So, on Sunday, I went to the final production of Madama Butterfly at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. I had never seen Madame Butterfly, and I thought it was great. The orchestra was amazing, the acting was good, and the ending was so tragic! It was also a big help that there were subtitles to go along with the show. Although everything in Italian, I was able to fumble through with some degree of understanding.
I also realized that, since most operas are in Italian, all Italian people can easily understand them. It's like going to the movies for them. In America, opera is so inaccessible, and it's always associated with high culture and grandeur. But I think that if we could understand the words being sung, then we probably wouldn't think that way. I think that if Puccini wrote Madame Butterfly in English, then it would be as popular as High School Musical... No, I take that back. Nothing will ever be as popular as High School Musical. But now that I can navigate my way through some Italian, I have a new appreciation for opera.
With the help of my Italian class, and also with the help of TV, the need to eat food, and opera, I'm slowly learning Italian. But I still have trouble communicating with English-speaking Italians, particularly my teachers. All of the Italian faculty at NYU in Florence is very distinguished and knowledgeable, but sometimes it's just hard for them to get their point across to us. And it's even harder for them to answer our fast, American questions. My flute teacher knows English, but he prefers not to speak it because he thinks it is an ugly language. So, he has his wife sit in on the lesson to translate. It's kind of weird having this woman who probably can't play the flute tell me what I'm doing wrong, but I guess I'll just have to get used to it.