Rating: 
Summary: An Example of Deranged Genius
Review: You already know going in that this will be funny. PDQ Bach (Peter Schickele) has a long history of very clever musical satire. I mean, who else can write music in the style of Bach, Mozart, and Handel, and call it something like "Fanfare for the Common Cold," "The Seasonings," "Chorale Prelude On An American Hymn For The Last Sunday Before The Fourth Day Of The Seventh Month After New Year's Eve," and dedicate a piece to "A nobleman, Count Pointercount"? At last, we have one of Schickele's major works on video, in a fully staged production by The Minnesota Opera. The principals are quite good, and the chorus is excellent. Peter Schickele clearly loves Mozart's operas. There are numerous "jokes" based on Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, Cosi fan Tutte, Abduction from the Seraglio, and The Magic Flute. Like Mozart's operas, Abduction has a convoluted plot: Susanna Susannadanna's husband, Figaro, is dying ("Stay With Me"). However, before he can die, he is abducted by Captain Kadd ("My Name is Captain Kadd, and I Am Very Very Very Very Very Very Bad"). Well, actually before he is abducted, Susanna is visited by Dona Donna who is searching for Donald Giovanni ("Perfidy, Thy Name is Donald, Although They Call Thee Don for Short"), who loved her and left her (Donna, that is, not Susanna). There is a rescue attempted by the men (Donald and his mute companion, Schleporello), who are shipwrecked, who are then followed by the ladies who end up in the Pasha Shaboom's harem. Well, you get the picture. There are subtle and not-so-subtle parodies of specific Mozart arias ("Batti, batti" becomes "Macho, macho, That's How All Men Are," and is followed immediately by "You Can Beat Me," for example), but you don't need to know the Mozart works to appreciate the humor. While some of the bits are perhaps a tad too broad, the clever lyrics and well-written music more than compensate. One of the funniest bits in the entire work is the "Caribbean Ballet" in the style of Swan Lake, complete with pineapple headdresses in place of the usual feathers for the "corps de ballet," and a "Carmen Miranda"-style Odile. This is definitely worth seeing if you're already a fan of PDQ Bach. It's definitely worth seeing even if you're not yet a fan.
Rating:
Summary: PDQ Bach's Operatic Masterpiece!
Review: You already know going in that this will be funny. PDQ Bach (Peter Schickele) has a long history of very clever musical satire. I mean, who else can write music in the style of Bach, Mozart, and Handel, and call it something like "Fanfare for the Common Cold," "The Seasonings," "Chorale Prelude On An American Hymn For The Last Sunday Before The Fourth Day Of The Seventh Month After New Year's Eve," and dedicate a piece to "A nobleman, Count Pointercount"? At last, we have one of Schickele's major works on video, in a fully staged production by The Minnesota Opera. The principals are quite good, and the chorus is excellent. Peter Schickele clearly loves Mozart's operas. There are numerous "jokes" based on Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, Cosi fan Tutte, Abduction from the Seraglio, and The Magic Flute. Like Mozart's operas, Abduction has a convoluted plot: Susanna Susannadanna's husband, Figaro, is dying ("Stay With Me"). However, before he can die, he is abducted by Captain Kadd ("My Name is Captain Kadd, and I Am Very Very Very Very Very Very Bad"). Well, actually before he is abducted, Susanna is visited by Dona Donna who is searching for Donald Giovanni ("Perfidy, Thy Name is Donald, Although They Call Thee Don for Short"), who loved her and left her (Donna, that is, not Susanna). There is a rescue attempted by the men (Donald and his mute companion, Schleporello), who are shipwrecked, who are then followed by the ladies who end up in the Pasha Shaboom's harem. Well, you get the picture. There are subtle and not-so-subtle parodies of specific Mozart arias ("Batti, batti" becomes "Macho, macho, That's How All Men Are," and is followed immediately by "You Can Beat Me," for example), but you don't need to know the Mozart works to appreciate the humor. While some of the bits are perhaps a tad too broad, the clever lyrics and well-written music more than compensate. One of the funniest bits in the entire work is the "Caribbean Ballet" in the style of Swan Lake, complete with pineapple headdresses in place of the usual feathers for the "corps de ballet," and a "Carmen Miranda"-style Odile. This is definitely worth seeing if you're already a fan of PDQ Bach. It's definitely worth seeing even if you're not yet a fan.
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