Many people are unfamiliar with opera and may dismiss it, thinking that it is just for other people. However, many will remember the scene from The Shawshank Redemption in which Andy plays the Canzonetta Sull’Aria (a little song on the breeze) from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro to the whole prison. To refresh your memory or to see this very powerful and moving scene for the first time click the following link.
The Shawshank Redemption | The Canzonetta Sull’Aria from The Marriage of Figaro (3.46)
Every year the Royal Opera House offers a nation-wide design competition based on a well-known opera. Last year it was Puccini’s La Boheme in which North Hertfordshire College students won several of the prizes.
This year the design competition is based on Puccini’s Tosca, and the foundation students are currently working on their ideas for set design, costume design and promotional material.
For a taster of Tosca click the following link to hear the lovely Angela Ghiorghiu sing Vissi d’arte. Watch it all the way through, then say that opera is just for other people.
Vissi d’arte from Puccini’s Tosca (3.26)