Things I love that other people don't understand

Opera.

Seriously, I love European Opera and a lot of people just don't get it (oddly enough, I really hate Chinese Opera). Part of the reason may simply be due to all the time I spent as a kid watching Warner Bros. cartoons - you gotta appreciate Chuck Jones' use of opera to comic effect, such as Rossini's Barber of Seville in his Rabbit of Seville or Wagner in What's Opera Doc?

Unfortunately the cost of attending a professional opera performance here is fairly prohibitive for someone my age, and there aren't many performances on. Also, in comparison to the the money spent on opera here...its a lot less compared to governments in say, Austria, and receives a lot less in terms of donations compared to New York. My favourite performance where I've been present would be La Vie Parisienne by Offenbach at L'Opéra-Comique in Paris. Sure, it was in french without sur-titles so I only understood about one word in 10, but it was so funny and cheery, plus sitting in the VERY high, VERY narrow, seats up in the roof of an opera house built in the 19th century. *sigh* Those scary, rickety stairs and tiny tiny seats...you can't replicate that kind of experience!

I don't have a favourite aria, but Nessun dorma from Turandot would have to be close. Everyone knows this one - its Pavarotti's signature song, the one all three sing at the end of the 3 Tenors concert. The lyrics are below with english translation - but it sounds a lot better in the original italian.

Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma!
None shall sleep ! None shall sleep!
Tu pure, o Principessa
You too, oh Princess,
nella tua fredda stanza
In your virginal room,
guardi le stelle che tremano
watch the stars
d’amore e di speranza !
trembling with love and hope!

Ma il moi mistero è chiuso in me,
But my secret lies hidden within me,
il nome mio nessun saprà !
No one shall discover my name!
No, no, sulla tua bocca lo dirò,
Oh no, I will reveal it only on your lips
quando la luce splenderà!
When daylight shines forth!
Ed il mio bacio scioglierà
And my kiss shall break
il silenzo che ti fa mia !
The silence that makes you mine!

Dilegua, o notte ! Tramontate, stelle !
Depart, oh night. Set, you stars!
Tramontate, stelle ! All’alba vincerò
Set, you stars! At dawn I shall win!
Vincerò ! Vincerò !
I shall win! I shall win!

Ahhh....the heartfelt voice of the tenor, the backing female chorus, the psycho love lyrics... shivers up my spine ;)