![]() Here it is, performed by the Wiener Symphoniker: If you’ve heard or seen the beginning of the musical Sweet Charity, you’ll know that a great overture can absolutely make a show. ![]() Le Mariage de Figaro was originally a play, written in 1778 by Pierre Beaumarchais, and it’s the second in the ‘Figaro’ trilogy, preceded by The Barber of Seville.Īnyway, background story aside, the overture to this opera is absolutely 10/10. Oh, and there’s Figaro the barber, who sings one of the jolliest operatic tunes ever:Īnd there’s a follow-up story! Just in case you were confused about why the song that says ‘Figaro’ a billion times in it isn’t actually from The Marriage of Figaro (it would seem logical), there is an explanation. Rossini’s opera is a comic tale of love and trickery between the young, desirable Rossina, her creepy uncle Dr Bartolo, and her future lover Almaviva. If you’re used to the jaunty heel-tapping storylines associated with musical theatre and are concerned by the rumour that literally everyone dies in opera, look no further. Here it is, sung by the exceptionally talented Diana Damrau: Much like Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom, you don’t want to mess with Mozart’s Queen. Mozart’s aria reaches the lofty heights of an F6 above top C, and it says things like ‘The vengeance of Hell boils in my heart, death and despair flame about me!’. Its German title is ‘Der Hölle Rache’, but it’s more commonly known as the Queen of the Night aria. This opera by Mozart is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that includes both singing and spoken dialogue – just like a musical would (excluding those weird exceptions, like Les Misérables).īut the main thing you need to know about this opera is that it contains one of the most terrifying arias ever to grace the opera world. ![]() Here’s ‘Habanera’, sung by the undisputed sex siren of opera, Maria Callas. ![]() A nineteenth-century version of Chicago’s Velma Kelly, if you will.įrom the barnstorming orchestral Overture and the macho Toreador’s Song to the sultry ‘Habanera’ and ‘Seguidilla’, Bizet’s opera is like a collection of Romantic era musical theatre tunes from start to finish. The title character in Bizet’s salacious opera is a seductress, an outrageous flirt who drives men wild. Now, listen to ‘La vie bohème’ in a whole new light…
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