The opera was beautiful. The songs were so emotional and the singers were incredible. Some of the effects they used made the opera seem magical. There is a scene where they spread flower petals all over the entire stage to welcome her husband back to Japan. They have hundreds of light pink cherry blossom flowers and they sprinkle them all over the stage. They flutter to the floor and land lightly. Then, petals start falling from the sky. It looks like it's snowing flower petals! It was so beautiful. There's another scene where they use the lighting to show very dramatically the passage of time from sunset to sunrise the next morning. She is waiting for her husband to come home, but he doesn't. It's a very sad scene because she is so disappointed. The scene is like 10 minutes long while you watch the scenery slowly get orange and then dark blue and then yellow and orange again when the sun rises. She just stands there watching completely still. In the background (off stage I'm guessing) you can hear a chorus singing off in the distance. It's a beautiful song. And there's a little boy who plays her son. He must be about five years old. He was so well-behaved! He sat perfectly still on stage and did exactly what he was supposed to. It was amazing.
We were lucky to get such great seats too. The theatre has 4 levels that stack way up to the ceiling and we were on the very bottom in the first row of the back section. That means there were no heads to block our view. This theatre has this new technology where they display the words on the back of the seat in front of you. The opera is in italian, so you can choose english, spanish, or off. I kind of got dizzy looking back and forth from the stage to the captions, but I didn't want to miss any of the words and the meaning. There were just a couple funny parts, but many sad parts. It is a tragedy, after all.
After the opera Daniel and I got some hot chocolate from starbucks to celebrate the first snow of the season (though it all melted by noon). It was very VERY cold outside last night and I insisted on wearing a dress. I wanted to look beautiful for the opera, and pants just don't feel beautiful. I did wear tights, but they didn't keep me that warm. Daniel seemed to think that I was overreacting, but he was wearing a full suit when it was 30 degrees outside. So I don't think he has the right to complain. We had to work at 11pm, so we rushed back home. It was a beautiful night.
In the program they had an advertisement for the other two operas they are doing this season. They are offerring a valentine's day special. You get a 3-course dinner at the super fancy restaurant right next to the opera house, "premium" seating for the show "The Pearl Fishers", and then after the show a cocktails and dessert reception with the cast. And during intermission you get access to an exclusive lounge or something. It's $350 for a couple which I think is a very good deal for everything you're getting. Our tickets were $100 a piece for last night, so that would make dinner and cocktails and dessert with the cast only $150 more. Except we'll get even better seats. It sounds like a beautiful Valentine's Day. I think we'll save up and make that our gift to each other.
It's my last Saturday here on campus until January. I have studied a little bit, but not enough to be ready for my two finals. I'm sort of putting it off. I keep thinking that I have plenty of time to study, so I don't want to waste any of my free time studying. It has been 10 long weeks since I have had a weekend with no homework to do and no classes to worry about. This break is going to be so relaxing. I'm going to spend lots of time with my family and with Daniel's family and all of my friends back home. I can't wait!!
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