just want to start out by saying this game is great and I love it.  :) 

I don't know if this is a problem with my computer or what, so I've given up trying to fix it myself. Every time I get to the opera and meet Neil's parents, the game crashes. No message that says "error" or something like that appears, the screen just goes black. I've restarted my computer multiple times and tried this about 12 times, and it always stops right before the opera begins. I wouldn't be that upset but I've finished Dimitri's story line and it won't let me change from Neil's to anyone else. Any advice?

Wait until January when the new update gets pushed out. It seems you're having trouble with having 3 people on the screen at the same time (your specs must not be high enough). But the latest update should run a lot better and take much less RAM than before.