An interesting thing happened to me today at work: a friend of mine, a doctor who happens to be an opera buff, was kind enough to give me two season tickets to Rossini's immortal opera "The Barber of Seville". I started to think about how this opera has left an indelible mark upon society without much acknowledgement from the general public. What is it about opera tha makes a lot of people either run for the hills or give out the general impression that it is just burgeois entertainment? I have loved Opera since I heard Pavarotti sing "Nessun Dorma (No One Will Sleep) from Puccini's great opera "Turandot". This blog is intended to give the reader a meditation on one example of how one may be more familiar with the art form than previously realized. Remember Bugs Bunny and his shenangins with Elmer Fudd in the 1950 Warner Brothers cartoon, "The Rabbit of Seville?" The music came from the overture from Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" and this classic cartoon is still being played to TV audiences around the world. How about Eddie Murphy's Buckwheat character singing "I'm da Barbah od Dabill, Figaro, Figaro!" Do you see my point now? Opera does not have to be stuffy or inaccessible. It has more influence in popular culture than you may know. For your pleasure, I have included the aforementioned examples of how Rossini's music is alive today and as an afterthought, I have also included an excerpt from an actual performance of the opera which revolves around a plot concerning a Count's love of a beautiful woman( sorry to oversimplify). The style is what is called opera buffa or comedy. I have included three links that you should follow in order to see what I was talking about before. Just click on the links and meditate on how you may not have realized that Opera was already with you and you may not have even realized it. Afterwards, click on my guestbook and tell me your thoughts. Enjoy!BKT Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvXEElJFR6g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxa4DfLBjvE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyhuIC1sxJY&feature=PlayList&p=75361D295F74A965&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=14 As an added bonus, I have included another link related to Opera's realtionship to popular culture: A Flintstones episode where Fred discovers Barney's vocal talent: Barney sings "Figaro, Figaro" near the end of the clip... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UXoHj1k_UQ