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Before this class I had very little prior exposure to Opera. I used to believe that it was only for wealthy and elderly individuals. I also thought it would have been something that I wouldn’t be interested in. But, after being exposed to Opera and learning about it’s true meaning, I have developed an extreme appreciation to it. I won’t say that it something I am very passionate about, but I wouldn’t mind going to an Opera or listening to an Opera performances here and there. I really enjoy the emotion and thought that the artists place within each and every note that they sing.

When watching the live living room performance, my initial thoughts were that these individuals were extremely talented. These artists had faced the hard truth of not being able to preform, but they made the most out of their situation. They turned a bad situation into a beautiful one. They took that living room and made it theirs. They moved with such grace and really used their surroundings. Also, compared to the other version of Werther that we watched, I felt like they had a more modern touch to it. It could have been the setting, but it felt different. It felt different in the sense that I felt like I was able to relate to the performers more, it’s like I could feel more of their struggles, emotions and presence. I believe I really would have enjoyed seeing this preformed in person.

I personally believe that my understanding to Werther has gotten better and more in depth each time. My first impression when reading Werther was that I personally didn’t think that I would like it. I just thought it was going to be another bad ending love story, they’re pretty common. But, after the first time I saw it and really listened to the music as a whole I found a bit of beauty within the Opera and I felt more towards the story. I felt the tragedy and the sadness, but also the slight moments of happiness. When viewing the live performance I felt like I was another character within the Opera. It was like I was watching someone I know going through this struggle. My understanding was a lot deeper and clearer and I found a way to relate more and more each time.

The compassion and dedication that these artists show within their live performances have definitely allowed me to relate to them more. I think with the current situation that is happening right now that everyone has lost something and everyone is struggling in one way or another. These artists brought people together and showed some beauty during these hard times and I think this allowed me to get a deeper understanding because it made me feel more connected. I felt the pain and disappointment of the artists but also their determination to not let them stop doing what they love doing the most.

I really wish that we were able to watch this performance live at the MET Opera house. I think it would have been a once in a life time opportunity. But, I completely agree that they had made the correct decision for the safety of everyone.

At the end Werther, Massenet presents two contradicting musical moods; the death of Werther and the children in the background singing the Christmas carols. These two music moods are complete opposites of one another.

The musical mood of Werther’s death is one of great sadness and realization. This was the most crucial part of the opera, it is the part of the opera I believe to have the most emotion, clearance and resolution. When I heard Charlotte sing during this scene I was overcome with her emotion. In my opinion, there was such power and sadness within her voice that I found myself feeling for her, it felt like she was about to burst into tears. On the other hand, when listening to Werther sing, I hear a slight bit of clarity within his voice. In the sense that he does not regret the decision which he has made. I think he is content that this was the way that his life was suppose to end, in love with Charlotte even if she could not be his. I believe that Charlotte received some realization at this time as well, I think she was constantly pushing her true feelings about Werther away to keep her promise to her mother, but in reality she cared a great deal about Werther and it was too late.

The second mood that is presented is that of happiness from the children in the distance. The children are singing a Christmas carol. When the children are singing you hear their innocence and joy, after all they are singing about Christmas and as a child that was my favorite time of the year. I loved when all my family and friends came together to spend time, make cookies and spread joy around to everyone and anyone. There was a sense of happiness and unity that I think that the children are trying to convey to Charlotte. That even though this tragedy is happening, she will not be alone. She will still have the children and her family.

I think the reason that there is such a contrast between the moods is that you can relate this contrast of moods into your own life. One can compare it to the saying,”even on your worst days, things always gets better”. I think the children singing are foreshadowing the fact that even though Charlotte is so upset and thinks this is once again the end of her happiness, she will learn to grow from this moment and become happy once again. In reality, things will get better for her and for Werther. She will learn to know that Werther will be going to a place where he will be happier and where he can watch over her and protect her, just like how her mother is doing. I believe that Massenet provides this contrast early on within the opera when the opera first opens and you hear the children singing and then learn that Charlotte’s mother had passed away not too long ago. But, in the beginning of the opera the children weren’t in the background singing but instead they were up front singing, indicating a happier time for Charlotte, but still having that second mood of sadness lingering in the background.

