The BBC tonight pulled off what looked like a rather cheesey stunt. ‘Flashmob: The Opera’ was a short contemporary opera, using famous opera toonz with nifty modern words to fit the story, performed live at a central London railway station (Paddington). The finale was the ‘flashmob’ part – they hoped a big ol’ chorus would turn up and sing along with the end bit.
And you know what? It was *great*.
The cameras roved around and the four main performers – the girl, the guy she’s just broken up with, the rascal who tries to seduce her, and the dude who advises the guy how to win back his girl – were astonishing, delivering the vocals and the acting while moving, sometimes at speed, through crowds of curious people, oblivious people, rushing-for-their-train people, trailed by cameras, distant from the orchestra (which was on site but away from where the main action took place). It was great fun, with great melodramatic emotion, despair and love and tearful choices and a loving reunion. The music was great, although it was kind of a ‘opera’s greatest hits party mix’.
But the crowd – the crowd just made it special.
People watched. They got engaged. They followed the action, or they stumbled through it looking startled. The guy in the sushi bar having his meal almost fell out of his chair when this girl sat next to him then started singing opera into a camera that was trained on her. Little kids, lots of teenagers, adults, senior citizens, it was startling how well it worked.
The theory behind flashmobs was that they would open people’s minds just for a moment, and change their perspective on the world. Usually, they didn’t achieve much more than a shrug and a snort.
This – corporate, big, clumsy, manipulative, a year after the flashmob fad was done and dusted – somehow felt more genuine than any of the true skool flashmobs that have been and gone.
There was wonder in the crowd, and there was joy in the railway station. small dreams bursting out all over the place.
Brilliant.
5 thoughts on “Something Opens”
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That sounds so cool! One of my coolest experiences while travelling, was walking through the grounds of the Louvre and hearing amazing music… two young women had set up in one of the vaulted – I don’t have the word – the bits under the buildings between courtyards, and were singing opera. It was awesome, echoing off all the old stonework. London railway stations often have that kind of echoey atmosphere too…
Did I hear you say “small dreams”?
I thought that bulls were supposed to be colourblind? That’s what I was taught at school anyway, that they weren’t attracted to the red of the matador’s cape, but to the motion of it.
Maybe they can see orange but not red. Dunno.
http://www.jimloy.com/physics/color.htm says they’re color blind and explains why.
http://www.spanish-fiestas.com/bullfighting/history.htm says they’re colour blind. Just so we cover both the American and the correct spellings of “colour”. 😉
This has been a test.
This is also a test.
Or as Missy says, “This is not a test.”
Oh my frickin’ god it works! Feel free to delete these comments Morgue.