opera

It's possible that speech was first song.

That human beings sung to one another, that song was the mainframe of human communication.

It's possible. 

Birds, precursors possibly, were imitated as much for the tonal qualities of their speech as for what they said.

It's possible.

From trees, birds look down on us with pity and disdain, horrified by our behaviors, our poisoinings, our follies, our intermissions when we sip champagne and talk about whether or not the soprano held the high note in Act I.

It's possible.

In the meantime, let us celebrate the story, the composer, the orchestra, the staging, the box seat, the sublime soprano, and especially the field glasses that enable us to see the extraordinary concentration etched on the faces of the singers.