Opera attire?

[carynb]

So, Mr. M & I have tickets to Carmen in a few weeks, and I've got a little dilemma.

What exactly is appropriate attire for an opera these days, anyway?

I was thinking a little black dress for me, and a sport coat & nice shirt for M, but will that have us overdressed? Underdressed? Has anybody been to a performance at the Canadian Opera Company recently and can give me some guidelines? I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

Comments

[suburban-mom.livejournal.com]

so, while I agree that formal attire is de rigeur for the Opera......my question is why?

Why do so many people feel the need to dress up to take in a performance of any sort?

[carynb.livejournal.com]

Why do so many people feel the need to dress up to take in a performance of any sort?

I think people feel the need to dress to match the atmosphere of the performance, more than anything. You wear a hockey jersey to a sports game, goth-ish gear to Nine Inch Nails concert (or, at the very least, jeans & a black t-shirt rather than office wear) and something dressy to a "classical" performance.

Part of it is getting yourself into the right mindset for the performance, I think. It's part of psyching up for it. And part of it's just social convention, if course.

Personally, I'm extremely shy, and have a very strong dislike of standing out for any reason. I'm really a classic wallflower, and am usually happiest - especially in large crowds - when I can fade into the background. The easiest way to do that is to dress the same way everyone else does. It's camouflage. *g*