It was my first time at an opera and I found the physical setting to be somewhat weird because we were a bunch of kids while the theater was filled with well-dressed adults. However, all the awkwardness aside, I felt that the opera itself was really grand to say the least. The huge stage was filled with massive sets and the opera singers sang really well alongside the talented orchestra that did not receive as much credit. I also liked how enthusiastic the audience was, they would always clap where it was due, well I guess it’s because most of them actually came because they wanted to see it and knew about it.

I didn’t really know what to expect from the opera and how it would work out. The tale in itself seemed interesting but relatively short. I had no idea how they were going to make the story into a grand opera that would last three hours. My favorite part was act two. I actually don’t know why, but I felt that act two had a great deal of action in it, despite Tosca killing herself in the final act. I was really amazed at how quickly they were able to change the entire set during the intermissions. The Opera definitely made a bigger impact on me than just reading the story had. I didn’t really picture that much emotion and expression until I watched the actual opera.

The only problems I had with the opera isn’t really about the opera itself. One thing that distracted me a lot in the beginning was that I found it annoying to look down at my seat to read the translation and then look up at the acting going on in front of me. I wanted to just speak Italian and understand what they were saying so that I wouldn’t have to miss parts of the acting while I was reading the translations. Another annoying part was one of the kids from Staten Island who would constantly complain about people clapping during the opera. He would rant about it every intermission and it ruined my break. However, I feel that the opera was a great experience for me and a great way to end the class because it was such a great one at an amazing place.