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The Opera From the House of the Dead was truly amazing. Keeping in mind the post-modernism ideas of simultaneously portraying future, past, and present, I noticed that the music and the scenery created a world where hope is a paradoxical idea. The prisoners had no hope of leaving the jail, but they still strived to survive. They thought of past times and future times – when they have freedom. At many points the music seemed lively and full of hope. However, the hopeful feeling is short-lived by the dark undertone of the music. Even at the most joyous occasions, there was a dark solemn nature of the music. The only point in the opera when the music did not have a somber feeling was during the theater performance.

The theater performance was one of the greatest scenes in the play. From our class discussion I understood this scene to be an awkward and uncomfortable one. However, watching the prisoners as they watched the performance was relaxed and enjoyable. I thought that a “fourth wall” would be put up separating the stage from the audience, but instead, I felt as though the prisoners were part of the audience. At one point the prisoners in the back stood up so that they had a better view of the performance. This action made me want to stand up to see more clearly too. The only discomfort I felt was once I realized that there was no discomfort. The idea of watching a play of people watching a play is unsettling, but the actual action of doing it was not.

The music during this scene, as I mentioned before, had no dark undertones. I thought this was strange, but then I realized that the theater is a place to escape. When an audience is watching a performance the thoughts and troubles that they have disappear for moment and they can just sit back and relax. Throughout the opera the prisoners dreamed of hopeful times (either past or future) but they remembered their present situation. During the play they escaped their present and thought only about the play; thus the music didn’t need to reflect the negative feelings that it usually demonstrated.

The scene with Akulka, or, in the opera, Akulina, was touching and surprisingly comical. This prisoner felt so strongly about his past. It is unclear whether or not he feels remorse, but at times his tone and the music implied that he regretted what he had done. I thought that this scene would have been much more intense if there wasn’t the comic relief every few moments. Every so often someone would try to skip ahead to the end of his story, and he would stop him by saying, “don’t rush me.” This line added more than just comic relief. It reminded the audience that while he may feel regret for what he did, the prisoner still killed his wife. Without the comic relief, the audience may feel pity and compassion for the prisoner. By pausing the story every few moments, the audience remembers that this man is a prisoner and perhaps he does not deserve our compassion.

I really enjoyed the experience, but I think that a big reason I liked it so much was because I understood and enjoyed the story line. If someone did not know the basis of the play I do not think they could have enjoyed it to the full potential.

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