Watching an opera for the first time

Last night was quite memorable for me and my friend because we watched an opera for the first time. One of the actors is a good friend of ours so he kindheartedly subsidised our tickets so we could watch the show. Actually, part of the thrill was not only going to the opera but also watching our friend perform. Although he's not among the lead actors, he's the lone Asian in the group--the rest are all Caucasians--so we're really proud of him. He's really a talented person. I've heard him sing before--first was when we had a videoke session in Wellington in the house of his host family there. Second was when we climbed Mt. Rangitoto. He wants to hide his singing prowess actually--because he's a very private person--so only a handful knew and I'm one of the privileged few whom he entrusted his wonderful "secret".

Now about the opera, it was really fastastic. The entire opera was in Czech but there were TV monitors showing the surtitles (translation). The story is about a girl named Jenufa who was so desperately in love with an irresponsible man named Steva, hence Jenufa's mother (the kostelnicka) highly disapproved of Jenufa's longing for Steva. Steva also did not love truly Jenufa. It was Steva's half-brother, Laca, who loved Jenufa with all his heart. But Jenufa had a very big problem. She was carrying Steva's child and Steva did not want to marry her. To save the family from disgrace, the kostelnicka hid Jenufa until she gave birth. And to conceal the entire thing, the kostelnicka killed Jenufa's baby by leaving him to freeze in the snow. When Jenufa awakened, she found her baby gone and that her mother locked her in the house. When the kostelnicka returned, she told Jenufa that her baby died so Jenufa was devastated. Laca returned and professed his undying love for Jenufa. Jenufa wanted a fresh start so he finally accepted Laca and the kostelnicka gave them her blessing. Their short moment of bliss was interrupted by the news that one of the villagers found Jenufa's lifeless baby in the snow. The villagers then accused Jenufa of killing her baby. To save Jenufa from the villagers' contempt, the kostelnicka confessed her sins. At first, Jenufa couldn't forgive her mother, but in the end, her love for her prevailed and she learned to forgive her. I don't know how accurate my account of the opera's plot was but this was how I understood it. : )

I never thought I would enjoy the whole experience for two reasons. One, it was not an ordinary play. It was an opera and I'm not used to it. Two, the opera was not in English, hence the language barrier (but thanks for surtitles, we managed to comprehend what the singers were saying). Nevertheless, everything turned out to be an enjoyable experience.