my parents' first date was 'tristan und isolde' (what the hell was my mother thinking?). i saw my first opera when i was three ('la boheme'. to me, coat equaled teddy bear and i was horrified by colline's fate). having majored in music, i'm now a singer and voice teacher. that said, i finally got sick of classical music (it's not like it didn't give it a chance). i think the last classical thing i listened to was either 'meistersinger' (wagner), or steve reich's 'music for mallet instruments'.