Theatre/LaBoheme'' with Ray's limo clients. Usually Ray is the cultured one and Lisa is the uncultured one, but [[PlayedForLaughs hilarity ensues]] to make it seem like [[MenAreUncultured Ray is the uncivilized one]]. |
| 173 | * ''Series/TheWhiteLotus'': Quentin repeatedly compares Tanya to a tragic Music/GiacomoPuccini heroine. In "That's Amore" he takes her to see ''Theatre/MadameButterfly'' in Palermo and the performance brings her to tears. |
| 174 | * Happened on an episode of ''Series/WillAndGrace'', when Grace confronts Karen by tracking her down in her box at the opera. |
| 175 | -->'''Patron:''' Shh!\ |
| 176 | '''Grace:''' Oh, come on, it's ''Madame Butterfly''. You know how it ends. [GRACE MAKES A KNIFING MOTION] Aah-aah-aah! |
| 177 | [[/folder]] |
| 178 | |
| 179 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 180 | * The Music/SpikeJones song "Pal-Yat-Chee" is a summary of the plot of the opera ''Theatre/{{Pagliacci}}'' told from the perspective of a country-and-western fan trapped in the theatre. |
| 181 | * ''Music/ANightAtTheOpera'' by Music/{{Queen}} references going to a opera for a night too. |
| 182 | [[/folder]] |
| 183 | |
| 184 | [[folder:Radio]] |
| 185 | * ''Radio/TheShadow'': Episode "[[Recap/TheShadowRadioS01E37 The Tenor With the Broken Voice]]" involves a tenor whose voice cracks during a performance of ''Theatre/{{Pagliacci}}''. His career destroyed, the tenor goes insane and decides to kill anyone who tries to sing that part. |
| 186 | [[/folder]] |
| 187 | |
| 188 | [[folder:Standup Comedy]] |
| 189 | * One of Creator/BetteMidler's funniest routines (which she worked into the movie ''Film/{{Beaches}}'') is a song about Otto Titsling ([[UrbanLegends who despite what you may have heard, did not invent the brassiere]]). Bette works in a number of "T"-bombs, but the first verse evokes this trope: |
| 190 | -->Otto Titsling, inventor and kraut\ |
| 191 | Had nothing to get very worked up about\ |
| 192 | His inventions were failures, his future seemed bleak\ |
| 193 | He fled to the opera at least twice a week |
| 194 | [[/folder]] |
| 195 | |
| 196 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 197 | * In the stage adaptation of ''Theatre/{{Anastasia}}'', all the main characters' plots converge at a performance of ''Theatre/SwanLake''. |
| 198 | * In ''Manga/BlackButler the Musical II: A Thousand Souls and a Fallen Shinigami'', the antagonists' big plan is set to be enacted at an operatic performance, and all of the characters are invited and dress up for it. The program includes Olympia's aria from Les Contes d'Hoffmann, and Ciel comments that at least Viscount Druitt has good taste in music. |
| 199 | * ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac'' begins at the Burgundy Hotel, a Parisian theater. The public was going to see ''[[ShowWithinAShow La Clorise]]'', but before it begins, all they really want is to play cards, drink wine, eat food, brawl with each other, tease girls, play funny pranks, and work (some pickpocketing). |
| 200 | * In ''Theatre/DreamGirl'', Clark asks Georgina out to the opening night of a production of ''Theatre/{{The Merchant of Venice}}'' where an old college friend of hers is playing Portia. Georgina also claims to have played Portia in high school, back when she wanted to be an actress, and takes over the role from the actress in a DreamSequence. |
| 201 | * The purpose of The Opera in ''Theatre/NatashaPierreAndTheGreatCometOf1812'' is introducing Natasha to Anatole. The minutes of the performance that we see are...odd, and both Sonya and Natasha are disturbed by it. |
| 202 | [[/folder]] |
| 203 | |
| 204 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 205 | * ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' sets its first mission in a revival performance of ''Theatre/TheBeggarsOpera'' in the 1750s. Haytham Kenway is set to perform an assassination there, and has to leave the area unnoticed. |
| 206 | * ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has its famous "Aria di Mezzo Carattere", but it's the only part of the show that we see in detail. The plot actually focuses on the party trying to rig a meeting with Setzer and gaining access to his airship by using Celes as a decoy for the ''real'' opera singer, Maria, who Setzer plans to kidnap. And then [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere Ultros]] decides to drop in as well... |
| 207 | ** Also hilarious for some of the party members' reactions to high culture: |
