Wednesday, December 16, 2015

The Opera: Becoming Santa Claus

Recently my mom took Zac (my little brother), Kaitlin (my little sister), and I to see an opera called Becoming Santa Claus. We've been to lots of musicals in the past, but we've never been to see an opera, so we were incredibly excited. We all got dressed up in dresses and tights (or in Zac's case- a plaid shirt and jeans), and made our way through the traffic to the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Our seats were on the very top, fifth floor of the auditorium, which my mom hadn't realized would be SO high up when she purchased them, due to the fact that we had never been to this performing hall. We assumed that the seating would be the same as at the auditorium where we usually go to see the musicals, but we were wrong. Zac and I didn't mind being sat at the very top though, because when you're that high up you're sure not to miss anything going on on the stage, and you also don't have to worry about a tall person sitting in front of you, completely obstructing your view. My mom and Kaitlin, on the other hand, were not the biggest fans of being sat so high up. They are both very afraid of heights, so sitting in the front row, at the very tip top, wasn't what they would call fun. Once the musical started though, I think they more or less forgot about how high up we were.

The singing was absolutely fantastic, and the fact that these actors are capable of singing at such high notes for such long periods of time, amazes me. I don't want to give away too much about the story line, just in case you end up going to see it, but I will give a short summary: It is all about Santa when he was a child, and the journey he goes on to becoming the Santa that we know. His mom is an enchantress, and the elves are their servants.


I highly suggest to anyone of you who have never been to see an opera, to give it a try, at least once. Although the constant singing can be a bit much at times, it was just as enjoyable as any musical I've ever been to. I'm not sure if all theaters do this, but the one we went to had a screen with running subtitles hanging above the stage, which was tons of help- Although the singing is absolutely beautiful, it can be a bit hard to understand them at times. Overall, it really was a great opera, and I look forward to going to many more in the future!

-Melissa Cooper

Friday, December 11, 2015

The Christmas Parade

If you know me, you will know that Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love how happy everyone is in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and the fact that for just a few weeks it is acceptable to wear horrible Christmas sweaters (which I love so so so so much). For the past four years I have gone to watch the Christmas parade that takes place in downtown Dallas, and this year was no exception. Although it may not be on as large of a scale as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in NYC, I still love going to it. Once I go to the parade, I know that I can officially start the countdown to Christmas. This year the weather could not have been more perfect- It was cold enough to need to wear a coat, but not so cold that my fingers felt like they were going to fall off, which was a relief. I remember one year I brought with four different blankets, a coat, a sweater, and gloves, yet I was still freezing. Overall, the parade was just as wonderful as it usually is. Here are some pictures I took, I hope you like them! I think I have finally figured out the settings on my camera that work the best (it only took me three years, haha)!

This may be the best picture I have ever taken! Everything is so perfectly in focus.
The Stormtroopers were so festive.
Mrs. Claus!
"You smell like beef and cheese, you don't smell like Santa!" Does anyone know what movie that's from?

-Melissa P. Cooper