Opernneuling Sameer Rahim schreibt im Telegraph in einer neuen Kolumne, wie es ihm als Novize ergeht:

„In a fit of self-improvement, I got out opera CDs from the library and listened with the libretto on my lap. But it was didn’t work: no matter how many times I listened to The Marriage of Figaro I always got distracted. Somehow I could hear that the music was impressive but I never felt it.

I also went to see some live. Knowing that I was taking an interest, a musical friend bought me tickets to a Prom of Verdi’s Macbeth at the Albert Hall. For whatever reason, though, nothing about the performance gripped me. In fact, I think I struggled to stay awake. After that I stopped trying. There was no point faking an interest in something that wasn’t truly touching me.

About a year ago, quite unexpectedly, something changed. I saw an advert on the Telegraph website for English National Opera’s production of Wagner’s Parsifal. I had never heard of this opera and had no idea what to expect but it wasn’t that expensive – £26, the price of a hardback book – and I had nothing better to do that Saturday, so I booked a ticket. Perhaps if I’d known then that Parsifal has the reputation of being Wagner’s slowest and most inaccessible opera I would have been a bit put off. Happily ignorant of this, though, I went along.“