Opera

The process of human communication is a miraculous thing. How we use words, body language and tone of voice to exchange ideas and emotions is highly evolved and complex.

Take the word 'stop' for example. You can say, "Stop!" very urgently to a person punching you in the head indicating that you would like the punching of your head to continue no longer. On the other hand, you can also say, "Stop ..." with a smile and a flip of your wrist when someone is complimenting you and it means to please continue. How we use our voices often carries as much meaning as the words we chose.

Opera singers are good at this. Everything they sing sounds so dramatic. I went to the opera once with my friend Alan. I don't understand Italian but Alan does, so he told me what the singers were saying as the opera progressed. This one opera guy was singing like his heart was breaking right before us. His performance was so emotional that it drove me to tears.

Still sobbing, I turned expectantly to Alan after the big crescendo to discover what tragedy had befallen the hero. Alan told me that he was singing about how he likes his bath warm but not too hot, and how you just can't get good prosciutto in Tuscany. I felt dumb for having cried but, boy, that guy could sing.