opera

i decided to celebrate my new contract by getting myself a ticket to the opera: Il Trovatore. what spurred this was that it was Verdi, and for some reason, i was convinced i'd never seen a Verdi opera before. i only remembered after buying the ticket that i'd seen Aida many years ago. no big deal, i'd heard it was good. and it was - once the first part was over. it was a bit confusing with 'flashbacks' and time changes that weren't immediately obvious to people who hadn't bought the programme (me) and thus had no clue what the story was about - i'd thought i'd check out the storyline on the net, but i'd had too much work in the end.

in the second act, though, the singing was really good. despite my friend's assurances (she was one of the chorus), i didn't recognise a single piece of music, but again, no big deal. what was more unfortunate, however, was the very grey set. i realise the story takes place during the Italian civil war and that it's a tragedy, but it was a tad depressing. i mean, La Bohème is a pretty depressing opera, but when i'd seen it, the set was amazing, which had made it all very enjoyable.