The singing was superb, beautiful voices, believable characters. What surprised me most was the depth of interpretation of the story. There were the atom bomb, the laboratory, the devil's helpers, the absolute loneliness of Marguerite condemned by her "Christian" fellow men and women, including her brother. I do not remember seeing any opera before that had such a profound impact in terms of human short comings. And there was Marguerite who never changed in the inner core of her humanness. Bravo to the Met and its great artistry.