![]() If he’s such a lowlife, why can he afford such things? Why can he get away with what he does so easily? He prospers, he glitters, he flourishes.and nowhere is all that splendor more craftily played with than his big number, “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” Sportin’ Life, just for kicks, interrupts a churchgoer’s picnic, and cynically shoots down many stories in the Bible with simple logic and a certain flair. Sportin’ Life is the sort of guy who defies tradition, status, and so forth he’s a loveable rogue largely because his goal is, in a way, to challenge the way he, himself, is seen. His unsavory work has, perhaps suprisingly, made him one of the more well-to-do people on Catfish Row (the African American settlement where most of the story takes place), as he dresses in the finest clothes of fashion he can afford, and likes to mingle with the higher corners of society. There are a couple of antagonists in the story, but by far the most colorful is a gentleman by the nickname of “Sportin’ Life.” Sportin’ Life is the local drug peddler, who specializes in dealing out “Happy Dust” (crack cocaine to you and me). Considered by many to be the masterpiece of The Gerswhin Bros., “Porgy & Bess” is a (somewhat dated) tale of love, poverty, crime, tradition, and change. This pick is from the only English-language opera on this list. “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” from Porgy & Bess. Now: put on your viking helmets, let the curtain rise, and let’s take a look!ġ0. Watch at your own language-based discretion. Some of them have subtitles/translations, some of them don't. Instead, I will provide links to personally favored versions of the songs themselves. ![]() Due to the nature of opera - and the fact I would have to translate almost every song here for an English-speaking-and-reading audience - I have decided against doing that in this case. One last thing: normally on these lists, I provide a bit of my favorite lyrics from the song. And there are so many great songs out there, on top of it it simply wouldn't be right, having given Stage Musicals and the wonderful world of Disney their diabolical due, to just ignore these numbers! So, it is only fair that I give the grand world of opera a bit of credit with My Top 10 Villainous Opera Songs. Indeed, in many operas, it’s difficult to tell where the line between villain and hero is drawn: so many diabolical characters play such central roles in the stories they might as well be the protagonist, and so many of these fiendish knaves are just as sympathetic as they are bombastic and cruel. The villains in opera, after all, are arguably the most important characters we in the audience need a bit of conflict to get us interested! And the beautiful voices of these illustrious baddies is often starkly contrasted by their utterly repulsive personalities. And that one song is ALWAYS the villain song. Well, the answer is simple: in the operas I have seen, there’s generally one song I love more than the rest, and am able to not only sit through, but listen to/watch again and again. ![]() So, with all that said.why did I decide to make THIS list? ![]() Subtitles can occasionally help, but I still tend to lose interest after a while. Basically, I know of very few English-language operas, and it gets tedious (for me anyway) to sit through three-hours of beautiful voices I can’t understand. Yes, despite its reputation, I AM one of those people who finds opera a little tough to sit through. Glorious, resplendent, and melodramatic a world of superhuman musical talent, fantastic sets, powerful characters, and stories of epic proportions. Opera is widely considered the pinnacle of theatrical art. ![]()
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