In my 18 years of living in New York, I had never even thought about attending an opera.  I really never had any interest in opera, even though I was interested in music.  I was more into fast paced rap and hip hop music, and the thought of opera singers elongating every word already made me cringe; I cannot handle slow things.  So to be honest, I really wasn’t looking forward to this opera.

When I stepped out of the subway and approached Lincoln Center, I already felt a whole new vibe.  Though I did dress up in slacks and a button down, everyone else around me was either in a tuxedo or a suit, sipping on champagne and waiting for the show to begin.  My attire looked way too casual in that area, and I felt a little embarrassed because I had under dressed.  In addition, I remember that one distinct outfit (even though it was extremely different), that showed class.  It was a man who had a tuxedo on.  Underneath his jacket, however, he had a long dress, and heels.  Though this outfit was different, I was still impressed by how important the opera is, and how people will dress incredibly just for such an event.  I guess my first assumption of opera was true; it was for the upper class people (or people who dressed like them).

My second assumption of the opera was that the performers would all be somewhat on the obese side, because I thought all opera performers need a large body to inhale large amounts of air in order to project throughout the whole auditorium.  When the curtains were drawn, however, I was completely astonished. Not one performer was on the chubby side, which completely surprised me, because in my opinion, they were just on par as famous opera performers.  They were able to project their voices across the whole auditorium, and it sounded astounding.  Though it did take thirty seconds to say “Yes”, I was so intrigued by their voices that it just made me forget about how long they were singing for.  I believe out of all the characters, Sparafucile did the best job.  His dark and ominous voice perfectly fit his character, and every time he sang, I just felt chills because I knew a tragic event would happen.  My assumption about bigger people performing was destroyed, and I knew now that anyone could perform opera, as long as they had the voice.  Overall, the opera was a very exciting experience, and I can safely say that I would go watch other performances.  The feeling you get in the opera is one that is somewhat indescribable, and the way everything is set up makes it just a better experience.

P.S. The only bad part was the man who sat in front of me.  I honestly did NOT kick his chair, yet he kept accusing me.  This made the experience a little worse, because I could not enjoy the opera fully due to being annoyed by him.