Starring Cara mcleod & Leanne Regehr

Although we're unable to meet at CKUA for our popular Opera 101 conversations, we thought we would bring you a series of videos exploring the hilarity and heartbreak that ensues when opera appears in popular films!

Hosts Cara McLeod and Leanne Regehr discuss how the meaning and context of beloved arias/duets is either reinforced or subverted by Hollywood.

Episode 1 — Pretty Woman meets La Traviata

Our first episode centres on the iconic scene from Pretty Woman where Edward (Richard Gere) takes Vivian (Julia Roberts) to see Verdi's La Traviata at the San Francisco Opera. Featuring a performance of the famous duet "Parigi, o cara" with special guest tenor Andrea Pinna!

Watch the original clip from the movie here: https://youtu.be/G7rmEdj8c90

Episode 2 — Mr. Bean’s Holiday meets Gianni Schicchi

Episode 2 centres on the hilarious scene from Mr. Bean's Holiday where Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) performs a lip synced rendition of "O mio babbino caro" to a confused, but adoring audience.

Watch the original clip from the movie here: https://youtu.be/YMe1bZC4i4k

Episode 3 — Moonstruck meets La bohème

In Episode 3, our hosts discuss the classic pairing of the hit 1987 film Moonstruck (Starring Cher and Nicolas Cage) and Puccini's opera, La Bohème. Needless to say, our favourite scene is when Loretta and Ronny experience Puccini’s masterpiece together at the famous Metropolitan Opera.

Featuring a performance of the famous duet: "O soave fanciulla" with special guest tenor Andrea Pinna.

Watch the original clip from the movie here: https://youtu.be/DTGeYXydspI

Episode 4 — A Room with a View meets La Rondine

In this episode, hosts Cara McLeod and Leanne Regehr discuss the 1985 British romance film A Room with a View (based on E. M. Forster's novel of the same name) and Puccini's opera, La Rondine. Featuring a performance of the famous aria: "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta"

Watch the original clip from the movie here: https://youtu.be/J-gFsXfbF08

Episode 5 — Life is Beautiful meets The Tales of Hoffmann

In the final episode, hosts Cara McLeod and Leanne Regehr discuss the 1997 Oscar award-winning film Life is Beautiful and Offenbach's opera, The Tales of Hoffmann. Featuring a performance of the famous Barcarolle duet (Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour) with soprano Krista Mulberry. You may recognize the melody from numerous pop songs or from the new Netflix series Bridgerton!

Watch the original clip from the movie here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GCoKazh0Hc

Special thanks to ECF for supporting the creation of our digital content