Only in dreaming does the dream make sense

Some time ago, I decided to make a serious effort to expand my cultural horizon. That meant branching out from watching musicals to seeing straight plays, and of course, operas. I admit, I haven't done well in my quest for a broader knowledge of the arts. But what can one expect? I am a UP med student with a limited budget and even more limited knowledge of the Manila transport system.

With a stroke of good luck, though, an invitation was sent out to bloggers to go see a rehearsal for Puccini's opera, La Boheme, just when my school schedule wasn't so tight.

Now all I knew about La Boheme is that the rock opera Rent is based on it. The opera was sung in Italian, so I thought I had to rely on my Rent experience to be able to understand it. True enough, the only words I understood when I saw it were grazie and buongiorno, and the characters' names.

The language barrier did not affect how I felt while watching it, though. The music was so beautifully written, played by a wonderful orchestra; the arias sung by a magnificent cast - and this would sound weird - the words they sung, even if I don't speak Italian, sounded poetic. I was teary-eyed by the end of Act 3 - which is a lot to say since I only saw the latter half of Act 3.

I went into this hoping to get a Rent fix. You know, finally being able to hear the whole of Musetta's Waltz, hehe.

I went into this so I wouldn't have to pay for my first opera. I didn't want to shell out thousands to see something I wasn't sure I'd appreciate. I know, kuripot.

Well, I didn't get to hear Musetta's Waltz. But what did I get? I found that I do like operas. I found that I would spend thousands to see one, hehe. It was a great learning experience. And, most importantly, I have even more appreciation now of the tremendous talent of Filipinos.

Thanks to TheBachelorGirl and to the Philippine Opera Company. =)