The Arts in New York City
Having a ticket for your first opera performance at the Metropolitan Opera House with a seat in row K, you would think that your seat would be in the middle of the theater. Wrong. After climbing several flights of stairs an usher pointed out our seats, which happened to be in the very last row of the theater at a height that seemed to put the height of Felix Baumgartner’s, “space jump, to shame. Being dressed in jeans and a hoodie in an entire theater of formally dressed people wasn’t going to stop me from enjoying my first opera performance. 
The beautiful chandeliers began to rise signaling the beginning of the performance. A single spotlight began to shine on the protagonist, Nemorino played by Matthew Polezani, as he walked across the foreground of the stage. Behind him appeared what to be an animated movie of a simple town with the townsfolk going about their daily business projected on a curtain. Imagine my surprise when the clear curtain began to rise revealing an incredibly elaborately constructed set with actual actors moving about.
The high seats that we were in are commonly known as the, “nose-bleed seats.” I feel that I must tell you that that is a misnomer. Those seats should be called, “aural seats.” The moment that the performers began singing, each and every note was as crisp and clear as if the performers were singing right in front of you. From the first note of Nemorino’s first song, I was hooked. I could not tear my attention from the stage. I was too focused on the performance to look at the subtitles.
Adina, played by Anna Netrebko, got her share of the spotlight as well. Adina is the main love interest of Nemorino who is asked by Belcore for her hand in marriage. Adina comes from and upper class family while Nemorino is a commoner. However, I must say that the show was defiantly stolen by the crowd favorite, Dulcamara. This comedic character stole the show with his arrogance and misconceptions. His singing was also second to none.
What really impressed me was the amount of work that must have been put into producing this opera. Aside from the main performers singing and the building of the set, the choreography of all the background actors that successfully made the set appear like a realistic town must have been a difficult feat to accomplish.
L’ Elisir D’ Amore will always have a special place in my heart as being the very first opera that I have ever attended. It was an amazing experience, from the traumatizing heights of my seat, to the smooth coating of velvet of the entire theater, to the extravagant performance of the actors.
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Funny how you mentioned our dress code. I had no idea the opera would be so formal as I have never been to one. Regardless, I really enjoyed this performance as well. I was just as blown away as you were by the opening scene, but I don’t think any projectors were used. When I saw the curtains rise, I was shocked because it legitimately seemed like a movie projected onto the curtains, and I had no idea the stage had so much depth, but I think it seemed like a projector because the actors and actresses were so fluid in their movements. In fact, it’s hard to believe it wasn’t a projection! Like I mentioned in my other posts, my favorite aspect of art is the emotional spilling of artists through their performances. All of the actors and actresses were so expressive. For example, Nemorino’s desperation was really heart felt and Belcore’s personality was excellently portrayed in a way that is completely opposite of Nemorino’s. Like you mentioned, this must have taken an incredible amount of work and as a result, made the experience really fulfilling for me.