The legendary La Scala opera house in Milan has commissioned a full-length work to be based on [Al Gore's] book, An Inconvenient Truth, and the Oscar-winning documentary of the same title.
La Scala's artistic director, Stephane Lissner, told a press conference the new opera had been commissioned from an Italian composer, Giorgio Battistelli. He said it would be staged in 2011.
Al Gore: The Opera
I think I'll wait for the Bugs Bunny version:
Comments to "Al Gore: The Opera":
Colin | May 30, 2008, 9:47pm | #
Didn't someone already stage an opera about a deaf, dumb, and blind guy?dave | May 30, 2008, 10:16pm | #
Another myth becomes art.mrk | May 30, 2008, 10:43pm | #
icksmacky | May 31, 2008, 12:03am | #
Wow, two of my least favorite things (Al Gore and opera) combined into one big oozing shit sandwich....Well, opera isn't that bad...so it can be the bread.
modd | May 31, 2008, 12:11am | #
Finally a fat person to be played and sung by a fat opera star. Art does imitate life.dead_elvis | May 31, 2008, 12:19am | #
or a man sometimes described as the world's most famous loser, Al Gore is quite a winner. Since the start of last year alone, he has picked up...etc. etc. blah blah.Until Rush, or The Who, or Pink Floyd, etc. (I guess I'll throw in The Kinks just because this is a Jesse Walker post ;) has dedicated a concept album to your idea, you haven't yet "made it".
Speaking of contemporary self-consciously-art music with contemporary theme: The Katrina Ballads, a piece setting quotes from people during the crisis.
dead_elvis | May 31, 2008, 12:23am | #
Uhhhh, hello server squirrels. Link didn't show up, and something seems to be seriously fucked with preview*. Here it is:Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.*Oops. Jeez, you leave out one quote, and everything goes haywire.
Article about it at Yale Alumni magazine.
Guy Montag | May 31, 2008, 1:17am | #
Deja Vu all over againIn related news, the Star Trek theme song guy just died and some fellow who spoke at the Libertarian Party Convention is on Coast to Coast live as I write. Added bonus: there is a "peeping tom ET" lurking around.
Can we get more Yeti funding now?
The Wine Commonsewer | May 31, 2008, 3:03am | #
Why do Italian tanks have rear view mirrors?John C. Randolph | May 31, 2008, 3:05am | #
First, we find the worst play ever written! Then, I raise two million dollars. Next, we open on broadway, and then we close on broadway! It's brilliant, bloom: brilliant!http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=2411094&id=2411127&s=143441
-jcr
uh, yeah John C - problem is all the rubes will lap this stuff up. Sadly this will be the most popular opera of the 21st century, i can guarantee it. People will be walking down the aisles selling carbon indulgences to the audience. Oy.
Art-P.O.G. | May 31, 2008, 3:28am | #
If the songs are as good as "Sweeney Todd", color me excited. The concept behind this album seems fitting for prog rock. On another note, I must be the only person here who likes Al Gore. Overshadowed by Bill Clinton, losing an election to Dubya. Poor guy.Full disclosure: It should be noted that Al Gore seemed downright personable in "An Inconvenient Truth", but then memories were still fresh of John Kerry on the campaign trail.
Art-P.O.G. | May 31, 2008, 3:29am | #
*album should read "opera".Brandybuck | May 31, 2008, 3:40am | #
I don't know. Why do Italian tanks have rear view mirrors?Guy Montag | May 31, 2008, 7:54am | #
By the time this opera hits the stage it may well resemble The Aristrocrats. Not the Penn Gilette movie, the joke.I wonder if human sacrefice will be includes in the theory behind countering AGW by then . . .
Stephen Macklin | May 31, 2008, 8:58am | #
Do these people have any idea how much carbon will be generated by this monstrosity?The limo's on opening night alone will increase global temperatures by 3 degrees.
Episiarch | May 31, 2008, 9:10am | #
Off topic, but did anyone know that Mickey Kaus links fucking LoneWacko and uses him as a seemingly ReliableSource?The ImmigrationNuts must be contagious or something.
