Fit for the grand opera stage or direct to DVD?

We discussed in class what we might find to be suitable topics for operas. I have to say that I would LOVE to see a lot of stories brought to life on the grand stage. I think the suggestion of children’s stories or Grimm fairy tales would be absolutely amazing – and a great way to get young people into the audience along with their parents or grandparents who want to share their love of opera. I’m not saying Harry Potter will make an amazing opera…but hey, maybe Lord of the Rings would…

We’ve already seen Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and some others make it onto the stage. I’m wondering what it might be like to put something like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty to music. Most contain characters we see in many operas: the ingénue, the diva, the hero, the dastardly villain, sometimes even a witch. In fact, a lot of the stories that Disney picked up on would make amazing operas as evidenced by their successes as musicals on film. They didn’t all translate very well onto the musical stage, but I wonder what folks might do if they had a little more sophisticated stage sense. If done correctly, I think they would more than satisfy Olivia’s visual requirements.

For example, The Little Mermaid. Mimic the swimming on wheels? Not sure that was the best idea. However, something along the lines of what we saw done with Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust might make the underwater scenes a little more believable. Sleeping Beauty would also make an amazing opera. Considering it was the only Disney movie with a bona fide opera singer in the lead charming the little forest animals with her song. And come on. Who wouldn’t want to hear Maleficent sing something absolutely INSANE?! Diva? Anyone? The staging done for Verdi’s Falstaff would work wonderfully well with the period settings and clothing. Just try and tell me Nanetta’s “Sul fil…” setting in the forest isn’t something right out of one of these books.

There’s a reason we all love these stories. They have a certain allure to them that never really goes away even when we’ve grown up and have been thoroughly disillusioned. They provide us with a temporary escape from the everyday. We all want to be reminded of those days before reality set in, to be given the opportunity to giggle and gape in awe of the spectacle unraveling before our eyes. I would definitely be front and center to experience one of these done well.