Mildred on mon 31 may 10
Since many of you were just in Phila. thought you might get a kick out =3D
of this one. MIldred Herot
Flash Opera Strikes Center City
You're buying your weekly sopresetta and organic eggs Saturday afternoon =
=3D
at the Reading Railroad Terminal Market, and the guy next to you starts =3D
belting out Verdi. A woman nearby joins in. And another. They're pretty =3D
good, and you sense they're being accompanied by the sound of a full =3D
orchestra. And then you realize the joke is on you.
Only it's not a joke. Saturday at Philadelphia's great kitchen pantry, =3D
the Opera Company of Philadelphia ambushed shoppers by planting a little =
=3D
La Traviata among the green grocers, bakery stalls and fish mongers. OCP =
=3D
called it "Flash Opera," and to my mind, it was much more than a =3D
publicity stunt for the troupe's upcoming run of La Traviata.
Watch the video, produced and smartly edited by Beholder Productions. =3D
One of OCP's thirty choristers who showed up for the event - they were =3D
dressed like any other shoppers - starts to sing. Two young women listen =
=3D
and chuckle. An older woman looks completely enraptured. Listeners start =
=3D
snapping pictures. One of the female singers puts her arm around an =3D
older man while she sings, as his wife cracks up. Verdi's "Brindisi" =3D
picks up steam, and the chorus finishes with a flourish. The Saturday =3D
afternoon crowd of unsuspecting listeners breaks into applause and =3D
cheers of "bravo."
I have to say, this might be the first staged promotional event that's =3D
made me break into tears. Some of it is the editing, of course. But the =3D
whole idea of this kind of intimate, surprise contact with the public is =
=3D
so charming, and shows so vividly the power of classical music, that it =3D
soars with vindication.
Vindication of what?
For me, it's the idea that classical music is for everyone. The Reading =3D
Terminal Market might be the most eclectic meeting place in a city that =3D
tends to still sort itself out according to class, wealth and race. =3D
Everyone shops there. And here was a group of listeners who were not =3D
self-selecting as classical lovers. You aren't surprised when you see =3D
someone loving opera in the Academy of Music, after all; they loved it =3D
enough to pay a lot of money to take several hours out of the daily =3D
routine to be there.
But in this case classical music was thrown into the atmosphere with a =3D
total lack of expectation that anyone would love it. Some shoppers went =3D
about their business, not interested enough in the piped-in orchestral =3D
sound and live singing to stop and listen. But to plenty of others - if =3D
their faces are to be believed - it apparently meant a great deal.
Flash Opera means it turns out the woman standing next to you, purse =3D
slung over her shoulder and coffee cup in hand, has a great voice. And =3D
it means you don't have to look as far as you might think to uncover a =3D
latent opera lover.
VIDEO LINK TO YOUTUBE : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D3D_zmwRitYO3w=3D2=
0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
=3D
-------
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com=3D20
Version: 8.5.437 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2904 - Release Date: 05/29/10 =
=3D
18:25:00
Carol Casey on tue 1 jun 10
That was great. Thanks!
carol
canary court
On Mon, May 31, 2010 at 2:08 PM, Mildred wrote:
> Since many of you were just in Phila. thought you might get a kick out of
> this one. MIldred Herot
> Flash Opera Strikes Center City
> You're buying your weekly sopresetta and organic eggs Saturday afternoon =
at
> the Reading Railroad Terminal Market, and the guy next to you starts belt=
ing
> out Verdi. A woman nearby joins in. And another. They're pretty good, and
> you sense they're being accompanied by the sound of a full orchestra. And
> then you realize the joke is on you.
> Only it's not a joke. Saturday at Philadelphia's great kitchen pantry, th=
e
> Opera Company of Philadelphia ambushed shoppers by planting a little La
> Traviata among the green grocers, bakery stalls and fish mongers. OCP cal=
led
> it "Flash Opera," and to my mind, it was much more than a publicity stunt
> for the troupe's upcoming run of La Traviata.
> Watch the video, produced and smartly edited by Beholder Productions. One
> of OCP's thirty choristers who showed up for the event - they were dresse=
d
> like any other shoppers - starts to sing. Two young women listen and
> chuckle. An older woman looks completely enraptured. Listeners start
> snapping pictures. One of the female singers puts her arm around an older
> man while she sings, as his wife cracks up. Verdi's "Brindisi" picks up
> steam, and the chorus finishes with a flourish. The Saturday afternoon cr=
owd
> of unsuspecting listeners breaks into applause and cheers of "bravo."
> I have to say, this might be the first staged promotional event that's ma=
de
> me break into tears. Some of it is the editing, of course. But the whole
> idea of this kind of intimate, surprise contact with the public is so
> charming, and shows so vividly the power of classical music, that it soar=
s
> with vindication.
> Vindication of what?
> For me, it's the idea that classical music is for everyone. The Reading
> Terminal Market might be the most eclectic meeting place in a city that
> tends to still sort itself out according to class, wealth and race. Every=
one
> shops there. And here was a group of listeners who were not self-selectin=
g
> as classical lovers. You aren't surprised when you see someone loving ope=
ra
> in the Academy of Music, after all; they loved it enough to pay a lot of
> money to take several hours out of the daily routine to be there.
> But in this case classical music was thrown into the atmosphere with a
> total lack of expectation that anyone would love it. Some shoppers went
> about their business, not interested enough in the piped-in orchestral so=
und
> and live singing to stop and listen. But to plenty of others - if their
> faces are to be believed - it apparently meant a great deal.
> Flash Opera means it turns out the woman standing next to you, purse slun=
g
> over her shoulder and coffee cup in hand, has a great voice. And it means
> you don't have to look as far as you might think to uncover a latent oper=
a
> lover.
>
> VIDEO LINK TO YOUTUBE : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D_zmwRitYO3w
>
>
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------
>
>
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 8.5.437 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2904 - Release Date: 05/29/10
> 18:25:00
>
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