December 2, 2009
Opera Glasses and Reviews: The Phantom of the Opera
Phantom of the Opera is a marvelous performance that will send your feelings through an array of emotions from sadness, happiness, to fright. When planning on attending a performance of the Phantom of the Opera make sure you bring your opera glasses.
The story of the Phantom of the Opera begins in Paris sometime in the’00’s when two men take ownership of an old theater house believed to be haunted by a ghost. The ghost is said to be the spirit of a construction worker of the theater named Erik, who haunts the theater. The truth of the matter is that Erik is very much alive, although severely disfigured from birth. To cover his disfigured face, he wears the mask which has become the symbol of this wonderful performance.
As time goes on the Phantom come to one of the performers; Christine, and tells her that her father who has passed away, has sent him from heaven to give her voice lessons. The Phantom begins to train her through the walls of her dressing room, as these take place over the course of time Christine becomes a remarkable singer, and takes the leading role in the opera.
During a performance one day, while on stage, Christine passes out and Raoul, a childhood friend of Christine who happens to be sitting in the audience comes to her rescue. Raoul falls in love with Christine, and begins to visit with her and bring flowers to her after many performances.
As Christine and Raoul start to fall even more in love, the Phantom; Erik watches and hears all that is happening, finally he decides to meet with Christine face to face. When he shows his face in her dressing room for the first time, he wears the mask that has made this play famous. He then abducts Christine, and takes her through winding tunnels down to his home in the secret catacombs of the opera house.
Christine becomes frightened and angered at Erik and wants to be let go back out into the world. Erik makes a promise to let her go after five days of being with him. Erik gives Christine a tour of his home which if very strange and horrific. Chills will be sent down your spine. Make sure you have your opera glasses out for this moment in the theatre.
During a powerful duet in the performance with Christine and Erik, Christine wonders who this phantom really is, and why he wears this mask over half of his face. Remember to use your opera glasses at this point, as Christine grabs his mask by surprise and takes it off. Erik, now upset, and feeling betrayed, decides that he will not release Christine, and that she will remain there with him always. You will feel at this point, the love that the Phantom has for Christine, and the deep desire he has to feel that love in return.
As the storyline carries on you will continue to be mesmerized by the music and wonderful performance that is given. But to see how The Phantom of the Opera ends, you will have to see it for yourself. This is one performance that you will want to see again and again. The wonderful storyline of the Phantom of the Opera with opera glasses is highly recommended.
Jeff Bridges has always loved the theater and opera, he currently helps run an opera glasses retail site where they sell opera glasses. Including Opera Glasses with handle, flashlight, chain and more!
Filed under travel by Jeff Bridges
Opera Glasses are similar to binoculars but they are made for being able to see performances on stage. In old opera houses seats placed in balconies that were subsequently cheaper were very far away from the stage. In some they were so far away on the figures could be seen from that distance but seeing facial features, and thus part of the acting, was impossible to make out. Opera glasses would enable those people in the peanut gallery to see on stage much better to the point of seeing the facial expressions of the actors or singers. They have been popular since the 50’s.
Opera glasses are different from binoculars as they are made to be smaller and some where made not so much to look utilitarian but to look stylish. Some pop up from a flat looking case and are easily carried in women’s clutch bags or in suit coat pockets. Others fold so that they can easily be carried around without notice. There are some that mimic those of the past with a single rod attached called a lorgnette, so the glasses can be held to the eyes with only one hand. This folds up as well.
Opera glasses are easily purchased even in today’s market. A cheap model may cost under $100 US dollars, at around $50, but they can go up in price to hundreds of dollars. The expensive types will have better optics and magnifications and probably be a little more fashionable as well. Vintage opera glasses can cost increasingly more dollars just because of the fact they are old. Just make sure they still work well.
Often times theaters and opera houses will rent opera glasses for a nominal price. If you go often you may want to consider purchasing your own, but if your visits are infrequent plan on renting. Before purchasing it is a good idea to try out different styles to see what suits you best. There are those people who don’t mind holding them with both hands and some that would prefer using the one hand hold with the rod at the side. You may even find you don’t want to use them as they interfere with the performance or you find it hard to hold them in place.
