And Suddenly I've Found How Wonderful A Sound Can Be!!

Today we celebrate the birthday of one of the most beloved opera composers to ever live, Giacomo Puccini. He is the man whose music changed my life and I am forever indebted to him. He is also the man on my pin that I wear on my uniform blazer every day to school. My friends scrunch their faces to try and figure out who that is. “A dead guy, right?” They ask, knowing my love of history and…well…dead music people. “Yeah, a dead music guy.” They nod, “Who is he?” I don’t want to explain the whole Boheme/Rent connection for the billionth time so I just smile and say “Giacomo Puccini, which in Italian means ‘the man who changed my life.’” Suddenly they don’t seem so interested, but I don’t care because when I wear that blazer I know the whole world can see that me, a high school student, loves Puccini and loves opera. I don’t just love him for La Boheme; I love him because his aria “Nessun Dorma” made me catch the opera bug.
Puccini showed me that opera isn’t about snotty old people and fat Italian singers who break glasses with their high notes and wear breast plates, so now I’m here to show my peers that opera isn’t about any of that. Maybe if they see me with that pin they’ll see that young people can like opera also and they don’t have to be embarrassed about it. Well… that probably won’t happen, but I can try can’t I?
At one family dinner I was talking to my grandfather about “Turandot” and my aunt laughs and says “Don’t worry, dear, it’s just a phase!” I smiled at her and said “Oh, I’m not worried.” I wouldn’t say this is a phase, but a life-long passion that I’m desperate to share with others. Since my friends don’t seem interested, I made a blog instead. I think it’s been pretty successful so far. I’ve gotten the point across that I love opera, haven’t I?
So thank you, Puccini, for everything you have done for me and probably for so many other people. Oh yeah, and happy birthday! =)

Happy Listening!!! =)