Mozart and Michelob

Posted by Sarah Canice Funke Apr 18, 2007

The guests might not be wearing tuxedos or carrying fancy opera glasses, but they sing lustily along to tunes penned by Verdi, Bizet, Mozart, and other great opera composers. Down at Freddy's Bar, a dive bar located off Flatbrush Avenue in Brooklyn, the Opera on Tap program offers monthly recitals of opera classics. Video footage from one such recital shows the bar clientele holding scores of the music, singing along on the chorus of the "Habanera," from Bizet's Carmen.

If the masses won't come to the music (i.e., the concert halls), the program's founder Anne Ricci says that the music can be brought to the masses. Or at least to a demographic of people who would feel stiff and uncomfortable in formal attire. The program also offers the opportunity for classically-trained singers to access another performance venue usually not open to them. After all, if you didn't make the Met, there aren't many other places to sing opera. But best of all, the intimate venue allows for greater audience participation and sparks that charisma between performer and audience. With music sheets at the ready and a classically-trained singer to lead the way, audience members can have a part in creating the music instead of simply listening to professionals. Roland Barthes, a French literary critic writing in the mid-century, once mourned the loss of what he called musica practica. No one made music anymore since they can whatever they like on a record. If Barthes were to pay a visit to Freddy Bar today, the enthusiasm of these beer-and-opera patrons would warm his heart.

The clientele for these opera nights is mainly a group of relatively "cultured" people. That is, attendees are usually somewhat familiar with opera already. But the novel venue draws in a fairly good crowd.

The atmosphere is relaxed and casual. The beer is plentiful. The plots are dramatic. All these factors make for an enjoyable night at the opera sing-along.

For more information or to see video footage, please read the article at NPR.