Opera glasses differ from binoculars in their optical system. Binoculars have a complicated system while opera glasses are simple based on the Galilean optical system invented by Galileo. The image seen is not nearly as sharp as with binoculars but you will still be able to see everything up on stage.
China is the biggest exporter of opera glasses today. Most modern opera glasses have a 3 X magnification that works well in concert halls and auditoriums. There are some that actually go up to 5 X but they cost much more money. Some glasses focus and others don’t. The ones that do not focus usually have a small LED light situated between the barrels for the eye. This is a nice feature to allow you to read the program in limited light without disturbing anyone around you. People with good vision can use these but those who do not should look into the focus type. You can use these with or without glasses or contacts and still be able to see. The focus type will not have this as the focus knob is located between the barrels and there is no room.
Most opera glasses come in a case and especially the antique variety. Some are soft cloth cases and some are hard lined with velvet. Vintage glasses are made of ivory, enamel that was heavily cloisonne?and they might have gems on them or be edged in gold. They were elegant yet supposed to be unobtrusive. Vintage and modern opera glasses make a wonderful gift for those that go to the theater, opera or ballet on a regular basis.
Before you attend any performance make sure that you have a good pair of opera glasses. Here you can check out Opera Glasses with handle, flashlight, chain and more!
categories: Theater,Opera,dance,Arts,performances,Travel and leisure,theater reviews,reviews,entertainment,recreation,hobbies and interest
Filed under travel by Jeff Bridges
If it wasn’t for the Dutch optician Hans Lipperhey, we might not have had either binoculars or opera glasses today. He first started manufacturing simple binoculars in 1608. These were not much more than two telescopes connected by a central bridge, but they led to many further modifications and improvements. His early binoculars had a magnification capability of x3. Within less than a year the Italian mathematician and inventor Galileo Galilee made another drastic stride forward by increasing the magnification ability of telescopes to x30.
Binoculars of the time had one major disadvantage: Despite offering a much wider field of view than a telescope, they made use of convex lenses – which resulted in the image being inverted! It wasn’t before more than 100 years later that Anton Schyrle for the first time manufactured binoculars with an extra lens that re-inverted the image. And it took another–1 years before John Dollond of England solved another big problem that binoculars had – color distortion. He started using achromatic lenses (color free lenses) and thereby solved this problem permanently.
One of the final important developments in binocular technology happened when the Italian gunnery officer Ignazio Porro invented prismatic binoculars, thereby once again increasing the field of vision dramatically and making much larger magnification possible.
Opera glasses are mentioned for the first time in London newspaper advertisements dating back to 1730. These were not binoculars, but small Galilean telescopes. They were both used decoratively and to watch opera with. The bodies were often inlaid with gems, mother of pearl, ivory, enamel and other types of decorations.
Binocular-type opera glasses made their appearance for the first time during the ’20s in Vienna. These early types were basically still only two small telescopes with a connecting bridge. The individual telescopes had to be focused by pulling out the tubes.
These very soon became as much a fashion item as an optical instrument. The designs became more elaborate and had to be worked on by painters, goldsmiths and other artists to create the ultimate fashion accessory. Theater goers not only used this to watch the stage, but also to scrutinize other people in the audience – presumably to see who else had opera glasses!
Within a few years the design was improved to make it possible to simultaneously adjust both lenses. This led to an immediate increase in the popularity of this type of glasses. They also turned into much appreciated gifts – as is apparent when looking at the inscriptions encountered on many opera glasses dating from that period.
The variety of opera glasses available at present is very large. You still get monoculars, which are considered to be very stylish. You also get glasses with built-in reading lights and others with handles. You can even get one with a built-in jealousy glass – enabling you to discreetly watch someone in the audience without being noticed.!
Before you attend any performance make sure that you have a good pair of opera glasses. Here you can check out Opera Glasses with handle, flashlight, chain and more!
Filed under travel by Jeff Bridges
