I went to see/hear opera for the first time in my life 3 years ago aged 70. It was Aida at the Verona Arena, the largest capacity (16,000?) functioning Roman arena. It doesn't start til it's dark and goes on for about 3 and a half hours finishing about 0030. I thought I can always leave if it sucks - I was on my own and didn't know what to expect or if I'd be able to follow what was going on though I'd read up on the basic storyline. I just got the cheapest ticket which means you sit on the same stone slabs as the plebs did as they watched all sorts of bloody deaths 2000 years ago, but you can now buy a cheap bit of foam to sit on.
I'd put it in one of the top 10 experiences in my life, maybe top 5. I stayed til the end. The fact that it's night in the open air in an enormous Roman arena creates an amazing atmosphere I can't put into words. There was a simultaneous electronic translation of the libretto in English and I thought it's probably going to be a bit of an iffy one but it wasn't and when it got to the bit where Aida's lover sang the line 'Let me build you a throne next to the sun' my jaw dropped.
I decided to visit Verona every year to see a different opera but Covid put a stop to that but I'm going back to Verona next month to see La Traviata and possibly Carmen too (the annual opera festival lasts nearly 3 months June-Sept and next year is the 100th festival so should be amazing). The scale of the Arena in Verona means hundreds of people can be involved on stage, it's so dramatic and the excitement in the air in the city centre beforehand.
Try an opera, go to Verona.