I got on the F train at 7:00PM on a chilly Saturday night, unaware of the once-in-a-lifetime experience I was about to have. I was bound for the Metropolitan Opera to enjoy (or not — only time would tell) La Bohème, an opera composed by Giacomo Puccini. Despite my skepticism for a performance in a foreign language, I was excited for our class’ first “formal” night out. If not for the performance, I looked forward to immersing myself into a world that I thought that was beyond my scope. However, all of that optimism and excitement was abruptly replaced with dread and desperation with one single message from a fellow classmate.
“You know we have to be there at 7:30PM right?”
At the same time, the train conductor said, “Ladies and gentlemen: We are delayed because of signal malfunctions ahead of us. Thank you for riding with the MTA New York City Transit.” The fiery New York City blood that ran through my veins began to boil. It felt as though the MTA knew I had somewhere important to be, was already about to show up 20 minutes later than I should have, and wanted to add on to my stress. I quickly began to look for the best way to get to my destination and avoid train delays, and so I got off at 57th St and took a very brisk 0.8 mile walk to the Met, but it was worth it when I finally arrived to the elegant building.
However, the beauty couldn’t prepare me for when I found out that my ticket wasn’t waiting for me at the counter. I felt my spirit being crushed as I saw the lobby begin to clear out as people quickly rushed to their seats inside, while I was left wondering what to do. Out of desperation (and fear of not seeing the opera), I decided to buy my own ticket, wondering how much worse the night could get. Boy, was I going to be proven wrong.
Although I had to sit on my own in the TV room for the first scene, I realized that the ticket I bought was an orchestra Row L seat on the main level. At the very least, I would be able to enjoy sitting much closer to the stage than my classmates. However, my luck turned around when the ticket usher at front of the door decided to give me a front row ticket. In all honestly, she probably just felt bad for me after she noticed that I was just a lone student, with a somewhat defeated look on my face. Still, her kind gesture immediately lifted my spirit, especially when I saw the original price on the ticket, a whopping $285.
Sitting front row for La Bohème was an experience like none other. For one thing, you could notice the expressions on the actors’ and actresses’ faces. That alone added a new depth of emotion to the opera. Another thing was that my seat was right behind the conductor. I always thought that a conductor was a comfy job, where you just wave a stick around randomly. However, after seeing the liveliness and movement of our conductor only feet away from my seat, I developed a new respect for all conductors. In a sense, they set the level of energy for the entire orchestra. Lastly, by sitting in the front row, I felt almost exclusive. I imagined that the two men sitting next to me were millionaires, and that this was a typical Saturday night for them. The ticket usher didn’t just hand me a ticket to a front row seat, but rather to a high-class VIP section of New York’s fine culture. I will never forget that night, one that started off so poorly. If anything those hardships only made the surprise that much sweeter.
