I am, perhaps, a bit unusual for my love of classicial music, given the general musical tastes of my generation.

After all, they didn’t play much orchestral pieces on MTV.

But I grew up a band kid in school, playing the trumpet from third grade onwards in bothmarching and symphonic bands, so I developed a love for composers such as Wagner and Bach and Beethoven and many others.

Bugs Bunny probably helped, too, as I still can’t hear “The Barber of Seville” without remembering him shaving Elmer Fudd on stage to the sounds of Rossini.

Yet, despite my affection for such music, I’d never actually gone to the opera before. 

Well, this past weekend, I saw my first live opera and it was grand.

My sister, who also enjoys orchestral pieces as the lower school music teacher at George Walton Academy, expressed an interest in seeing an opera when I idly mentioned the idea, so for her birthday, I took her and her oldest daugher, my niece Kara, to see a show from the Atlanta Opera.

Our selection was Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” a light comedic fantasy filled with jokes, puppetry and, of course, a lot of singing, all of it in German.

Luckily, the venue had screens set up with subtitles for all the lyrics, so we were able to follow along with the story just fine.

Not that story is really the point of a show like “The Magic Flute,” which is more about spectacle and musical virtuosity than telling a particulalry deep narrative.

But the spectacle was definitely present, with some breathtaking set design involving moving walls, digital screens and lighting for opticla effects, hidden doors, large props that could lower from above the stage and lots of puppets.

Yes, the dragon in Act 1 looked rather silly, but that just fit in with the tone of the show.

The singing, however, was anything but silly (except when it was meant to be, at least). The famous aria of the Queen of the Night was a particular highlight, but everyone was at the top of their game and it was a fantastic experience to hear them all.

Best of all, not only did my sister love it, given it was her birthday gift (I also bought her some opera glasses, so my position as favorite sibling should be secure for a while, at least), but my niece was also thrilled by the experience.

She’s started band at GWA herself, playing the horn, and between that and the splendour of the opera, maybe we can ensure she becomes a lover of such music, too.

I’m already tempted to go back — there’s a performance of “Siegfried” coming next spring, and I’d love to see Wagner performed live — so this likely won’t be my last opera, either.

Maybe I can tempt my sister and niece back, too, and we can all enjoy the spectacle and music again.

Stephen Milligan is news editor of The Walton Tribune. Email comments to stephen.milligan@ waltontribune.com.