| 208 | --->'''[[RebelPrince Sabin]]''': Huh? Why's everyone singing? |
| 209 | ** In the ROM Hack ''[[https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/1619/ General Leo Edition]]'', the Opera is a retelling of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII''. |
| 210 | * A significant part of ''[[VideoGame/GabrielKnight Gabriel Knight 2]]'' revolves around a fictional lost Wagner opera, "Der Fluch Des Engelhart." The endgame is set the night of the opera's first performance, and focuses both on the trope's regular features, and another character setting things up from the backroom so they can get on stage at the right point. |
| 211 | * The ''VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney'' level "Curtains Down" takes place in an opera house where one of your targets was in a rehearsal of ''Theatre/{{Tosca}}''. The other target was watching the other guy do the rehearsal of ''Tosca''. |
| 212 | * The boss of the third world of ''VideoGame/MarioPlusRabbidsKingdomBattle'' is the mysterious [[spoiler:Tom Phan]], an opera-singing ghost who's invincible while he's under the spotlight. Mario and co. have to knock out the spotlights before beating him. |
| 213 | * ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}}'' has the Opera House level, which involves samurai, ninja and beetle-things trying to kill Daniel - and him killing them. |
| 214 | * ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' begins with the heroine attending an opera, where the audience gets killed and the opera singer turns into a monster. [[BookEnds The final scene]] is an IronicEcho of this. |
| 215 | [[/folder]] |
| 216 | |
| 217 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 218 | * ''VisualNovel/{{Melody}}'' gives the protagonist and title character at a rock opera having some quality bonding time. |
| 219 | [[/folder]] |
| 220 | |
| 221 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 222 | * ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfWiglafAndMordred'' has an arch featuring the entire cast (at the time, anyway) attending a piano concert to see one of the protagonists sisters perform. Of the 73 strips in the arch about three deal with the actual piano performance, most of which involves Wiglaf outperforming the actual pianist. |
| 223 | [[/folder]] |
| 224 | |
| 225 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 226 | * ''Literature/{{Shadow of the Templar}}'' includes a trip to the opera in the fourth novel High Fidelity, [[spoiler:in which Jeremy, Simon, and Team Templar undertake a rescue mission at a performance of ''Theatre/{{Turandot}}'' to save Jeremy's friend Annabelle, who also is his answering service.]] |
| 227 | [[/folder]] |
| 228 | |
| 229 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 230 | * The ''WesternAnimation/AaahhRealMonsters'' episode "Rosh O' Monster" has Ickis, Krumm and Oblina recount how they scared an opera house full of humans. |
| 231 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': Shortly after becoming a Councilor, [[NaiveNewcomer Jayce]] is invited to see a concert with the musician playing an [[BizarreInstrument instrument that looks like a violin with a tuba coming out the back]]. There, Mel convinces him the necessity of smoozing and making corrupt deals with the other councilors for his own survival. [[ScienceHero Heimerdinger]] is the only councilor focused on the performance, and he's having a great time. |
| 232 | * The ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' episode "Lights, Camera, Opera" in which Muffy's father plans to take her to see ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' but Muffy worries if she can stay awake through it, let alone enjoy it. Features a guest performance by actual opera star Rodney Gilfry. |
| 233 | * ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': In the Book 3 episode "The Ember Island Players" Team Avatar attends a play based on their adventures put on by the titular players. Watching their various struggles brings various insecurities to the forefront such as Aang and Katara's [[WillTheyOrWOntThey uncertainty about the status of their relationship]], Zuko's shame at his treatment of his uncle, and Aang's worry that he will not be powerful enough to beat [[BigBad the Firelord]]. The gang minus Toph are also upset about how they are written and portrayed onstage. |
