The other night I had a dream that I went with Lisa (person I haven’t seen in a long time) to see an opera called “Portia’s Lament”. (Note: This is not a real opera), which was being performed at some huge venue which most closely resembled the Breslin Center in East Lansing. The opera was written in the 1800’s, and it was about a king and his son the prince, who were both in love with the same woman: Portia. They fought over her, bringing the kingdom to ruin.

The traditional interpretation of the play runs something along the lines of “Oh, the follies of love”, or even: “Oh, the trouble that women bring.”

I didn’t realize it until the play had been going on for some time, but Lisa and I were like “Hey, this plot seems really familiar…” Then we remembered! She had previously taken me to see an underground, indie opera called “Portia’s Content” (also not a real opera), which was a re-imagining of “Portia’s Lament” – it told Portia’s side of the story. In her opinion, this feud had nothing to do with love, and everything to do with the egos of the men involved. They didn’t love her, she contended. They barely knew her. She concluded that they tore the kingdom apart just because that was what they wanted to do – her presence was just a convenient excuse.