One for folks who say they hate opera

[Cole Parker]

You CAN'T hate this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPZc6RT2wlY&feature=em-share_video_user

C

[DesDownunder]

Very funny. It is actually a time honoured practice to substitute opera lyrics with words derived from current events for satirical purpose.

Thanks, Cole I enjoyed that.

[colinian]

Who would have thought Renee Fleming would be funny?

Colin

[Cole Parker]

Surprised me, too. But oh, what a voice!

C

[The Pecman]

I like opera! Jesus Christ Superstar, Tommy, Phantom of the Paradise... all terrific rock operas.

[Cole Parker]

It show my age, but one of the best operas of a common folk nature I ever heard was The Most Happy Fella. Wonderful music, and a good story, too.

C

[The Pecman]

I'm also a big fan of quite a few movie musicals, which I guess are the modern equivalent of operas... to a point. There are some film musicals that are almost completely sung from start to finish, like Les Miserables, and it has moments.

[Merkin]

Does anyone remember "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg"? This 1964 French release, directed by Jacques Demy, was clearly intended as an operatic film. It starred a lovely young Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo. The music was written by Michel Legrand. The film dialogue is all sung as recitative, even the most casual conversation.The continuous music score and the glowing rain-smeared colour photography had much to do with the popularity of this film. Formally the work is operatic, with the plot advanced entirely through dialogue sung with accompanying music. The whole is united by an orchestral score of simple but sincere rhythms and tunes that permeate continuously a story of events lasting at least five years. Sadly, the on-screen actors' voices were dubbed for the songs and the lip-sync was not always convincing. (details sourced from Wiki)

[colinian]

'Les Miz' is my favorite musical of all time, maybe of forever. I've seen it live about five times, and have two CDs and a DVD. Take a look at my new serial novel, A Time When It All Went Wrong. 'Les Miserables' is one of the central themes of the story.

BTW, I like opera. I've been to live performances of the San Francisco Opera and to live theater presentations of the Metropolitan Opera.

Colin