J. Lee Graham

I suppose for the same reason that others elsewhere on these fora are trying to decide the best piano concerto, symphony, composer...even the best single piece of music ever written. It's a pointless exercise, but it's interesting to see what people say. I have trouble narrowing it down that much, and my sensibilities change constantly.

However, I'm a good deal less equivocal when it comes to opera. The question of whether "Figaro" is the greatest opera ever written is open to at least some debate - though some have called it the most perfect. That said, "Figaro" was the first opera I ever heard, and it changed my life.

I saw it when I was 14 in production by a small repertory opera company, in English, accompanied by two pianos. It may not sound like much, but they did a wonderful job. The performance was part of a performing arts series sponsored by the city at the time (hah! those days are long gone...), and it was offered free of charge in a recreation center at a local park. Had it cost anything, my mother wouldn't have taken me to see it...we were too poor. I sat in the front row, no more than 10 feet from the stage, which was only about 18 inches off the ground, so I could see and hear everything perfectly. One by one the musical numbers came and went, each one seemingly more enchanting than the last. I still remember the lump in my throat as the Countess sang her heart-rending aria at the beginning of the second act...the excitement and of the trio in the first act (with Cherubino hiding in the armchair)...the charm of Cherubino's deceptively fine little ditties...the suspense and building tension of the Act II finale...the proud brilliance of Almaviva's grand aria in Act III...the climax and denoument of the Act IV finale, where Almaviva's plot is discovered, he begs his wife for forgiveness, she bestows it tenderly to the marvel of all - and they all run off to make merry for the rest of the night!

The curtain fell on that little performance, and there were 10 minutes of curtain calls. I stood there with tears streaming down my cheeks, and I cried all the way home in the car. That performance of "Figaro" just might be the fondest memory of my life, and I relive it every time I hear it again.

So whether or not it's the greatest opera makes no difference to me. That opera changed me...I'd always been passionate about music, but after that night, I never looked at anything the same way again.