Classical Pick of the Week: Watch Some Opera

Beverly Sills was considered one of the premiere sopranos of her time, and you can see this youtube clip of her. She is singing "Sempre Libera", one of the most famous arias from this week's classical pick, La Traviata (Violetta from La Traviata was considered one of her signature roles). This clip is an excerpt from the Muppet Show, in which the muppets put on a show at the "Muppetipolitan Opera". You can hear excerpts from the operas of Wagner, Verdi, and Bizet. The most enjoyable moment is probably 1:30 into the clip, where Miss Piggy (Frank Oz) attempts to outsing Beverly Sills.

The LA Opera production of La Traviata features some up and coming opera singers, with Marina Poplavskaya as Violetta, Grant Gershon in his podium debut, and Marta Domingo at the helm of this opera. The first production is on May 21st, this Thursday at 7:30 PM. There are seven more shows after in the following weeks, so you have many opportunities to check it out. UCLA is also putting on an opera, Rodgers and Hammersteins "Carousel". Tickets are only 10 dollars for general admission (5 for UCLA students) and you can watch the show on May 20th or 21st at 8 PM. You can find more information here.