my first opera experience

So I saw my first two operas this past week. I never thought I would see an opera. My parents never went to see operas and Tim Taylor from "Home Improvement" made them seem unbearable. So when my husband asked me if I would come see Faust, I wasn't thrilled about the idea. He told me a bit of the story line - a guy selling his soul to the devil to be young again - and I thought, "Hmm, that could be interesting." Another concern I had about going to an opera was the language barrier. My husband assured me this wouldn't be an issue since subtitles are projected for the audience. Still, I was worried that I would miss all the action on stage because my eyes would be glued to the words. So with some doubts and concerns, I made my way to the theater.

Upon walking in, I received a program. And to my lovely surprise, inside that program I found a synopsis of Faust - as well as all the other shows. I felt a sigh of relief wash over me. I could now read what the opera was about before it happened so that I wouldn't be completely distracted by the subtitles. I did have to pause for a moment however, and think, "Wouldn't reading the synopsis ruin the surprise of the show for me?" Then I thought to myself, "Self, it will be hard enough to read the subtitles and watch the show at the same time and try to keep up on the story line. Why not give yourself the advantage and read the synopsis?" Okay, but only one act at a time.

The show started and the subtitles were projected. Now weather or not this was a blonde moment for me, I had a huge revelation occur during the first five minutes of the show - I read faster than the actors sing. And of course this is obvious once you think about it. I was amazed to find that I could read the words then watch what they were doing on stage and not miss a beat. I also found that the English translations were like cliff notes and made the show much easier to understand. 


Now I don't know what I imaged the opera like, but it was probably something similar to a vocal performance - with a very poor story line. But to my amazement yet again, the opera has just as good of story lines as musical theatre.  Faust kept my attention the entire time. 


I caught up with my husband after the show and was happy to explain to him that I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the opera. It was very well done and I could read the show and watch it at the same time. He smiled, said "Oh good," and proceeded to tell me that we were going to see Tosca - the other opera - the following night. I was excited! My husband had also never seen an opera but I assured him that it would be great.


And it was great! I enjoyed Tosca more than Faust. The story line was about two lovers trying to save each other during the French revolution. Tosca felt more like a play in that their singing was presented as dialogue rather than a song to push the story along. Also, there was more interaction between characters. And it had its good share of funny moments. Although it was a tragic ending, it was a great story that kept my interest. (And no, I did not ruin it for those of you who are planning on seeing it because you can read all about it in the synopsis before the show starts. :)


I like the opera now and I can't wait to see my next one!


Kudos to all the performers, directors, and deisgners at the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre Company. Tosca and Faust were incredible!


  

chain reaction

With my husband being in four shows and working for a professional theatre company, you can only imagine the commitment he has. Sadly, because of this, he had to stay in Logan while I made my way to Salt Lake City for my five year high school reunion. It was great to see old friends and I enjoyed hearing what everyone has been up to in the last five years. It got me thinking though...what have I been up to the last five years?.....

Well, the first big thing was I moved out of my parents' house and made my settlements in Logan. This lead me to....

Attend Utah State University. I was accepted into the Interior Design program with a Sales and Marketing emphasis. After my first year, I decided to move back into my parents' house for the summer. This lead me to....

Go to Nauvoo for a week. My cousin was a performing missionary for the summer so I tagged along to visit with my aunt and uncle. It was a fun trip and also lead me to....

Meeting my husband who was also a performing missionary. Yes, you are not suppose to check out missionaries because, well, they are missionaries. But we noticed each other. I wrote him a letter...he wrote me back...long story short....

We got married! About a year after the Nauvoo trip and seriously, it was one of the happiest days of my life. We honeymooned to Park City and then cruised off the coast of Mexico. When we got back, I was still attending USU so I dragged him up to Logan. He was going to go into business but after we talked about it and I did a little pushing to follow his passion, it lead him to....

Become a theatre major, and me a theatre wife. He's loving every minute of it, and I enjoy watching him perform. It was great to go to school together for two years. But the day finally came when I....

Graduated from college with my bachelor's degree. It's a great feeling to have accomplished all that work for a degree that I'll probably rarely use. But thankfully, after some looking around I was lead to....

A job at an elementary school. I am working as an instructional aid part-time and loving it. I'm even considering getting my teaching certificate. These are the big things, however.....

There are a few small things I've done in the past five years. Paid bills; got my first car loan; painted my apartment; worked at a hotel, a call center, and a switchboard; went on several family vacations; tried countless new recipes....

But most of all, one of the most fun things I've accomplished is that I've seen more plays in the last five years than I had in the first eighteen years of my life....

And I look forward to many, many more!

I'm excited to see what the next five years has in store for me.