Opera the musical

David Martorano’s “OPERA! The Musical” puts a new spin on some of the greatest music ever written. A hilarious musical comedy set in an opera company, “OPERA!” promises to be a unique theatrical experience. Sung entirely in English with carefully crafted lyrics keep the laughs coming, it carries the audience along while paying homage to great theater. Gordy Haab’s jazz arrangements of both “Nessun Dorma” and “Dunque Io Son,” along with Martorano's hip-hop versions of “Casta Diva,” "Quando M'en Vo" and fusion remix of "E Lucevan Le Stelle" make this opera anything but boring.

“OPERA!” audiences will rock out to scenes from The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni, have their passions ignited with scenes from La Boheme, and split their sides as comic bits unfold set to the “Toreador’s Song," "Habenera," and the “Can Can.” It all climaxes in a spectacular five-minute medley weaving twelve songs, in five

different styles, into one show-stopping finale curtain call that will leave the audience begging for more. “OPERA! The Musical” promises to be a magical evening of glorious music, grand spectacle, and gut-busting laughter for opera lovers, and detractors, alike.

People already love the OPERA!'s music, and not since Beatlemania have more hits been performed in a single night. It’s showstopper after showstopper. Composer David Martorano tore a page out of the Mamma Mia handbook by starting with the music first, and writing the story out from there. The difference – no confining lyrics and voluminous

repertory. “OPERA!” is a balanced production in every sense of the word. It’s designed to be easy on the ear, not only for the audience but for the cast as well. There are just two acts, each running under an hour. With a cast of just seven principles, a chorus of ten to twelve singers/dancers, and a pit that can be scaled from seven to nineteen with virtually no loss in the quality of sound, “OPERA!” can be economically produced and run night after night, week after week, year after year.

The show begins with a bang, literally, as Violetta Maledetta – prima donna of Greater Toledo’s oldest and most respected opera company – falls from her stage harness and crashes through a piano, in full Valkyrie regalia, during a rehearsal

Violetta’s injury sets off a wild series of events as musical director Ralph Headstrom and impresario Don Eslami work frantically to save the company’s season. Headstrom hits upon the idea to perform their opera repertory using available musical-theater talent.

As the rival performers vie for top billing, romances blossom in the unlikeliest places and betrayal lurks in every corner. From casting couches to heart attacks, from chorus lines to banana peels, the audience is taken on a two-hour tour de force of updated classical music – animated by the spirit of Bugs Bunny, Busby Berkeley and Mel Brooks.

Overcoming the most common complaint about opera – that its ponderous length and slow story movement often “lose the ear” of today’s sound-byte-driven audiences – the show adopts musical comedy’s fleet pacing and snappy dialogue to keep crowds riveted.

OPERA! The Musical breathes new life into immortal pieces by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Bizet and Donizetti; the sheer power of these melodic masterworks provides an emotional counterpoint to the show’s hilarity. To avoid flooding the ear with too disparate a selection of music, the show borrows heavily from four works: La Boheme, Rigoletto, Carmen, and (Continued)