Cake Boss

Last night, my friend Alise and I went to Austin Lyric Opera's, Lucia di Lammermoor.  When I asked Alise if she wanted to go, she responded that she would love to because she wanted to see some drama other than the drama she was experiencing firsthand.  This opera is definitely not short on drama.  The basic story is about a couple in love from opposing families kind of like Romeo and Juliet.  The woman's family, specifically her brother, is trying to marry her off to a prestigious family who will make an advantageous marriage that will rescue his reputation.  It is interesting to me that the opera is set in Scotland, most of the characters have Spanish sounding names and the opera is performed in Italian.  In the clip below, Lucia has pretty much lost her mind because her brother has forced her to marry a man she does not love and eventually kills him.

During the second act, it occurred to me that the Italians have a long history of drama.  In modern times, fun examples of the drama is exhibited in a TLC show, Cake Boss.  Buddy Valastro runs Carlo's bakery in Hoboken, NJ.  Several of his family members work in the family bakery and there is a lot of conflict between them.  Nicole and I used to watch the show regularly when we had cable and stopped watching it for a time because the drama seemed a little unrealistic at times.  After seeing the opera last night, I realize that family in Cake Boss is just following in a long line of family drama that began in Italy hundreds of years ago and is just carrying on the tradition.

You can see a little snippet of the family drama in the clip below:

While the family drama in Lucia is a little more complex than that in Cake Boss, they are equally as enjoyable when you want to exchange personal drama for someone else's drama. 

Overall, I really enjoyed seeing an opera and especially liked that by the end, I was able to understand some of the Italian before the words were shown in the subtitles.  I may try to catch another opera this year if there is time.

Tomorrow, Wicked!