The Opera, Tosca by Puccini was one to remember. First Opera I ever attended, one of the last days of my first college semester, and all on the day of my birthday. Going into the Opera while knowing that it was going to be a performance that would last around three hours, I became a bit skeptical and honestly was afraid that I might doze off and become uninterested. Thankfully however it became one of the best performances I ever attended. It was nice to see that even if the entire performance was an opera they were still able to add a bit of humor into all of it and give it a nice story. Being in Italian, I originally thought that I would be constantly looking at the screen with the English translations and thus fail to see what the performers were doing but considering that it took them quite a while to fully say each sentence, it all worked out nicely. Of course I don’t mean this in a bad way, I honestly felt that the performers did a fantastic job in executing their roles.

Presentation and location are both also major contributing factors in regards to shows like the Tosca as well. Both of these aspects were spot on, from the Lincoln center with its very classy and professional ambiance and general aura to the manner in which they conducted everything. Events like these are not only limited to the performance but rather the entire experience that you get from attending it. By having a very orderly and professional way of organizing the event, and treating the guests regardless of who they are with respect really made me appreciate the entire experience even more. Small details like the ones that I had mentioned are what make people willing to pay such large amounts for the tickets.

Alongside being an opera where the vocalists were absolutely amazing, I also have to give a lot of the credit to the conductor and the orchestra. They controlled the tempo of the entire performance and were able to give it added emotion through use of multiple musical techniques such as crescendo, vibrato, and an overall grasp over tempo. In regards to the organization of the performance I also really enjoyed the fact that they gave intermissions where they allowed the audience to stand up and grab some fresh air while utilizing the time to create completely different stage set-ups. In doing so I personally felt I was able to come back each time refreshed ready to watch the performance rather than looking back at my watch constantly waiting for it to end.

Overall this performance was one that I very much enjoyed and will truly remember. From the laughs I had during the performance to the ones I had during the intermissions, making the most out of an experience is what matters at the end of the day and I’m happy that I did.