Though some dismiss opera as old-fashioned; it shows no sign of disappearing from the worldrsquo;s stage. So why do audiences continue to flock to it? Given its association with wealth; one might imagine that opera tickets function as a status symbol. But while a desire to hobnob with the upper crust might motivate the occasional operagoer; for hardcore fans the real answer; according to The Opera Fanatic; is passionmdash;they do it for love.Opera lovers are an intense lot; Claudio E. Benzecry discovers in his look at the fanatics who haunt the legendary Coloacute;n Opera House in Buenos Aires; a key site for operarsquo;s globalization. Listening to the fans and their stories; Benzecry hears of two-hundred-mile trips for performances and nightlong camp-outs for tickets; while others testify to a particular operarsquo;s power to move themmdash;whether to song or to tearsmdash;no matter how many times they have seen it before. Drawing on his insightful analysis of these acts of love; Benzecry proposes new ways of thinking about peoplersquo;s relationship to art and shows how; far from merely enhancing aspects of everyday life; art allows us to transcend it.
#3798948 in eBooks 2012-09-01 2012-09-01File Name: B0094Z34R8
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