Entering college, entering this class, I could only think “‘Arts in NY?’ Are you serious? Is this really a class?” I love the arts, but I couldn’t fathom spending three hours a week studying it. Thankfully this class put my fears to rest quickly. I looked forward to seeing the exhibits and performances ever since we saw the series of Israel Horowitz plays in August. The performance that affected me the most was Contes D’ Hoffman. Before taking this course I had never seen an opera in my life and I’m afraid that I used to judge the opera based on the stereotypical image that was always portrayed. You know, the one of the fat lady belting out high notes in a foreign language dressed in some weird costume. In fact one of the first times I ever even saw something remotely close to an opera song was in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
I can say that Contes D’Hoffman was better than the Bugs Bunny opera cartoon (but only by a little, cause seriously, not much beats out the the wabbit).
So Contes D’Hoffman was an experience I’ll never forget, mostly because it opened my eyes to a different form of art. I never would have gone on my own to see an opera, but now I can honestly say that the show has taught me not to prejudge art and that it’s okay to like opera. The actors, the scenery, the costumes and of course, the music made the show a unique and entertaining story. Even if we sat at the back of the room and needed to squint to see what was going on, it was worth it.
Now, I know I’m supposed to talk about which performance I was least affected by, but there’s a problem with that. Sadly (or thankfully?) I didn’t get to see everyone’s least favorite performance of the semester, the dance piece by Ralph Lemon. At the class after the performance I was lost, stuck listening to comments about a crying woman and animals. And it sounded like the whole performance made no sense (well it sounded like that to me). So I guess technically this performance affected me the least because I didn’t see it… Just kidding, ya I didn’t see it, but to say that it was the least affecting performance would be taking the easy road. I think the exhibit “Hipsters, Hustlers, and Handball Players”affected me least because I felt disconnected from the exhibit. I saw the photos, but they didn’t seem to really strike me in any way.
If I could have seen the Ralph Lemon piece I would have been more satisfied with this blog, because then I’d have at least those two to contrast. But sadly I didnt’t and I can’t take back what’s already happened. I can only look back and remember fondly the dancing doll, the menacing villain, the man with broken heart and his beautiful muse.
