Added: 5 years ago
From: alexmacias
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  • fake and gay

  • she's so awkward when she speaks lmao

  • Throughout the whole video I was like "Lolwut."

  • One ring to rule them all...

  • I disliked OPERA most of my years, but came to truly enjoy the satrical operas, and gradually began to give them equal time with the other styles and genres of the past 50 years.

  • meh tame kill bill has a way higher body count all by itself....but maybe they should make an opera of it...

  • My arts and humanities students' favorite film of the year. They asked to watch it multiple times!

  • just so you know, you mispronounced don giovanni. [dan dʒo 'va ni]

  • @amissonn she mispronounced a lot of things! haha

  • @MrFiFiFigaro Atleast we still knew what she meant.

  • @amissonn She pronouced it the way English speaking people would pronouce it. So in a way, she didn't misprounouce it.

  • Animals.

  • THE RING !

  • saw this years and years ago (I think maybe on Bravo) or maybe IFC??? and LOVED it - glad to get to watch it again... and I love opera!

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  • carmen is sooooooooooooooo halarious

  • As a life-long lover of opera, I couldn't stop laughing at this!

  • Lol

  • Thank God for the music which makes it all worthwhile.

  • PROPAGANDA ALL OF IT don't you see that all of it is for DRAMA. Opera is the very symbol of drama and it is taken into extreme consideration. Opera isn't opera unless you leave the theatre with tears. Opera is suppossed to so dramatic its like a stake though the heart

  • She's sort of right, but I think she needs to do better research. Her interpretations are lacking in details.

  • The narrator has a very enticing--OK--downright sexy voice. I'd listen to 10 HOURS of her talking about anything.

  • hahhahahahahahhaahahahahahahah­aaaa. i watched this at school

    

  • NOT FUNNY AT ALL, really boring stuff. I wish the almost 2500000 who watched this had invested 10 min in listening to opera. The person who created this video has the capacity to understand opera the size of a nut. Opera is SINGING, SINGING, SINGING, as Verdi said, not librettos. You just focus on plot, whixh is the least important thing in opera

  • @violetavalery

    You're not helping the stereotype that opera audiences are filled with snobs. Plot's quite important, otherwise people wouldn't be mocking the stories to this day, or the fact that there's plenty of important music, or there's a contrast of interesting story but uninteresting music. The video shows the thrilling plot points we see: lots of war, lots of murder, betrayal, and oh yes: premarital sex. I found it entertaining.

  • @violetavalery Which is why a LOATH opera and prefer a good old fashioned symphony - all the great music with none of the lousy over the top ham acting.

  • that was fun

  • Coming from one who performs and studies operas-this is spot on!!!!

  • You just wasted one minute on that stupid intro and all those topics you mention are, guess what, REAL LIFE TOPICS! Well, I guess you don't know what real life is cause you waste your time sitting down in front of a PC judging MASTER PIECES of art. Thanks for the overview, though...

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  • @ogcasanovase is clearly a Philistine. This video is a masterpiece.

  • you skipped Boris Godunov!!

  • LOL i love it

  • wow lol and to think people give me a hard time about liking rock music !

  • HYSTERICAL!

  • Oh, this so fun I will forward to all my opera friends

    400 years in <10 mins

    wonderful, thank you

  • Also, key difference between Wagner's operas and Tolkein's books - Wagner's operas are terrible, whereas Tolkein's books are quite good.

  • i always loved this clip, it just cracks me up. -thanks for posting

  • This is awesome hahaha I watch it and watch it and watch it :)

    I hope you could explain more operas.!! Like Il Trovatore, amm, The Marriage of Figaro, I dunno..! Thanks for posting anyways :D

  • chaminade music

  • rah-dah- mees = radames

    vot-ahn = wotan

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  • This video made my day xD

  • its actually more like all the great poeras in 8minutes

  • So true, I especially love how she summerizes Madame Butterfly.

  • Who were the 73 morons who disliked this?

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  • that was so funny!!!!

    

  • This is funny and all, but knowing more about opera should start with the music, as that's the most important and most compelling component. There should be a companion video made with the best tunes and musical moments from these operas.

  • Loved the video, thanks!

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  • This video doesn't do justice to opera, but it is funny.

  • @actionsrlouder

    of curse it doesn't, but how can one really enjoy great opera music without also making fun of it.

    In essence it doesn't matter how weird and unrealistic the story is as long as you sing it well. look for Ann Russell about this.

  • True about Lord of the Rings and Der Ring das Nibelungen.

