Last week’s artist, Amanda Hick, was one to remember. Amanda was extremely entertaining and lively. The way Amanda spoke about opera was wonderful; you could really tell that she loved the art form, including its history. I appreciated that she gave a mini-lesson on opera because it’s something I never quite understood. Opera has changed over time and has gone through many periods. Amanda spoke about the many opera music genres and made the distinction between them very clear and easy to understand. Amanda said her favorite is Romantic opera, which I also found interesting to learn about and listen to. The music she played from this era, which I believe was called Aida, was one of my favorite music clips she showed us. Amanda also mentioned live animals in the finale scenes of this opera, which is genuinely fascinating. But my favorite style has to be minimalist opera. The music she played from this genre was something that I could imagine myself listening to willingly. I’ve never gone to see an opera, but Amanda made me feel welcome to learn and experience opera together. When I was still in high school, I would walk past the Met every day on my way to school, yet I never considered seeing an opera. Thanks to Amanda, I have a new appreciation for opera, and maybe one day I will finally go see one.