Thoughts on La Boheme

The opera that I decided to watch was La Boheme. This opera was about two roommates, Rodolfo and Marcello, who live in the city. They are both very poor and always cold in their apartment. One night, Rodolfo meets his neighbor Mimi. Once the lights blow out, they instantly fall in love. Later on, Marcello meets a rich woman named Musetta, and they begin to date. Rodolfo and Marcello seem to be madly in love until a night when both think that they should break up with each other. At first, Mimi says it is because of Rodolfo's jealousy, while Rodolfo says it is because of Mimi's flirtatiousness. Later, Rodolfo admits that it is because of how Mimi has become sick because of the conditions that they live in. At the end of the play, Mimi sadly passes away. I thought this opera was very fascinating. It shows a glimpse of what life must have been like in the 1800s for those who were not well off. We, ourselves, without realizing it take for granted things such as heat and electricity. This opera revealed to me how we should be thankful for what we have, for Mimi ends up dying because of the poverty and the coldness. I thought the romance between Rodolfo and Mimi was quite beautiful. It was gratifying to see how they stuck together until the end, despite her sickness. However, I was a bit confused on how rapid their romance blossomed. Immediately after meeting they fell in love, which I do not feel is very realistic. In addition, I found the romance between Marcello and Musetta somewhat confusing, for I could not tell how they actually felt about each other. Nevertheless, I thought this was a good opera to watch, and it reminded me a lot of the musical Rent! I wonder if Rent was inspired by this opera.

Thoughts on Pjotr Sapegin's Madama Butterfly

I thought that Pjotr Sapegin's Madama Butterfly animation was very sad. It showed a girl on an island who meets a guy. After being intimate the guy leaves, yet she eagerly waits for him. Over the years, she and her child wait for him until he does indeed return. However, he has made a life of his own and takes the child away. The woman is left alone. From this animation, it is clear that all the woman wanted was love. She is lonely and just wants some form of emotional attachment. I thought this animation was creative by the use of the butterfly. When the butterfly is present, the woman is happy. However, when the man leaves, so does the butterfly. The absence of the butterfly represents the woman's loneliness. Although the death of the woman was sad, I must admit it was creative how her suicide was presented. The woman ripped herself apart, until there was no more of her. The light was turned off, representing the end of her life.

"The Birth and Life of Opera" Reflection

Before taking this class, my knowledge on operas was quite limited. I had never seen an opera nor taken the time to learn about its history. However, in the past few days I have learned a lot about operas! I especially learned a lot about operas in the video I just watched: "The Birth and Life of Opera." For example, I learned that operas were born in Italy approximately 400 years ago. I had no idea that operas have been around for so long! I learned that a group called the Camerata, which consisted of Italian philosophers, poets, composers, and scientists, wanted to come up with a type of art that incorporated not only music, but also poetry and drama. Thus, operas were born. I find it surprising how the Camerata were made up of people from a variety of different fields. It is refreshing to know that there was some unity among people of different careers or backgrounds back then. I find it interesting how the first couple operas were not popular. It was not until "Lorfeo," that people started becoming excited about operas. It is inspiring to learn about how influential Monteverdi was. His operas became so popular that not only did they spread throughout Italy, but the rest of Europe too. I am also inspired to hear about how many operas had messages to them. For instance, Beethoven's "Fidelio" sent the message of liberation and freedom. The narrator of this video called operas the "parent to musicals." I find this a funny yet accurate way to describe operas, for I wonder if musicals would be around today if there were no operas? I am looking forward to watching an opera after watching this video!

Reflection of Raul Cuero's Interview

Raul Cuero's interview had a lot of concepts that I could apply to my life. He talked a lot about how we should not be limited to what society thinks. Some of the best inventions or ideas have come from ways that society would never expect or predict. This shows me how when I am trying to come up with future ideas, I should think outside the box of what society might expect. He talks about how creativeness is not obvious, for it has to do with how you perceive nature. I could apply this to my life by being more observant with the nature around me. In addition, Cuero said how he used people's prejudice as fuel to do better. This shows me how any negative comments that I ever get I should use as motivation to do better.

Hello!

Hi, my name's Brittany Elvidge. I'm a psychology major with a minor in biology who hopes to one day be a psychologist. I am from Maine and love the chance to be in Florida! I am very excited for this class because of how different it seems from all of my other classes which have been either psychology or biology classes. I hope that this class teaches me how to be more creative and how to think more outside the box. I think that this class will be helpful because being able to think more creatively will definitely help me as a future psychologist.