Opera has been considered one of the highest forms of performance art for more than 400 years, and in the modern age many people have rather lost touch with it.

Big surprise? Not at all. It’s not that opera has gone the way of the dodo; in fact there are high-definition opera broadcasts and screening opportunities at many local cinemas; many cities have opera houses; and operas are performed around the world probably every night of the year.

The Sydney Opera House

So why is opera generally regarded as highfalutin-fancy-pants stuff that only snobs and Europeans even care about?

The biggest factor is the media, or the numerous types of media, that have driven innovation and styles over the last 150 years. Once music, concerts, plays, and operas could be recorded and listened to at another time, people started to have a much wider range of access and knowledge on the performing arts, thus driving desires for something new.

If you think about it, the television show Glee is as popular as it is for the same reasons Handel, Wagner, and Strauss were (or are): because they provided entertainment that the masses wanted.

We just happen to have more masses and more entertainment now, so certain types will be more popular (and more easily accessible) to the modern audience. But opera (and its modern descendent, the musical) still holds a very special place as a difficult performing art that requires acting skill while also engaging some of the best singers in the world.

‘Rigoletto’ as performed by the San Diego Opera

Not to mention wearing costumes that would make film actors grumble while doing this live on stage, every night, with no chance to say “cut!” Meaning it has to be as perfect as possible or the egg is on your face.

While we may lament the fact that opera is often in an incomprehensible foreign language (translated performances have generally gone out of style), and the beats do not compare to a Beyoncé concert (though the orchestration is usually superb), opera is still rightly regarded as fine art. However, the general population might not describe it as a popular, preferring to watch Jersey Boys or shuffling through the latest Taylor Swift album on iPhones.

This is nothing new to any artistic medium, the latest and most modern often gets an unfair amount of attention. The Apple Watch, which technically is barely functional as a stand-alone device, has gotten ridiculous amounts of coverage because it pushes the boundaries of what the public is familiar with.

But there are others out there pushing different boundaries while being to the watch world what the opera is to the performing arts world.

Opera by Manufacture Royale

Player of “note”

One such brand is Manufacture Royale, which stands poised to become a player of note on the scene, but since it plays by some different rules than the likes of Rolex (or even Hublot), it remains sadly under-adored.

Just look at the pieces from the Manufacture Royale Androgyne collection, which is luxury steampunk, and the 1770 collection, which plays more to the moderate watch wearer. They are fantastic with impeccable movements (all featuring tourbillons) and definitive styling cues that make them stand out as a Manufacture Royale timepiece.

Side view of Opera by Manufacture Royale

But the brand’s most controversial, and undoubtedly most incredible, piece is the highly complicated Opera, which features a minute repeater, tourbillon, and, most anachronistically, a hinged telescoping case.

Seeming like something that would be found in 1860 instead of 2010 when it was released, the Opera stands defiant as a unique solution to amplifying sound for the delicate minute repeater mechanism while maintaining the use of luxury materials and not bowing to conservative style sensibilities.

Basically, it’s big, it’s bold, and it rocks. And like the opera (theater), the Opera (watch) is not for everybody. But those that like it love it. I love it. I simply love the idea, which is based on sound (no pun intended) science.

Opera by Manufacture Royale

Sound science

The two problems with many modern minute repeaters are a tightly sealed case, which is required for water resistance, and dense case materials, like gold or platinum, that absorb sound vibrations. If you wanted to make a super quiet watch, then using gold or platinum and sealing up the case good and tight is your best bet.

But it usually makes for a very quiet minute repeater.

Side view of Opera by Manufacture Royale

The entire Opera case unfolds like a bellows, hinged at the bottom. The shape was inspired by the Sydney Opera House, which is also revolutionary in design. The rear of the main case is hinged as well and opens to allow even more sound propagation to occur from the rear-mounted repeater gongs.

This all occurs via a lever on the left side of the case. The exterior case houses three pivoting sleeves and the inner case, which is where the repeater activation slide is mounted.

View through the display back of Opera by Manufacture Royale

There is no dial on the Opera since the movement and the repeater are the stars of the show, regardless of what the case says. The case might tell you that it is the reason that someone has bought a ticket, but we know that we attend to hear the ringing bells.

And they definitely sound good; the telescoping case does its job.