| 234 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Peter gets dragged to the ballet; he's so bored he ends up exchanging texts with Quagmire. |
| 235 | * The debut episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' ("The Flintstone Flyer") has Fred faking a relapse of an injury he suffered earlier so he and Barney can get out of going to the opera with Wilma and Betty and participate in a bowling tournament. |
| 236 | * WesternAnimation/HeckleAndJeckle gatecrash their way into a performance of ''The Barber of Seville,'' leading to a merry chase throughout the theatre with Chesty the usher in pursuit. |
| 237 | * ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' has a MusicalEpisode where the class goes to see ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}.'' First [[NiceGuy Arnold]], then [[LovingBully Helga]] fall asleep and imagine their own romantic fantasies playing out in the story, sprinkled with references to ''Theatre/{{Pagliacci}}'' and ''Music/RideOfTheValkyries'' as well. |
| 238 | * ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': the essential classic "Rabbit of Seville" has Bugs and Elmer not only at the opera, they're ''in'' it as well. Since it is purely spur of the moment as it started as a typical hunter-vs.-prey chase, everything is being improvised to great hilarity. The later "What's Opera, Doc?" indicates everything has been meticulously and painstakingly rehearsed. |
| 239 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': |
| 240 | ** In "For Bros About to Rock", a flashback depicts [[ChildProdigy Lisa]] and [[TheRockStar Luna]] at the opera, apparently to see ''Die Walkure''. Luna gets bored by Act II and attempts a stage dive into the orchestra pit, causing Brunnhilde to swoon. |
| 241 | ** In "Future Tense", Mr. and Mrs. Loud attempt to make their kids more "well-rounded" by taking them to the opera (this time it's ''Theatre/TheBarberOfSeville''). As a CallBack to "For Bros About to Rock", Lisa's the only one who seems to be interested. |
| 242 | * In ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw,'' [[BornUnlucky Milo]] and his friends attend the opera for extra credit while his crush, [[ScheduleFanatic Amanda]], does it for fun. Since Amanda mentions that she ''really'' doesn't want anything to go wrong, Milo spends most of the time backstage, trying and failing to prevent all the chaos [[HereditaryCurse Murphy's Law]] [[TheJinx causes during the performance]]. Given that Milo is played by [[Music/WeirdAlYankovic a famous singer]], wanna bet whether or not he's eventually PushedInFrontOfTheAudience? |
| 243 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Sweet and Elite," we see Rarity attending an opera during a musical montage of her mingling with Canterlot's upper crust. |
| 244 | * The ''WesternAnimation/OggyAndTheCockroaches'' episode "A Night at the Opera" features Jack as the headliner of an opera, with Dee Dee attempting to shove his way into the spotlight, all while Oggy stops him, along with Joey and Marky, from ruining his cousin's night from behind the scenes. |
| 245 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' go to a performance of Wagner's ''Theatre/RingCycle'' in "A Fright at the Opera," though not for their own enjoyment: the opera house has an infestation of real, ghostly Valkyries. |
| 246 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' have attended several theatrical performances. Lisa and Marge will be paying attention while Bart and Homer usually get bored. Lisa, being a eight-year-old child, occasionally joins Bart and Homer in their shenanigans (or at least laughs with/at them). |
| 247 | ** In the trilogy "Magical History Tour" where Bart plays Wolfgang Theatre/{{Amadeus}} Mozart, Lisa (as Salieri) dopes the Emperor during a Mozart performance so he falls asleep, leading the fops in the audience to follow the Emperor's lead. |
| 248 | ** The film "The Poke of Zorro" that the Simpsons [[ShowWithinAShow go to see]] is a [[AnachronismStew Historical Mash-up]] wherein Franchise/{{Zorro}} saves the life of the Myth/KingArthur at the opera house (after fighting Literature/TheThreeMusketeers, Film/TheManInTheIronMask, ninjas, and Literature/TheScarletPimpernel) and is proclaimed the new king of England. |
| 249 | * WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry take their battle to an opera house in "Carmen Get It," where Tom has to sneak in as where Jerry got in undetected. |
| 250 | [[/folder]] |
| 251 |
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