    It all goes back to the same nordic tales of gods demi-gods etc. Taken from Iceland's Edda .

  • LOL "...the bullfight is actually a big rip-off because it happens off stage".

  • OH MY GOSH!!!! I've been looking for this for AGES! I love this!

  • The only way to grow to love opera is to hear is essentially telling people who know nothing about opera that they needn't bother. Disgraceful.

  • Great vieo except for the wrong names. its pronounced Don Joe-vonie, Vo-tan, Zuh-glenda

  • CLEARLY violence and sex for entertainment is NOT a modern thing...

  • The Narration of this video is simply superb. She states the simple truth and it reveals the essence of classical opera. I hope she does a similar video on plays.

  • its... its... its BORING!!!!

  • That was very funny. I love opera too. 

  • how does it go from 11-15?

  • @moooocat

    The big Niebelung's Ring story is 4 operas.

  • @moooocat The count is how many people died ; ) Those two guys die plus Isold, so 12, 13, 14 . Love opera < 3

  • Actually, this is a very good synopsis to cram for exams and the author/creator/editor is to be commended .

  • @pakleglia No, she doesn't die of a broken heart - she dies by an act of will, to unite herself cosmically with Tristan. It is a "Love-death" (Liebestod) in a very special way, not because of depression of the like. She chooses it - like other Wagner women, who tend to die for or with their lovers. And Wagner was inspired at the time by something he read about buddhism and union with the All, an idea which attracted him strongly.

  • Walking, talking statue from hell! lol. I loved this years ago on cable, and I love it just as much now.

  • que video tan mierda

  • Jesus The Ring of the Nibelung is epic compared to the rest.

  • @Vocalities

    That's because it's four operas, and the shortest one is over two and a half hours.

  • Very nice!

  • Clever idea that is well done.

  • Premarital sex!

  • @Jaydoggy531 WooHoo!!!

  • I would love to have the text written. Can you put it here?

  • I love opera, and I love this film. Thank you!

  • Brava,  I loved it!

  • Woooow! Quel résumé!!!

  • funny... but a too simple way to "explain" the world of opera.... but we can laugh about because we love Opera!

  • Brava!!

  • @lacountess--It does sound similar, to LOTR but was written in the 1800s. Actually, it is based off of some old Nordic and viking legends and myths kind of tied together for an extravagant show. Also, when you consider LOTR was written in the 1960s, there were tons of stuff Tolkien used for inspiration.

  • There absolutely NEEDS to be a sequel to this video.

  • shit

  • Opera is about listening to human voice at itsbest, accompanied by great music. This might suit a retarded victim of American education but not man who loves music as such. Good luck anyway, and go to the operahouse once in a month. You'll see what it is about.

  • What a great vid. Excellent writing and narration.

  • We had to watch this is music appreciation. The entire class was snickering, it's so funny.

  • I wonder how the Monty Python-style animation was done...

  • its great but i dont like the end part

  • LOL!!! I watched this years ago. It was, and still is, one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed! Thanks for the upload!

    My faves:

    4:24

    6:42

  • totally agree. Still hilarious after all these years... and I actually sang opera! Couldn't have explained them all beter than this lol

  • "...and dies. Of... Love. Or something." LOL

    Very nicely done.

  • Great job - even the misprouncing of character's names like raDAmes, Woe-tan - makes opera so much less high falootin.

  • Hilarious - Left out ONE detail - Singing TODAY-CAN BELTO

  • I love the monty python animation. Very good job and explaining the operas' plots.

  • there is one more thinkg people should know about opera: victor borge's view on 'a mozart opera' : )

  • Der Ring des Niebelungen by Richard Wagner at 5:48 is 16 hours of music in 1.5 minutes, i.e. a 680 to 1 compression ratio, and, I would say, remarkably correct.

  • I'm so glad this is here! I saw it years ago and have worn out two VHS copies by insisting that all my friends watch it.

    There are some really sad comments here - I didn't think it was that easy to miss the wonderfully funny, sarcastic point.

  • How to make things ,especially art ugly. It seems you know how to do that. I feel sorry for you that you have the urge to do that. You are very sick in your mind. Better you keep that to youself in the future.

  • Dude, chill and look up the definition of "humor" - it really isn't meant to be taken seriously, neither is this film. Great job on the film by the way! Thanks for the fun!

  • You so don't get it.

  • Hahah Great job!

