Opera with block-rocking beats
With the annual techno festival Movement taking over all areas of Detroit, let’s take a look at electronic music producers dabbling in opera.
Going to school in Philly, I immersed myself in the DJ culture - going to raves and all the after hours clubs in Center City. There were times when I would leave the club, grab breakfast, then rollerblade to my church job and continue right to the Academy of Music to perform in the Sunday matinee of the opera. All sorts of music and the communal experience - irreverent or sublime - attracted me.
Living in Detroit, experiencing the energy there, and attending my first Movement Festival, I understood the difference between techno, house, disco, and all the other subgenres that get people to collectively express their emotions through dance.
It’s that time of year, when the juxtaposition of Detroit’s concrete slabs and ornate architecture of downtown reverberate with the throbbing beats of the car manufacturing sounds that birthed the iconic genre here by The Belleville Three - Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson.
In honor of the auspicious weekend, here are a few tracks from the dance community, which incorporate operatic or classical themes.
Bring Me some Flowers
Albania DJ Greeko, now living Ibiza, Spain, brings the culture clash of the flower duet from Lakmé (a comic opera in three acts, by Léo Delibes with libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille) to the throbbing bass in Slang Bang:
Excerpt of lyrics: Let the music touch your soul / Don’t care if you lose control / Feel the bass explode / Fade away / Feel the bass explode / They all wanna flow like me / I’m way out in space can’t float like me / they all ride the wave / likes boats in the sea.
Soprano Sabine Devieilhe in the title role, and mezzo-soprano Ambroisine Bré perform the duet
Set in the recently British-colonized India, Lakmé demonstrated the reduction of Asian culture as one of the characteristic traits of 19th century exoticism - similar to Madame Butterfly, or The Mikado, to perhaps serve as allegory for the human condition occurring more locally. This production from Opéra Comique, where the opera has been performed over 1,600 times since its premiere in 1883 is by Laurent Pelly,
Pelly is one of my FAVORITE directors today. Known for his whimsical and absurdist aesthetic, Pelly takes the over-the-top charm inherent in opera and exaggerates it further depending on the situation, with bold colors or ornate exoticism - lightly commenting on the provincial and poorly researched work done by opera’s the original creators.
Bringing up colonialism…
Take it Away Cio-Cio
British designer & punk iconoclast, Malcolm McLaren took a departure from managing the Sex Pistols, New York Dolls, and Adam Ant to work on his own music career. In 1984, his LP Fans, fused opera and R&B.
Malcolm McLaren - Madame Butterfly
The video continues along the Butterfly effect with the distinct male gaze objectifying women. It’s very 80’s, highly stylized, and still punk with its overt demonstration of mysogyny. Here’s a great breakdown of the entire album here by non-opera writer on The Smart Set, which sadly discontinued publication in 2024.
“It gets even weirder when McLaren, in his Englishman’s attempt at the flat intonation of Lt. Col. Pinkerton, starts reciting a Classics Comics version of Butterfly’s “tale of woe.” Maybe Butterfly’s aria sounds so wonderful set against McLaren’s shameless vulgarity because Puccini, no purist himself, was hardly one to disdain crowd-pleasing effects.”
Eri Nakamura as Cio-Cio San performs Un bel dí vedremo in Madama Butterfly
London’t Royal Opera production by Moshe Leiser's and Patrice Caurier’s takes inspiration from 19th century European images of Japan. For this revival, The Royal Opera embarked on a year-long consultation, listening to new voices in its efforts to present a staging respectful both of the original, and to Japan and its culture.
Seduction with a good bassline
Berlin-based DJ and record label exec, Daniel Steinberg has got us “Feeling Good” with this rolling-bass track from 2021. He’s collaborated with industry stalwarts like Fatboy Slim, Derrick Carter, and 808 State. Listening to this in the shower via the Defected Radio Show hosted by Sam Divine, it got me ready to face the rest of the day with the undulated bass and forward-leaning beat. What surprised me though was the little lick of arppegaited strings!
I immediately thought Steinberg took this sample from Camille Saint-Saëns’ and Ferdinand Lemaire’s Samson et Dalila. in “Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix”, Delilah seduces Samson to reveal the secret of his strength. (SPOILER: it’s not a Marvel super-soldier serum, but the most operatic of all strengths - good tenor hair!)
Building tension on the dancefloor
On the classical tip, there isn’t a better way to explain the Classical Era use of semitones and dissonance than “Fur” from Brighton, UK DJ Endor.
Lyrics:
And you already understand basic music, right?
And okay, so, I'm not gonna get too heavy into that
'Cause that's another thing
But I'm gonna give you a basic idea
I'm gonna try to, um...
Talk about dissonance
Suppose we do something like...
We need something to create some tension
It's cool, are you with me? Okay
Y’all think you’re not getting any music education on the dancefloor, right?! Some of you know Endor’s huge small “Pump It Up” which came back the the zeitgeist for the film “The Substance”.
From Defected’s press release: “This dynamic cut combines an addictive bassline, a slick spoken-word narration and a surprising sample from Beethoven’s Symphony [Bagatelle- I didn’t approve the copy!] No.25 (commonly known as ‘Für Elise’) for a production that keeps you guessing. Refusing to be pigeonholed by his commercial success, this release shows Endor’s commitment to his underground roots, with a record destined to ignite dancefloors far and wide.”
Are you ready for the weekend?
Do you need the kids to teach you a few new moves?
What would Mozart think about it?