Sophie is a young and carefree 15 year old girl who believes that the world is a happy place. She tries to allow her optimism to shine through and brighten everyone’s day around her. I believe that her goal is to find happiness once again after the death of her mother. When Sophie and Charlotte’s mother had passed their whole life got flipped upside down. Sophie had lost her mother in some of the most critical years of her life. She has this empty void that she wants to fill and I believe that she tries to fill her emptiness with making others happy. Sophie wants to feel whole and loved again, like the way her mother used to make her feel.

Sophie keeps up her happiness and optimism throughout the whole opera, but you can tell that it gets incredibility harder to do so as the opera continues. You begin to see her cry and be upset more and more. She is internally conflicted and lost and does not know how to express her emotions and feels as though she has no one to talk to. She does not want to burden anyone else with what she is feeling because the people she could talk to; her father, Charlotte or the children, are going through the same thing.

Sophie never reaches her goal of bliss and happiness. The ending of the death of Werther even foreshadows more unhappiness that will be brought into her life. Sophie however never fails her goal of trying to cheer up the people around her. Sophie tried her hardest to make Charlotte happy when she found out that Werther was going to kill himself, even though Sophie did not succeed she never waved from her commitment to make others happy. Sophie does not really deal with her impediments well. She gets extremely emotional and this leads to her being upset and crying. Her over emotional reactions leads to nothing getting accomplished or helped. She is left at the same place which she started. When she realizes her true feelings it makes her realize that she lost a piece of herself that she will never get back. Her optimistic ways have not helped her to become whole.

Since Sophie realizes that at this time in her life she won’t be as happy as she once was she reflects her desire of happiness on others and this changes her goal to make the world around her a better place for the children, Charlotte and her father. I hope that Sophie will be as happy as she portrays to others when trying to make other happy. The lesson that I believe Sophie learns is that young optimism is a blessing and a curse.

This was my first time watching this scene from Shawshank Redemption and my initial thoughts about the aria was that it was inspiring. It didn’t make me think of despair or loss, but instead it gave me hope that there will be better days ahead to come. When Red played the opera on the PA system all his fellow jail mates, going through their own personal struggles, had stopped whatever they were doing and listened to each and every word that was sung. Even though none of them knew the meaning behind the words being sung.

Personally, I do not blame Red for not wanting to know the true meaning for what the women had actually sung because it would most likely change their initial emotions that they felt. Without knowing what was said they had to rely on other intuitive senses and this in some ways I believe makes a person feel a more unique and personal emotion. Therefore, knowing what was sung could have altered their emotions for the worse and have themselves loose that sense of hope and well being that they had initially felt when they first heard the song. I believe that this sense of not knowing is not ignorant but instead mindful. Mindful of the fact that not knowing will not hurt anyone and in return you can listen to what your senses and emotions are telling you.

Countess Almaviva and her servant, Susanna, are singing passionately about trying to get her husband to admit that he had cheated on her. They are trying to catch him within the act. They are hopeful and giddy that their plan is going to work and that he will admit what he has done. Both woman when singing feel powerful and in charge, especially countess Almaviva. Countess Almaviva is using this power in hopes of finding the truth. This journey of finding the truth has brought her freedom and a sense of courage that I do not believe that she had within the past.

However, after learning the true interpretation of the aria I can understand in some sense how Countess Almaviva and Susanna relates to Red and the other prisoners. I could be incredibly wrong within my interpretation since I have never seen Shawshank Redemption. But, both Red and the prisoners and Countess Almaviva had been feeling days where they believed that nothing could be worse than what they were experiencing right now, until the next day when things continued to get worse. For Red and the prisoners it was being stuck within the confinements of the jail. For Countess Almaviva it was the feeling of being cheated on and lied to constantly by the one that was suppose to love her the most. However, when Countess Almaviva finally begins to stick up for herself and constructs a plan to catch her husband, her bad days that kept getting worse became more hopeful, and with her hope came her power and freedom. This power and freedom is what the men within the prison are hearing and it allows them to feel this sense of hope. Little did they know that this power was gathered from a plan to expose a cheating husband.