Opera Bites: Opera Goes to the Movies
Image: Opera Bites at Harold Park w Peter-John Layton, Rae Dahm. Image: Facebook
Opera Bites presented a really informative and enjoyable evening last night with a program of opera arias that have been used in films dating back to 1939.
As the MC Murray Dahm explained in his deeply resonating bass/baritone voice, the reason for this may well have been that opera composers were long-since dead and therefore no royalties needed to be paid for the use of their music.
Would you believe that some operatic singers even starred in silent films where their voices would not be heard by their audiences?
The range of music presented by this troupe of singers was truly breathtaking.
It began with the much-loved “O mio babbino caro,” which was sung by soprano Rae Levien as Lauretta, who is asking her father Gianni Schicchi to help her marry the man she loves. The song was used more for its melody than its content in the films A Room with a View (1985) and, would you believe, Mr Bean’s Holiday (2007).
The Lakmè duet (Delibes) was beautifully rendered by Rae and mezzo Eliane Morel representing the princess and her maidservant in the opera, but, as one blog notes, “[The duet’s] sensual blending of female voices powerfully underscored a sexual tryst between two lady vampires, Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon, in the horror movie The Hunger”.
The intensely sad aria “Un bel di” (“One fine Day”) sung by Rae as Madama Butterfly was used, possibly quite appositely, in Fatal Attraction, and we all know that Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” was used to brilliant effect by Director Francis Ford Coppola as the US Bell UH-1 Iroquois “Huey” helicopters in Apocalypse Now flew in ominous formation to their lethal destination.
Bizet’s glorious male duet from The Pearl Fishers, sung by Murray and tenor Peter-John Layton, was used in Gallipoli (1981), and Eliane Morel, supported by her chorus, let it rip with her rendition of Bizet’s “Habanera,” from the opera Carmen, which was used in the films Up (2009) and War Dogs (2016).
All in all, the troupe performed 24 songs to the great satisfaction of their capacity crowd, the great majority of whom were not regular opera-goers. I guess it’s the cosy atmosphere of the pub that attracts this clientele.
And speaking of the pub, Sam, the manager on the night, welcomed me with a big smile and invited me to select something from the menu, so I enjoyed a delicious beef and stout pie. It was just yummy, with its crusty pastry, generous filling of beef, and a tummy-warming serving of mash potatoes and a splash of green peas. The wine list is excellent, and I was able to select a Marlborough Sav Blanc which is my favourite white. I had a double-sized drink to get into the mood. After all, song, wine and good company make for a great evening at the local pub when it’s raining cats and dogs outside.
