Today, fill your cup of life with sunshine and laughter.
~Dodinsky


31 January 2008

WHAT'S OPERA, DOC? part one

You guessed it - my next topic of discussion is opera. I have to present it in a way that makes it palatable to the 15 and 16 year old clientele to whom i serve it. What better way to introduce opera than in the same way I first came to enjoy it?

This first is a famous parody on the overture of the great Rossini's piece de resistance "Il Barbiere di Siviglia". Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.








The beloved aria "Largo al Factotum" from Rossini's Barber of Seville:







... and a version of the same which gripped me in a sort of horrid fascination ...







Italian opera in the first half of the 19th century is synonymous with the name of Giocchino Rossini. The most revered and successful operatic composer of his day, Rossini wrote 40 operas in the span of 20 years. His final opera, Guillaume Tell, was the longest (6 hours!) and most elaborate, depicting the 14th-century legend of the Swiss folk hero who led the fight for independence from the Austrian Hapsburgs. The Overture is actually a four-section tone poem: a depiction of dawn in the mountains opens the piece, followed by raindrops, wind and a violent storm. The English horn and flute provide the calm which follows; the tune is based on a Swiss cowherd's cattle call. The bucolic pastoral scene is interrupted with the approach of the Swiss army, heralded by the trumpet's now-famous Lone Ranger theme song.







... and just for fun ...



7 comments:

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

wonderful to see you back Coco....and to see you still have it...showing the kids these videos will hold their attention for sure... the juxtaposition of the more fun videos with the serious videos is an excellent teaching method...

SMOOCH

Meribah said...

Ah, Looney Toons! I loved watching that show when I was a kid...still do. Bugs Bunny sure knew how to make the classics fun, didn't he? LOL :D

Unknown said...

I rather enjoyed the rock version :D

Anndi said...

And to think when I was a kid I thought the folks at Looney Tunes were musical geniuses.. LOL

Cooper said...

A Looney Tunes classic...

Of course there is always Bohemian Rhapsody as well...

TopChamp said...

this'll work I'm sure! I remember learning about diagetic/non-diagetic music with tom and jerry as the illustration... so it definitely sticks.

Hope you're doing ok coco

Julie said...

Ahhh the Barber! I saw it performed most exquisitely in Rome back in November! So much fun! Or maybe it was a parody....but it was FUN!

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