Commedia
has a repertoire of all the popular arias and ensembles
from the world of opera. This repertoire also includes a
broad spectrum of songs from the shows, popular ballads,
neapolitan songs and music theatre pieces. These excerpts
are staged and include an entertaining commentary to
explain the context to those less familiar with complicated
opera plots. Programmes are tailored to suit requirements.
A selection of sacred songs and excerpts from oratorio is
available for wedding occasions.
La
traviata appears to epitomise the traditional concept of
Grand Opera. The plot runs the gamut of human emotions and
is set in a background of glamour and dazzling colour. Yet
the first performance in 1853 at La Fenice in Venice was a
complete fiasco, largely because the setting was thought
too modern, the plot scandalous, the score excessively
innovative and the prima donna’s generous proportions were
considered physically inappropriate to the role of the
emaciated, consumptive heroine. But the revival a year
later was a tumultuous success. At the time, La traviata
was a new development in romantic opera in its treatment of
the heroine. No longer was she a victim of violent,
passionate emotions, but more of subtle and refined
feelings of tenderness, pain, love and resignation. These
qualities permeate a role of formidable vocal and
histrionic proportions, requiring of the interpreter vocal
displays typical of the “bel-canto” era, together with the
more intense and sustained vocalising that is so much a
part of “verismo”.
Mozart’s
final theatrical masterpiece is an exotic cocktail of
ritual and symbolism and perhaps a dash of pantomime for
good measure. Not strictly opera in the traditional sense -
it contains spoken dialogue in much the same way as Bizet’s
Carmen - it is a playful but profound look at man’s search
for love and his struggle to attain wisdom and virtue. Sung
in English and accompanied by the Virtual Reality
Orchestra.
Madam
Butterfly belongs to that elite group of operas, like
Carmen and La Traviata, that were an unmitigated fiasco at
their première, but subsequently were among the most
popular in the repertoire. Interestingly, Puccini had never
been so confident of the success of an opera but the
original production unfortunately exceeded the stamina and
indulgence of the La Scala audience. After several
revisions, the tragic story of the geisha who enters into a
temporary marriage contract with an American naval officer
who later abandons her to marry a proper American wife,
went on to earn the success it enjoys today.
The
spirited contrasts of fun and pathos of Puccini's
enchanting melodies accompany an imaginative new
translation, performed with a cast of the finest
professional singers and the Commedia Virtual Reality
Orchestra. La Bohème is unique, not only for the quality of
the music but also for the ingenious treatment of the
characters and their social interplay. At the time the
opera was written this treatment was unusually radical yet,
interestingly, the issues dealt with are still pertinent
today. The charm of the tragic love story between Mimì and
Rodolfo is irresistibly contemporary and guarantees a
lively and moving production.
Carmen
can lay claim to the most popular opera ever written. It is
a perfect blend of drama and pure entertainment and has
some of the most memorable melodies in the repertoire. Its
extraordinary success has led to its adaption as a Broadway
musical and several Hollywood films and the score has been
the inspiration behind innumerable popular songs. The opera
relates the story of Carmencita, a gypsy femme fatale, who
is murdered in a fit of jealous rage by her lover, José.
Carmen`s blatant sexuality, her readiness to discard men
like plucked flowers, the manner of her ultimate demise and
the behaviour of the chorus of rowdy women who both fight
and smoke on stage, shocked audiences for almost 50 years.