Music Competitions

I was having a discussion today with someone regarding Puccini's La Boheme. I recalled that I used to perform this piece:



I always dreaded it when my music teacher would insist upon me singing it for competitions. Although my performance got high marks from the judges, it always left me feeling exhausted. I don't know if it was the difficulty on the vocal cords or the emotion of the piece--but I always felt exhausted afterwards. As a result, it would always have to be my concluding piece because I would have nothing left to give after this aria.