MONDAY NUN DAY: Richard Rodgers' Research for The Sound of Music

For today's Monday Nun Day posting, we take a look into the creation of the music sung by the nuns in The Sound of Music. Did you know that this liturgical-style music was written specifically for the production? There's also quite a bit more of it in the stage version than what you might remember from the iconic Julie Andrews film...and we're excited to share it with you during the Central City Opera 2014 Festival!

Richard and Dorothy Rodgers at Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart at a concert arranged by Mother Morgan for research on The Sound of Music - Photo from New York Public Library Digital Gallery

Richard Rodgers wrote in Musical Stages: An Autobiography:

One musical problem confronting me was the opening piece. Rather than begin with the customary overture, we decided to open immediately on a scene in Nonnberg Abbey, in which the nuns are heard chanting a Catholic prayer, "Dixit Dominus." Since I had been so strongly against a score that combined old music with new, I could hardly fall back on using a traditional melody for the mass. Writing "Western" songs for Oklahoma! or "Oriental" songs for The King and I had never fazed me, but the idea of composing a Catholic prayer made me apprehensive. Given my lack of familiarity with liturgical music, as well as the fact that I was of a different faith, I had to make sure that what I wrote would sound as authentic as possible.

Richard Rodgers at Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart - also from NYPL Digital Gallery

So for the first time in my life I did a little research - and it turned out to be one of the most rewarding music lessons I've ever had. Through friends I got in touch with Mother Morgan, the head of the music department at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. She was not only willing to help; she even invited Dorothy and me to a specially arranged concert at which the nuns and seminarians sand and performed many different kinds of religious music, from Gregorian chants to a modern work by Gabriel Fauré. An unexpectedly amusing moment came when Mother Morgan, waving her arms like a cheerleader at a football game, was vigorously conducting a particularly dramatic passage. As the music built to its peak, above the singing could be clearly heard Mother Morgan's booming command: "Pray it!"

Mother Morgan (above) assisted Ricard Rodgers in his research for creating the liturgical music for The Sound of Music.

Catch Richard Rodgers' beautiful music inspired by Mother Morgan and her fellow nuns during The Sound of Music. The production runs exclusively at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, August 2-10, 2014.

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Franz Schubert and Casper

It's time for a Saturday morning cartoon!

In honor of Franz Schubert's birthday yesterday (born January 31, 1797), here's a cute one where Casper the Friendly Ghost tries to help him complete the "Unfinished Symphony."

"Boo Bop," Casper the Friendly Ghost, from 1957

The Sound of Music....Horror Film?

Happy Halloween!

The 1965 Julie Andrews film The Sound of Music has become such an icon of American culture, it can't help but be parodied. Quite often. One popular theme is to reset this sweet movie as a horror film. We've been featuring several of these "trailers" on our Facebook page throughout the week, and here's a culmination of the best ones we've found. Which is your favorite?

"The Sound of Music (Horror Trailer)" by MNMantylaVideo

This trailer is part The Sound of Music, part The Turn of the Screw. "You are the twelfth in a long line of governesses....the last one, she stayed only two hours."

"The Sound of Music Recut Trailer - Horror" by chuck13171

I rather like the pacing of the soundtrack and the editing in this particular trailer. "Mother, would it help if we sang about our favorite things?" "No, darling, this is one time it would NOT help." 

"The Sound Of Music Trailer Recut - Michael Farr" by mifarr1

This one focuses on Captain von Trapp. Should it be The Sound of Murder instead?

"The Sound of Music (1965) - Recut Trailer [Horror]" by shanemoovee

Just when they thought it was safe...

"Sound Of Music Recut Trailer (HORROR)" by Hannah OneTwoNine

Everyone loves Maria...almost everyone...

"The Sound Of Music RECUT" by BoundlessProductions
And finally, remember how Maria mentions "perhaps I had a wicked childhood"?...

Remember, you can see the not-so-horror-filled stage version of The Sound of Music in August 2014, when Central City Opera performs the show at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in the Denver Performing Arts Complex.

What to Listen for in The Barber of Seville

The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini is one of the world’s best known and most loved operas – but because we have so many popular cultural references to the music, it may be helpful to know what to listen for when you’re actually experiencing it in the Opera House. 

Let’s start with the overture.  

Overtures exist to give the orchestra a chance to perform all by itself – and many times, the overture features tunes that the audience will hear in the rest of the opera.  However, because Rossini wrote this opera in three weeks and ran out of time before composing the overture, he recycled his own music. This overture was actually used for two other Rossini operas. Fortunately, it is forever linked in our collective memories as the overture to The Barber of Seville, even though none of the melodies in the overture are in the rest of the opera. We know these melodies well because we’ve heard them in popular culture.  Case in point:  Bugs Bunny.  Bugs’ song is not a song from the opera – he sings to the melody in the overture. 

First, listen to the overture:

Then, listen to what Bugs Bunny does with the overture in The Rabbit of Seville.

I bet you are all nodding your head and saying, “Oh, yeah, I remember that!”  When you’re listening to this overture in the Opera House, though, try to forget Bugs Bunny and imagine some other situations that this music could be foreshadowing.  Although this overture was not originally written for this opera, it sets the scene extraordinarily well. 

