Let's Talk Music - Chapter 2, From Broadway to the Opera House
From the beginning of times, mankind has enjoyed two things when it comes to entertainment: stories and music. People used to gather around the fire and sing or tell tales long before the first theatre opened its doors or the first musical instrument was invented. So it was only a matter of time before someone, allegedly Jacopo Peri, an Italian composer, combined the two and created the first opera.
The opera evolved as a genre throughout four centuries, but as the music scene changed, a new form of entertainment emerged: a hybrid between opera and theatre - the musical.
There is a lot of debate over the debut of the musical as a genre. Charles M. Barras' The Black Crook is still widely considered the first musical despite critics saying that it was just a play with songs and dance.
In figure skating, operas and musicals are both under-used and over-used at the same time. There are some operas and musicals that are being used too much (i.e. the obvious Carmen and Phantom of the Opera), but the genres in general are not as often seen in this sport as you'd think.
Personally, I tend to roll my eyes every time I see a new skater doing Carmen or Phantom of the Opera because I feel that I have already seen all there is to see about these two, unless skaters have the potential to bring something new to the story. Unfortunately, most skaters don't try and leave their own mark on these stories, but skate to the same songs tens of others have skated to before them; hence, my irritation.
Last season though saw a few refreshing approaches to musicals and opera on ice. Japan's Kanako Murakami chose to set both her routines to Andrew Lloyd Webber's masterpiece, but showed two different perspectives, while her countryman, Takahito Mura, broke a gender barrier by skating to Georges Bizet's famous tale of passion. There were also a few stories we've rarely seen on ice: Javier Fernandez's The Barber of Seville, Victoria Helgesson's Sunset Boulevard, Kristin Moore-Towers & Michael Marinaro's Chess. However, none of the skaters took advantage of the new rule to be the first to skate to Carmen with lyrics, which is a shame. This opera has become such a trademark for figure skating, that whomever uses it with words first, is bound to make an impression.
To pave the way for whomever decides to tackle Carmen with lyrics, some skaters took famous operas last season, added the lyrics and made a splash. My favourite was Michal Brezina, who skated to Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.
The Czech skater is known for his versatility in choosing his routines - he's skated to Japanese Kodo Drums, the soundtrack of Sherlock Holmes and even a Latin medley - but the one thing missing from his repertoire was classical music. Last season though he found a well-known opera that abounds with gimmicks and hilarity, and decided to try it on for size. Personally, I think it fitted him like a glove.
Unfortunately, Michal hasn't had the best of seasons, and the technical side of the programme let us down most often than not, but the presentation was exquisite.
He looked very dashing in a blue and gray costume, very much like a courtier at the imperial court of Joseph II. The sophisticated choice of attire was perfect for the opera, and drew the audience in before the music even started. Once the first note of this much acclaimed piece hit the ice, things got even better.
The choreography was peppered with droll bows and hilarious gestures of grandeur, the phasing of the music was spot on, the transitions were not dull even for a second, and Michal never let go of his expression of a man who takes himself too seriously even if the rest of the world doesn't. It made you imagine him trying to get into the good graces of the Emperor, but only succeeding to cause laughter with his clumsiness.
He used the lyrics to give a body to the voice by gesticulating, but also to set the step sequence and the last spin to their fast pace. The fact that he waited until the very last part of the programme to introduce the words, built up the anticipation.
Although Michal's programme didn't get as much attention this season as Javier Fernandez's The Barber of Seville (this was the opera superstar of the season), I think it was just as brilliantly put together. It's a shame that the technical part never rose to that of the Spaniard, otherwise we would have seen quite the battle between these two incredibly talented skaters. Here's hoping that we'll get another chance at an opera or musical battle royale next season.
The opera evolved as a genre throughout four centuries, but as the music scene changed, a new form of entertainment emerged: a hybrid between opera and theatre - the musical.
There is a lot of debate over the debut of the musical as a genre. Charles M. Barras' The Black Crook is still widely considered the first musical despite critics saying that it was just a play with songs and dance.
 |
| Some say Charles M. Barras was the creator of the musical. Photograph: www.wikipedia.com |
Personally, I tend to roll my eyes every time I see a new skater doing Carmen or Phantom of the Opera because I feel that I have already seen all there is to see about these two, unless skaters have the potential to bring something new to the story. Unfortunately, most skaters don't try and leave their own mark on these stories, but skate to the same songs tens of others have skated to before them; hence, my irritation.
 |
| Kanako Murakami during her short programme, set to Think of Me from the soundtrack of The Phantom of the Opera Photograph: Atsushi Tomura / Getty Images Asia |
Last season though saw a few refreshing approaches to musicals and opera on ice. Japan's Kanako Murakami chose to set both her routines to Andrew Lloyd Webber's masterpiece, but showed two different perspectives, while her countryman, Takahito Mura, broke a gender barrier by skating to Georges Bizet's famous tale of passion. There were also a few stories we've rarely seen on ice: Javier Fernandez's The Barber of Seville, Victoria Helgesson's Sunset Boulevard, Kristin Moore-Towers & Michael Marinaro's Chess. However, none of the skaters took advantage of the new rule to be the first to skate to Carmen with lyrics, which is a shame. This opera has become such a trademark for figure skating, that whomever uses it with words first, is bound to make an impression.
To pave the way for whomever decides to tackle Carmen with lyrics, some skaters took famous operas last season, added the lyrics and made a splash. My favourite was Michal Brezina, who skated to Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.
The Czech skater is known for his versatility in choosing his routines - he's skated to Japanese Kodo Drums, the soundtrack of Sherlock Holmes and even a Latin medley - but the one thing missing from his repertoire was classical music. Last season though he found a well-known opera that abounds with gimmicks and hilarity, and decided to try it on for size. Personally, I think it fitted him like a glove.
Unfortunately, Michal hasn't had the best of seasons, and the technical side of the programme let us down most often than not, but the presentation was exquisite.
 |
| Michal Brezina looked the part in his Figaro costume Photograph: Xiaolu Chu / Getti Images Asia |
The choreography was peppered with droll bows and hilarious gestures of grandeur, the phasing of the music was spot on, the transitions were not dull even for a second, and Michal never let go of his expression of a man who takes himself too seriously even if the rest of the world doesn't. It made you imagine him trying to get into the good graces of the Emperor, but only succeeding to cause laughter with his clumsiness.
He used the lyrics to give a body to the voice by gesticulating, but also to set the step sequence and the last spin to their fast pace. The fact that he waited until the very last part of the programme to introduce the words, built up the anticipation.
Although Michal's programme didn't get as much attention this season as Javier Fernandez's The Barber of Seville (this was the opera superstar of the season), I think it was just as brilliantly put together. It's a shame that the technical part never rose to that of the Spaniard, otherwise we would have seen quite the battle between these two incredibly talented skaters. Here's hoping that we'll get another chance at an opera or musical battle royale next season.
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