    Doesn't do the actual Operas and singing justice, but you sure did opened my eyes! lol

    (the stories always elude me, but I am a music whore and I love the music)

  • I actually watched this the first day of my opera class. After actually watching some operas (and being extremely bored) I decided to watch it again. Awesome!

  • are you from buffalo?..u sound like it

  • Wow! I first saw this one when I was 10 years old. Now, as an adult and pro opera singer, I look back at all the great schtick in this piece - "Walking talking statue from hell!" is my personal favorite. All you idiots who think this is an insult to the art form should be banned from the theater for having no soul! Opera is not meant to be taken so seriously all the time...i mean, if it were, would it be ENTERTAINMENT? Nope, it'd be torture or something relegated to the CSPAN channel.

  • The people that criticise this have absolutely no sense of humour - I sing in the chorus with an A-list orchestra, and still have enough humour to appreciate this - This is genius - The summary of the Wagner is rivaled only my Anna Russell

  • terrable what an insult to the one of the greatest arts ever you suck

  • Wonderful!

  • so...Opera is a funny story?...and Sistina just a painted wall?...please keep watching more TV!!!

  • Is it just me or does The Ring of the Nibelung sound like something Lord of the Rings was ripped off from?

  • It's true!

  • @alexmacias More like Der Ring and Lord of the Rings were both ripped off from ancient epics.

  • @lacountess I'm sure it is not something someone should have to figure out.

  • @lacountess Wagner was not only a great composer, but a "360°" artist... of course it was! many people now get crazy for things that seem to be created yesterday... but they come from tradition and European culture of the past.

  • @lacountess You can't say that the Lord of the Rings was a rip off from Wagner's Nibelung, because both of the stories are based (interpretations, I guess) on the nordic/germanic mythological story: Saga of the Völsungs.

  • @lacountess That is because JRR tolkein drew heavily from the mythologies around the world especially the norse etc.... In other words the same cultures which the Ring ofthe Nibelung originated

  • @lacountess The Lord of the Rings is based on it.

  • @lacountess

    Both Tolkien and Wagner were inspired by the same Legends. Both took liberties.

  • @lacountess - the ring of the nibelung is the german version of the norse mythology. wotan=Odin and so forth... J R R Tolkein based lord of the rings on norse mythology, anglo saxon myth and others. It is more likely he based lord of the rings on the mythologies he studied than on wagner's opera cycle. those who say Tolkein ripped of wagner are missing the point, because Wagner didn't make anything up. they both were influcenced by the germanic mythology and folklore- each to his own extent.

  • @lacountess

    The ring of the nibelung is part of germanic mythology and folklore. Wagner didn't make anything up. those who say Tolkein ripped him off are missing the point, because Tolkein had studied norse and anglo-saxon myth, and incorporated elements of them (and other european mythologies) in his books, so did Wagner in his operas. so in a sense, if Lord of the rings is a rip off, so is the ring off the nibelung.

  • bullshit!

  • :)) this was really funny!

  • My teacher showed this 2 us and we r in 6th grade today. It was so funny i came back 2 watch it again!!!;)

  • haha me too except my teacher showed it to us in my college music appreciation class!

  • hahahahaahha it all makes sense

  • I think Isolde drowns herself in the sea

    so more Suicide!

    yeah!!!!

  • "And the Isolde just falls of Tristans body and dies right there, of love or something." Best death ever! Lol! not to mention the guy who invites a statue to dinner! What is that guy smoking?!

  • of course he pretends REAL well because they're using REAL bullets!

  • Gotta love the "Crazy Gypsy Dance"!!

  • Murder, treachery, rape, incest, pillaging... That's why I love opera!

  • I love this! So funny!

  • And The Ring still doesn't make any sense.

  • This is the best 10 minutes I have ever spent, great video .

  • I love everyone cheering at 3:30. Fantastic.

  • hahah

  • As an opera expert and lover, I really loved this! You really know your opera and this is a great visual intro for opera lovers. Thank you.

  • Loved it! Especially as I know most of the operas she talks aboot. Should I tell her that in Madame Butterfly, her name is actually Cio Cio San, and not Butterfly?

  • But, Pinkerton, her husband, calls her Butterfly, as he's American. At the end of the opera(In Italian, about Japanese and Americans), he calls out "Butterfly", which often comes out, "Booterfly" by those Italians that don't speak English.

  • @tomomike I think it has more to do with how easy certain vowels are to sing. Listen to renditions of Gershwin's aria "Summertime", which tends to be sung Sew-more-tome, even by Americans like Kathleen Battle.

