Tosca was the first ballet I’ve been to and it did not disappoint. It was mostly enjoyable, except for the first act which I found a little bit boring. The singing was not as intense as it was in the second and third act. Speaking of singing, Sonda Radvanovsky’s performance was excellent and astounding. Her ability to portray her feelings in her face and her singing was captivating. My favorite part was when she was trying to convince Scarpia that her lover, Cavaradossi, is not hiding Angelotti. Her facial expressions were on point. Before she even said that she knew where Angelotti was hidden, her face showed it all. I knew right at the moment when her face went from strong to an expression of defeat, that she would reveal his location. Another moment I liked was when she stabbed Scarpia. It showed a subtle change of character within her. She went from a vulnerable women to one that was strong and driven. The difference between her personality in Act II and Act III shed new light into how I interpreted the rest of the opera. Even her clothing color changed from a bright red to a bold black. In the third act, she appeared stronger and was more in control of things. She wasn’t just going around and complaining about her problems anymore, she started to take initiative. She was more daring. This was all captured by Radvanovsky’s outstanding performance.

For the most part, this opera was good and to my surprise, not boring. I definitely want to go to more in the future.

I always love cooking because I love to eat! In my free time, I like looking for recipes on the internet that taste great and require minimal ingredients. Today I tried making Twice Baked Potatoes (and for my first time, id say they looked pretty good, and more importantly, tasted good too). But don’t go by me, try making it for yourself! This recipe is easy to make and delicious to eat!

First I washed the potatoes and preheat the over to 350. Then i left them on a pan and let them bake for 1 hour. When they finish baking, cut off the the tops of the potato 3/4s up and scoop out all the insides into a bowl being careful to leave the shells in tact. Mash up the insides and add ingredients to make it creamy. I added milk, butter, salt, pepper, cumin, and some paprika. You can also add some chopped up chives or scallions. This recipe is great because it also allows you to make it however you want with different variations. After that, refill the potato shells with your potato mixture and re-bake for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. When they are finished let them cool and enjoy!!!!

I was looking through Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal’s comics because I was bored. I looked at each one and clicked next pretty quickly, until I came across this one. This one got an actual chuckle out of me. It is basically the artist’s interpretation as to how Macgritte came up with the painting The Treachery of Images. I remember seeing the painting at the Macgritte exhibit at the MoMA and could not really understand the painting. A painting of a pipe with the words “this is not a pipe” was contradictory and so I remember just standing in front of the painting with a really puzzled face. I soon forgot about the painting as I walked around the exhibit. However, after coming across this very funny comic strip, it made me remember how I saw the painting. I accept this artist’s version of why Macgritte decided to come up with his The Treachery of Images.