Last night I went to the opera and saw one of the most coherent operas I've seen. I don't claim to be a connossieur, since I think I've seen about four operas total in my life, and heard only a few more in their entirety, but nevertheless, this one was fairly sensical. La Traviata had a linear plot, logically moving from one step to another without too much suspension of disbelief required, and with lots of drawn-out lamenting/rejoicing. This coherentness could be a good thing or a bad thing - I mean, we all love the ridiculousness of Don Giovanni with its inexplicable animate statue. La Traviata does not rely on weird Deus Ex Machina, and it is a lot less zany than some.

Good? Bad? While it was very easy to follow, I somehow felt cheated of spectacle, which is the main reason I enjoy opera. The sets and costumes were sumptuous, clearly. The wigs were amazing. Everyone seemed to have red hair, for some reason. Possibly it was natural, on at least a few of the 6 red-haired men in the cast. Woo. Even the singing was enjoyable and easy to listen to. It took me a long time to get used to operatic voices, since more often than not the people I listened to seemed to forget to hit a note amidst the vibrato. I hate that. La Traviata had its fair share of showing off, as it should, but I genuinely enjoyed most of the singing. So yay!

In any case, a fun night, and a good end to my opportunities for Hums-acquired cheap tickets.