Opera Roanoke will bring a multi-media production to Smith Mountain Lake, entitled “OPERA 101 — Think You Don’t Know Opera? You’ve been listening to it all your life.” This highly entertaining program will be staged at Trinity Ecumenical Parish on Friday, September 5th, at 7:00 p.m., and will highlight the following:
Question: What do Placido Domingo and Elmer Fudd have in common?
Answer: They both sing opera.
We’re joking, right?
“No, we’re quite serious,” says Scott Williamson, General & Artistic Director of Opera Roanoke. Mr. Domingo, world renowned tenor for New York’s Metropolitan Opera Company, has taken opera to new heights with stirring performances in such classic operas as Verdi’s Otello, Puccini’s Manon Lescaut and Wagner’s Tannhäuser.
Elmer Fudd, the star of many memorable Looney Toons cartoons, has done his own renditions of melodies from famous Wagner operas (including Tannhäuser and The Valkyrie), most notably while pursuing his nemesis, Bugs Bunny that “Pesky Wabbit.” Remember his rendition of “Kill the Wabbit, kill the Wabbit?“ Come to Opera Roanoke’s performance and learn what operatic arias Elmer sings as he pursues Bugs with his ancient blunderbuss shotgun.
Why draw such an unusual comparison?
“We’re making a point for people who claim they have never heard operatic singing or know nothing about this beautiful art form,” Maestro Williamson said. “We’re inviting you to join us for an evening of Opera at the Lake to prove that you’ve been listening to opera all of your life.
“In the early days you heard it sung by many of your favorite cartoon characters and later as the theme music for popular radio programs and award winning films, including “Philadelphia”, “Moonstruck,” “Raging Bull” and “The Witches of Eastwick” to name a few.
The Opera 101 program will include film clips from famous cartoons and trailers from popular films that featured operatic themes. A noted musicologist as well as a conductor and tenor soloist, Williamson will narrate the film portions of the evening and explain the origins of the timeless music used in the modern productions. He will be joined by renowned soprano Amy Cofield Williamson, singing solos and duets from opera’s most noted productions, and Opera Roanoke’s Apprentice Artists.
“Opera includes some of the greatest vocal and instrumental music ever composed . . . soaring arias, thundering choruses and powerful overtures and intermezzi,” Williamson said. “400 years on, opera is still surrounded by myths, like the misperception that its stories are unfamiliar, or its foreign-language lyrics a barrier to appreciation. The sound of the human voice – the greatest instrument we have – fully engaged, impassioned and unaided by amplification or technology is thrilling, moving, and needs to be experienced live.”
Ticket are $15.00 and can be purchased in advance by calling the Opera Roanoke offices at 540.982.2742. Tickets will also be on sale at various Lake retail locations and at the door starting one hour prior to the performance.
