Have been exposed to a fair bit of Western Classical Music including Opera lately. It’s funny that when you listen to a certain type of music for a long time you automatically start liking it. One of the oldest operas that I have ever heard was the “Largo al factotum” by Rossini. If you grew up in the 1980s with a fair dose of cartoons like Bugs Bunny and Tom & Jerry, you can rest assured that you have heard this piece before (I thought it was titled “Figaro” for a long time!). I always liked it for its comic element and pleasant sound. Only recently did I realize that it is amongst the toughest arias to perform.
I like the rendition in which a man made out of clay performs it at the beginning of the movie “Oscar”. I am sharing the video with you all to see, listen and enjoy.
If you really wanna see how tough it is to actually perform you should watch this video of Thomas Hampson performing it:
And here is a quick guide for non-Italians (and non-art savvy people like me) to enjoy operas. Go read the lyrics in English (Google, Wikipedia and Youtube to the rescue!) before you go and listen to it. Then, even though you wont know what the person is singing, you can always understand the emotion behind it.
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