On Music: What's Opera Doc?

Thanks for all the positive feedback to my first vlog post. You'll definitely be seeing more vids in the near future. Meanwhile, to answer those who've requested CD/mp3 recommendations: a good place to start is the complete recordings of all Bach's solo violin sonatas and partitas. I have several different recordings made by a number of violinists, but my very favorite is Gidon Kremer's most recent (he's recorded them more than once.) You can sample all the tracks on Amazon here.

Kremer's take is extremely dry/staccato, and largely influenced by a lot of the 20th century music he's premiered like Arvo Part and Alfred Schnittke (who we'll be looking at more closely in the coming weeks). If you prefer something more traditional, you might check out Itzhak Perlman's fine recording here, which I also happen to love.

First we have Bugs Bunny in "The Rabbit of Seville." Here, legendary director Chuck Jones is playing on Rossini's famous opera, The Barber of Seville. The most memorable parts of the 7-minute romp through barbershop sets and backstage scenes are all set to Rossini's overture to the opera. Let's take a listen:

Oh, and if you want the complete skinny on all the Wagner music used in this brilliant 7-minute masterpiece, check out this site here. Someone has actually taken the time to post it scene by scene.