  • this is so funny,,,omg.

  • 'Of course ghe pretends real good because they're using real bullets'

  • lol

    "How much do you know aboot opera?"

    aboot

    aboot

    it's ABOUT you dumbfuck.

  • Quite funny on the whole. Bit much of the same all the time, though. It is actually funnier for the people who know al these operas, so they recognize what exactly is mocked. Do not forget that the music of all these operas is simply wonderful.

  • I saw this on PBS years ago and have been looking for it ever since. Thank you so much for posting this!!!!

  • Ooo nice use of the Bayeaux Tapestry!

  • Love Kim's Canadian accent.

  • "well of course he pretends real well because they are actually using real bullets."

    HHAHAHAa

  • LOLOLOL!!!!! CARMEN!!!!! and the WILD gypsy dance! lolol

    LOL and "walking talking statue from hell!"

    Oh wonderful! They should show this in our Music History class!!

  • *Princess*

    Try your library...

  • Can someone please tell me where i can find a free opera site, so i can listen to alot of different opera singers and music thanks in advance.

  • Great job, that cracked me up!

  • I'm sorry... I must very politely state that I overall didn't find this at all funny... Though I admit that the "Walking Talking Statue from Hell" did get a laugh out.

    Oh, and also, there's much more to Opera than the Romantics...

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  • What is awpra awl abooot, eh?

  • Canadian much?

  • Aside from opera being one of the most beautiful and complex art forms, this video does a wonderful job of summing up the greats. I haven't seen all of the operas summarized but for the ones I have seen.. the summaries are all on point!

  • lov!

  • Better than Anna Russell because covers more operas

  • Tasca lmao

  • Who's Kim Thompson?

  • your canadian arent you? a boat

  • So to the point, so true. If you take away all the music and singing that is what's left.

  • those operas are too complicated to understand in several seconds... but i guess 2hours+ for one opera is way too much either... so im confused O.o

  • O! Bravo, YouTube. I have kept this gem of a small film in my head for years after seeing it one night late on PBS. How happy you have posted it here for us all to enjoy again!. Many thanks.

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  • Hi Mrs. Swanson!!!!!!!

  • I show my old videotape copy of this to my college English composition students to illustrate the spirit of the summary. What is this 24 hours worth of opera in about ten minutes. So completely compressed and summarized as to in fact remove the most important point -- the music! Classic stuff.

  • LOL!!!

  • I like this concept!!^^ (and I like opera)... I particularly like "Oh except for the music" at the very end

  • Que video mas pelotudo!

  • Kim,

    I take it that I am to applaud at the 'ding,ding,ding'?

    I know that there won't be an audible 'ding!' - when I attend.

    I watched this to know when to applaud. - Hell, I'll do what I've always done, wait for the cognicenti to begin.

  • "just a lot of people in costumes falling in love and dying... oh, except for the music" HAHAAH! I'm so proud to be an opera singer right now.

  • I LOVE IT!!!!!!!! =)

  • It is so typical of you opera nerds to make a huge deal out of a short, funny, obvious homage to opera. Stop taking it so seriously for once!!!

  • this is so very monty python-esque. awesome work

  • Well, if you're incapable of writing an opera or comprehending tragedy then I suppose you might 'create' something like this rather than confess it is beyond you and that therefore you must be beneath it.

  • Or if you like opera, know a something about it, and want to poke some fun, you might create a hilarious video like this. Which people who take themselves entirely too seriously might not understand. :)

  • The misunderstanding of opera is not in the comedy, it is in the nature of the comedy. Enjoying comedy had at the expense of a tasteful thing does not denote an idiot, but enjoying a distasteful comedy at the expense of a tasteful thing does. You confuse one who does not take a thing in extreme seriousness with the absolute fool and as well as you confuse one who merely 'likes' opera with one who _comprehends_ it. I believe the ":)" smirk concluding your statement summarizes its worth best.

  • Lighten up. The video was made as an homage to an art form. It is very obvious that the person who made this video not only understands opera, but appreciates it enough to poke fun at it in a playful manner. Comedy videos like this rope in people who didn't have an appreciation for opera before, and show them how much fun it can be. So get over yourself and learn to appreciate humor. You're not doing yourself any favors acting so "intelligent"... you just end up looking stuck-up.

  • "You're not doing yourself any favors acting so "intelligent"" Despite all I wished to explain as I read your reply, upon that statement my words were utterly lost... How can one hope to converse with such stupidity?