Walking into a pool of elderly women dressed in their elegant clothes, going up the velvet red staircase dimly lit and carefully designed, it seemed like walking into the Victorian era minus the corsets and incredibly large dresses. Sitting up so high, I was amazed by the setting of the opera house, watching the orchestra prepare for Puccini's "La Fanciulla del West".
The lights dimmed, the curtains opened, and there was the setting of an old Western bar which quickly turned into a male dominated space. Surprisingly all these men were very caught up with Minnie's business, making me very curious of who Minnie is. I found it amusing how their topic was all about one girl, but also what became more valuable by the end was how the favors she has done for them paid off to her favor.
Even though I pictured the opera to be a lady at the center of stage singing in a beautiful high-pitched voice, the setup would have been incredibly predictable if all the singing and the stage were eliminated. Predictable because the lady, who is loved by everyone, always seems to fall in love with the wrong person but eventually still ends up with him.
In the world we live in now, there is a lot about favors and how people are obliged to return the favor if someone has done them so much. Maybe it is part of modernity or simply human nature, for instance, when Minnie asked them to let Mr. Johnson go, they eventually gave in despite of the situation and what he has done. It may not be right, but it was the easier way out from living with the guilt of prohibiting someone they owe so much to and love to not be with the person she loves and admires.
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