Bramblyspam | May 31, 2008, 9:27am | #
I don't know. Why do Italian tanks have rear view mirrors?Why do ergonomic keyboards have rear view mirrors?
SugarFree | May 31, 2008, 12:30pm | #
I must be the only person here who likes Al Gore.Have you met joe? I would imagine not. If Gore ate a Chinese baby on live TV, joe would be making excuses before the blood had dried on his chin. His man-crush is embarrassing.
brotherben | May 31, 2008, 12:30pm | #
Starring that documentarian/thespianMichael Moore
(thunderous applause)
Episiarch | May 31, 2008, 12:34pm | #
joe's real man-crush is on Obama, not Gore. Get your man-crushes straight, NutraSweet.See how I defend you, joe? Where's the appreciation?
Hugh Akston | May 31, 2008, 1:41pm | #
I'm just glad that someone is finally bringing environmental concerns to the wealthy, elitist culture-snobs of the world.Naga Sadow | May 31, 2008, 2:07pm | #
If the opera opens in January I think I will already know what the reviews will say.Best opera of the year! Plus a free copy of "An Inconvenient Truth".
Andy Craig | May 31, 2008, 2:29pm | #
How the hell do you make an opera out of a slide show?Naga Sadow | May 31, 2008, 2:33pm | #
Andy Craig,Simple. You raise Paveratti from the dead and make him perform.
Andy Craig | May 31, 2008, 2:39pm | #
I saw "Phantom of the Opera" once. That's my sum total of operatic knowledge, so a Paveratti joke goes straight over my head.Bramblyspam | May 31, 2008, 4:28pm | #
How the hell do you make an opera out of a slide show?Why should that be so hard? They already made a music video out of a newspaper column.
I imagine that the documentary about what George Bush spent that time doing, set to opera music, would be reminiscent of a Moliere comedy.
BakedPenguin | May 31, 2008, 5:27pm | #
joe - Maybe if it was about Cheney (The Misanthrope). It was Dostoyevsky who wrote The Idiot.Douglas Fletcher | May 31, 2008, 10:27pm | #
"He said it would be staged in 2011."That's being a bit optimistic, isn't it? Didn't Prince Charles (the English Al Gore?) say we've only got 18 months left?
By the way, was it ever proven that joe and jennifer are the same person?
Art-P.O.G. | June 1, 2008, 3:45am | #
I don't know about Prince Charles, but I worry about Ted Turner.joe | June 1, 2008, 9:23am | #
By the way, was it ever proven that joe and jennifer are the same person?It has been proven that we are not. People have met Jennifer.
brotherben | June 1, 2008, 10:42am | #
but have people met joe???joe | June 1, 2008, 11:58am | #
Not even close!I used to look like Daniel Day Lewis in "In the Name of the Father."
Now I look like Jeb Bush at a 2AM hurricane announcement.
How the hell did THAT happen?
brotherben | June 1, 2008, 12:36pm | #
Epi, I prefer Annie Green Springs wine myself.peach creek, plum hollow, and cherry orchard.
seventeen dollars a case
brotherben | June 1, 2008, 1:56pm | #
I'm more of a PBR man. or Schlitz. But thanksjoe | June 1, 2008, 6:11pm | #
The dirtiest look I ever got was when I bought one of each flavor of MD 20/20 at the Greenbelt co-op.Shit, lady, YOU sell the stuff!
brotherben | June 1, 2008, 7:05pm | #
While we are on the subject of top shelf hootch, I would feel like a real snob if I didn't mention Champale, which i believe would be the drink of note if Sex in the City was a show about men.Art-P.O.G. | June 1, 2008, 11:32pm | #
The dirtiest look I ever got was when I bought one of each flavor of MD 20/20 at the Greenbelt co-op.Wait a minute...I thought Mad Dog 20/20 was involved in 85% of violent crime ;)
R C Dean | June 2, 2008, 10:13am | #
The dirtiest look I ever got was when I bought one of each flavor of MD 20/20 at the Greenbelt co-op.That sounds like the beginning of a really good story of debauchery and debasement, joe. Don't leave us hanging!
Make sure to bring your beer to the opera in a can, in case they use a coloratura soprano.