This blog post is just the beginning of the article "What to Listen for in The Barber of Seville," written by Education & Community Engagement Coordinator Emily Murdock for our 2013 Opera Insider festival resource guide. Download the pdf for the full article and much more on the history of the 2013 Festival productions, their composers and librettists, interviews with the artists and more.

The Barber of Seville and Saturday Morning Cartoons

When you see The Barber of Seville in Central City this summer, you may find yourself tapping your toes to music that is incredibly familiar to you. What, you haven’t seen a production of the opera before? That’s okay, you’ve heard the music many, many times – in fact, so often that it’s like an old familiar friend at this point. Composer Gioachino Rossini’s upbeat music perfectly matches the comic capers of its characters onstage. In modern times, visual artists of all kinds have incorporated The Barber of Seville into their soundtracks, for the instant feeling it brings to mind of plotting and scheming in a humorous way.

Many of us grew up with Saturday morning cartoons that were bursting to the seam with musical references from The Barber of Seville. Here are some of my favorites.

The classic Bugs Bunny sketch, The Rabbit of Seville:

Woody Woodpecker's version:

Tom & Jerry's:

Want to find more? Download our 2013 Opera Insider, a resource guide for the 2013 Festival. The article "Where Have I Heard That Before?" includes many, many more examples of Rossini's music used in popular culture. Seinfeld? Yep. Return of the Living Dead? Truly. Doritos commercial? Definitely! Which ones are YOUR favorites?

On RENT, LA BOHÈME and OKLAHOMA!

It is fairly well known that the musical Rent is based on Puccini's La Bohème...with a few varied plot points. Especially the end. The direct correlations between those shows can be left for a future blog post, but did you know there's a comparison to be made with Oklahoma! as well?

The Off-Broadway satirical revue Forbidden Broadway has a great tradition of spoofing whatever is currently playing in the Big Apple. Several years ago, they re-made Rent's "La Vie Bohème" into "This Ain't Bohème." The video below uses footage from the popular film, dubbed over with audio from Forbidden Broadway's take on the song. Note the lyrics about two minutes in: "We need a new show. The opposite of Rent ain't Bohème....it's Oklahoma!"

To read the lyrics, click the YouTube button above; they're included in the full description of the video.

If you're not familiar with the original song from Rent, you can watch this scene from the movie which takes place in their version of the Café Momus.

More Fun with CARMEN as Central City Opera Stars Sing with Jim Henson Characters

In our continuing series of "Where Have I Heard That?" we return to the ever-popular Carmen. There is no end to the number of times this familiar music has been used in pop culture, appearing lately in ads for the reality TV show, Love in the Wild, and other commercials. But my favorite uses are still those done by Jim Henson and company. There are even some direct Central City Opera correlations to these too!

Bass-baritone Samuel Ramey received some of his early training at Central City Opera:

A young Samuel Ramey (back row, in front of the post, smiling) in rehearsals for Don Giovanni at Central City Opera, 1963. Photo credit Mike O'Meara.

“I grew up in Western Kansas, where the only opera was on recordings,” remembers Ramey.  “I was fascinated by it, but had never seen a performance.  A friend of mine happened to hear that Central City was auditioning college-aged singers for the chorus and persuaded me to apply.  I made a tape at the local radio station, and lo and behold, I was hired.” The world-renowned bass- baritone made his singing debut in that 1963 production of Don Giovanni, a star-studded production that included Sherrill Milnes, Norman Treigle, Richard Cross, Spiro Malas, and Justino Diaz.

-Excerpt from Theatre of Dreams: The Glorious Central City Opera - Celebrating 75 Years

 
Samuel Ramey performed Carmen's "Toreador" on Sesame Street, with some slightly different lyrics. "L is the letter that I love the most.  L helps me go, 'Low, low, low, low!'" Come on, you can sing along with this one - the words are incorporated for you in this fun clip.

The great soprano Beverly Sills also performed on the Central City Opera stage in the 1960 production of Aida. (See several pictures in this Denver Post article.) Sills is incredibly fun to watch "hamming it up" with Miss Piggy and other Muppet Show pigs in the sketch "Pigoletto." Several operas are quoted, including Carmen during another "Toreador" spoof. A porcine character sings, "Toreador...this is the only opera that I know; I've heard this one, it's good!"

You've heard "Toreador" nearly everywhere - not to mention the "Habanera" - but wouldn't you like to enjoy this wonderful music in person?  How about under the stars? This year, we're offering a special performance of Carmen under the stars in Denver.  Join us this Tuesday, July 12th at the Comfort Dental Amphitheatre (formerly known as Fiddler's Green) in Greenwood Village.  Tickets are just $22 for adults, $15 for kids. All seats are general admission and the doors open at 6:00 p.m. for the performance at 7:30 p.m.

Gilligan's Island meets CARMEN and THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS

What does the TV show Gilligan's Island have to do with this season's fare at the Central City Opera 2011 Festival?  More than you'd think!

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale...

