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Audience FAQS
Where do you Park?
The Tobin Center offers valet parking for $25. There is also a Tobin Center high rise garage at 227 4th Street; the cost of parking is $10. There are other lots near the Tobin Center, most costing about $10 for an evening’s parking. For more information on parking, click here.
How Long is the Opera?
Operas are performed with a total time of under three hours. Usually there are one or two intermissions, lasting no more than 15 or 20 minutes each. It is good to order drinks at the refreshment stands ahead of time and take drinks back to your seat, given the brief intermission.
How Can I Study Before I Go?
If you want to get familiar with the opera ahead of time, we recommend reading the Wikipedia entries on the composer and the opera. OPERA San Antonio posts on its website a playlist of top moments from the opera with links to actual performances on YouTube, in case you would like to get familiar with the music beforehand.
Also, OPERA San Antonio offers a pre-performance talk one hour before the performance, lasting about half an hour. The regular presenter is Professor Kevin Salfen, Professor of Music at UIW. Dr. Salfen gives a great overview of the composer’s life, the plot and characters of the opera, and the distinctive music in the piece. The talk helps the audience feel very comfortable with what they are going to see.
How Will I Know What is Going on if the Opera is in a Foreign Language?
You don’t need to worry. There will be a highly visible screen with “supertitles” which give a complete running translation of the words being sung. It will be very accessible whether or not you have prepared beforehand. The experience of watching an opera has been truly transformed by making it possible for everyone to follow the words.
When is it Appropriate to Clap if I like What I Hear?
Your applause is welcome and very much appreciated by our cast of performers! It is standard practice to clap at the end of large musical numbers, or special solos (“arias”) sung by one character. If you really love a performance, the traditional thing to do is shout “Bravo!” (to men) or “Brava!” (to women). You will feel it is fun to sometime literally give a shout-out.
Are Phones Permitted?
Short answer, yes! However, we ask you keep them on silent during the performance. Taking pictures and live video of the cast as they perform are not permitted. However, selfies in the theater and with friends at the opera are highly encouraged! Tag away.
What Else Should I Expect?
Magic. Opera is a magical combination: a story of people under pressure, a dramatic situation, a fabulous set and costumes, towering symphonic music, and a solo instrument –the human voice – that expresses human emotion as nothing else can do. Come into this magic space and let the emotion and the music give you an experience you will never forget.
(With gratitude for the thinking and writing of Aubry Bergauer, of the California Symphony in Walnut Creek, California)
