Meryl Streep's appearance at House of Dead did not prove to be the only thrill of the performance. Before I detail what I enjoyed, our class discussion helped me appreciate the Opera much more. Thank you, Professor Bergman! To begin, I thought the set was incredible. Arguably it was drab and captured the atmosphere of prison life, but the depth and color really inspired more in the performance.  I could see how the set had the essence of a Stalinist gulag, but I felt otherwise. The set resonated to me as a futuristic interpretation of a barrack. The walls were silver and extremely high. The height of the walls conveyed the impossibility of escape and the inability to see light. These features stressed the low morale of the prisoners. The walls were also positioned in an interesting way, overlapping each other. The overlapping created greater stage depth. I thought this addition of depth suggested the long duration of the men’s imprisonments. I loved the detail in which all the debris fell from the ceiling. When the men went to work clearing it away, I was reminded of Petrovich’s loathe of pointless work. In addition, the lighting also highlighted the disappointment of prison life. None of the men were really spotlighted and the lighting was minimal almost to the point of darkness. The lack of spotlighting was a clever choice. Not only did it emphasize the ensemble casting of the production, but expressed the relations among the inmates. No man was more of a criminal than the next, but equal in their sufferings. Although I listened for the music’s own voice, I heard it clearly only when Petrovich was being set free. Like Professor Bergman pointed out, I heard both the words of the Commandant and the mocking undertone of the pit.  The overture, however, was my favorite! I thought it was truly magnificent. Call me crazy, but I was positive that the pit was producing a typewriter   that of the flying bird. In both the beginning and end, the bird was used a metaphor for freedom. The contrast between freedom and the prisoners further exemplified the men’s contempt. Finally, I also enjoyed the Akulka monologue. I was a bit stuck on how the actor performed the monologue. An important part of monologue work is incorporating urgency into the dialogue. If the actor had to wait for the pit to sing his lines it would be impossible to incorporate this element. Despite this, he was very committed and believable in his expression of guilt and pain.  I was also surprised at how similar the text was to the libretto. I still don’t know if I will ever love Opera, but it was a positive experience.