Contes D’Hoffman. French. I can do this. It’s gonna be great! In truth, it was great…not because I love French or anything like that, but it was a really interesting experience, and the plot, although confusing, was also interesting.
When we arrived, I was already exhausted, and couldn’t wait to sit down and relax. The beauty of the theater was completely overwhelming, and I caught myself more than once staring, open-mouthed at something beautiful. When Rebecca and I went to the shop and looked at all the beautiful pieces, my mouth dropped open once again upon seeing the price tags. $230 for a bracelet?! These people must be insane! Yet there were still people waiting on line to buy these expensive items. I couldn’t understand it. Anyways, we made our way to our seats, and had just moments to observe the lucky few who had their own box seats before the lights dimmed and the curtains rose.
All of a sudden, I felt myself transcend time into a place completely unfamiliar and strange. The lights, the movement, the music. All these things were common separately, but together they were an almost magical sensation, overwhelming my senses. As I settled into my seat, I fell into the grips of the opera, tearing me between Hoffman’s tragic love affairs. As a young adult, I felt compelled to relate to the heartbreak Hoffman felt after each one of his lovers turned out to be something he never expected. Although this was obviously on a greater level for him, everyone can think of a relationship in which the person they were with turned out to be someone other than who was expected. The repeated disappointments lead to a depression and a feeling of helplessness that most anyone can relate to. Especially the teenagers and young adults of my generation.
Most people my age would think opera? Why the hell would I go to one of those? Me personally, I like to experience things such as opera that everyone else turns their back on. I think most of the students in class were expecting something more boring and creepy, with fat ladies singing and such. I must say that, although I didn’t really expect to see fat ladies singing, I didn’t expect there to be such great emotion in the singing. The actors voices were definitely unimaginable, and they were incredible. It’s hard to imagine anyone could ever manipulate their voice like that. If people of my age group would try things before jumping to conclusions, and would go see an opera before deciding it’s not for them, then i definitely think that they would love opera. It was such a wonderful experience, and it was really powerful. It could capture anyone’s attention as long as they stay open-minded and try to understand the meanings of the songs. If you miss a split second, you get lost, and have no idea what’s going on. The opera moves so fast, and anyone with an attention span can keep up.
I would absolutely recommend that people of my generation should go see the opera, only so long as they are mature and are able to focus. The opera is not a place for childish and immature teenagers, but rather a place for sophisticated young adults.