In the 1966 episode "The Producer," our favorite castaways received an unexpected island visit from Harold Hecuba (played by Phil Silvers). Hecuba crash-landed on the island and refused to contact his off-shore boat until he had something to produce on Broadway. Ginger, of course, wanted to audition for him and, long story short, the team put together their own musical using what they could find on the island, including the script to Shakespeare's Hamlet and some of the Howell's opera records. One of these records just happened to be Carmen (instrumental only - how handy).

Unfortunately, due to YouTube controls for these particular videos I can't embed them right here, but you really should follow these links and enjoy:

Hamlet (Gilligan)'s "To Be or Not To Be" to the tune of Carmen's Habanera

I ask to be or not to be
A rogue or peasant slave is what you see
A boy who loved his mother’s knee
And so I ask to be or not to be
So here’s my plea, I beg of you
And say you see a little hope for me
To fight or flee, to fight or flee
I ask myself to be or not to be

There's also Ophelia (Ginger) singing to the tune of The Tales of Hoffman's Barcarolle and then our final Carmen treat: Polonius's advice to Laertes (The Skipper to Mary Ann) to Toreador

Neither a borrower nor a lender be
Do not forget: Stay out of debt
Think twice, and take this good advice from me
Guard that old solvency
There’s just one other thing you ought to do
To thine own self be true

In addition to Carmen, it appears there may be a connection between Gilligan's Island and another one of our operas this summer, The Seven Deadly Sins. There is conflicting evidence on the internet - I know, I wasn't surprised either - as to whether TV writer Sherwood Schwartz has admitted or denied what several fans believe is true: each castaway character represents one of the Biblical Seven Deadly Sins. There are several versions out there explaining which character represents which sin.  Gilligan himself is sometimes given the role of sloth, but sometimes is actually seen as the Devil himself, thwarting everyone's plans to get off the island in their own version of Hell. When you get a chance, watch an episode again and see who you think might represent each sin (sloth, pride, wrath, gluttony, lust, greed or envy).
 
The Seven Deadly Sins just happens to be part of our "Triple Bill "of one-act operas (with Gianni Schicchi and The Breasts of Tiresias) opening next Saturday, July 9. With preliminary timings coming in at under an hour for each of them, you certainly DON'T have to commit to a "three-hour tour" if you just want to see one of them. Of course, we recommend all three! You can also combine The Seven Deadly Sins with our SinFest option, a multiple arts genre event focusing on all of your favorite sins, combining opera with visual arts, dance, food, wine and more.

For more fun uses of opera in pop culture settings, follow our "Where Have I Heard That?" blog series.

Carmen Like You've Never Heard It Before

And now for something completely different...

You know that sultry "Habanera" from Carmen?  Once you hear the music, you'll never forget it (even if you might forget the name of the tune or the fact that it's from an opera).  It's also one of those "ear worms" that can stick with you for most of a day if you let it.  Well, I bring you a NEW way to hear it...



Maybe this will come into your mind the next time you hear a traffic horn, and bring a smile to your face!

You Know More Opera Than You Think You Do

In our continuing series of "Where Have I Heard That Before?" I bring you a few more popular uses of the music from this summer's productions.

This week, I found this sweet clip using "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi.  It's from the Peanuts special You're a Good Skate, Charlie Brown. Good ol' Woodstock to the beautiful, poetic rescue! (And how many times do you get to see Peppermint Patty all dressed up?)



I played the clip above for a friend who said "That's from Gianni Schicchi? I know that one!" This same friend went so far as to re-post the clip on her Facebook page with the comment, "You know more opera than you think! Maybe you've even hummed this in the shower!" Yes, this aria is one of the most popular "opera tunes," though I'm not sure it's ever made it into my early-morning routine.

And for another opera clip, how many of you recognized Carmen's "Habanera" in an early scene of the Disney/Pixar film Up?



I guess opera is a part of Carl's early-morning routine. The scene just wouldn't be the same without the Carmen underscoring!

Puccini's Famous Aria "O mio babbino caro"

Gianni Schicchi, which Central City Opera will present in 2011, contains one of the best-known arias of the opera world -  "O mio babbino caro."  It has been used as the soundtrack for countless films and commercials, and even brought fame to 10-year-old Jackie Evancho on America's Got Talent.


In the film world, you'll find it in a wide variety of movies including G. I. Jane and Mr. Bean's Holiday, but it may be best known as the title track to A Room with a View.


While both of the above videos are beautiful examples of Puccini's aria, would you believe the piece was also used to promote the video game Grand Theft Auto III?

Fun with the Habanera from CARMEN

Around the office, we already have the Habanera from Carmen (one of our 2011 productions) stuck in our head.  It's that tune you've heard countless times in tv and film, including a Bertolli's pasta commercial.  Think about this:  music from a French opera, set in Spain, to sell Italian pasta!

Well, today we turn to Jim Henson's loveable creations to bring us two favorite video clips of the Habanera. First, up is a classic Sesame Street clip:


And for our finale today, we bring you the Swedish Chef, Beaker, and Animal from the Muppets.  Trust me, this will be the one that gets stuck in your head...you don't need to know the original lyrics, just "Bork" and "Meep" along!



Look forward to our production of Carmen in 2011!