Last year, I went to see Cenerentola, a small opera production, depicting the story of Cinderella. “Cenerentola” means Cinderella in Italian. The venue was seedy at best, but I had never been to an opera and thought that the story of Cinderella was one of the less intimidating operas for a first-time goer. I was right. I found out that opera was not my favorite style of singing and that I could go on with my life without it, but I loved the staging. The characters were extremely animated and the set was simple yet well done. I think that the stage direction in an opera is very important because most of the time, it’s hard to understand what’s taking place unless the story is already familiar. I tried my best to translate the frenzied Italian in both Cenerentola and Don Giovanni, but even my mother, a native Italian, says it’s hard to fully understand everything the actors are singing. With the importance of stage direction in mind, I did not enjoy Don Giovanni as much as Cenerentola. And it wasn’t the plot that turned me off because I thought that libretto to be amusing and suspenseful. I think it’s safe to point my fingers at the lack of stage direction. The set was lavish and impressive, but for me, it wasn’t entertaining to watch the actors stand still, belting plot that I couldn’t understand without the translator. At times, I found myself mesmerized by the tiny screen in front of me instead of the talented actors who worked so hard to command my attention.