Like many of my classmates, I was not completely sure what to expect from this experience. Never having been to opera before (or at least not one that I was old enough to appreciate), I felt there was just as much a chance that I would hate it as that I would love it. Mark’s talk was very interesting, and I think gave me a good idea of what to expect, but it did make me worry that, because I don’t really have a very trained ear for music, I would have a hard time really appreciating the opera. However, this turned out to not be the case at all. While actually at the opera, I found myself really caring about the plot and its strangely endearing (if utterly ridiculous, and occasionally morally disgusting) characters. It was good to know that even though it was a little harder for me to notice the more subtle changes in the music of the performance, I was still able to appreciate it on some level. The only thing I had a hard time with was understanding the difference made by a lack of microphone. Perhaps the problem is that I had never realized that that particular sound was the result of a performer singing without a microphone. With this knowledge, however, I was more impressed even than I usually am by the ability of these singers to project.
However, terrible as it may sound, the opera was not even my favorite part of the evening (though to be fair, that is saying a lot, as I greatly enjoyed Cosi Fan Tutte). Rather, the most exciting thing for me was just the opportunity to see a great opera at Lincoln Center. This was another one of those wonderful moments, much like our afternoon at the Woolworth Building, where I realized, and more fully appreciated, the fact that I am going to college in New York City, and am having a very different, and in my opinion far more rich, experience than that of my friends from home. This performance, more than any other our class has attended, truly made me appreciate just what this seminar has given me, and what both Macaulay and Hunter in general will give me in the next few years. It was, in short, a fantastic way to end a semester.
