Lyric Opera of Chicago has come up with a fun way to update operatic stories for the 21st century. It's an effort to reach new audiences and it's really rather funny.
Here, Hansel and Gretel head to the therapist's sofa:
Lyric Opera and The Second City put the fun in dysfunctional with the classical music world's therapist of choice: Dr. Opera.
Quick question: At the end of the video, who's waiting for the next therapy session? I'm thinking it's Papageno, but is he with the Queen of the Night? Or is that Papagena?
Frankly, I think a lot of operatic characters could use some therapy. My nominee, and it's tough choosing just one, is Don Giovanni. Which operatic character would you send to the therapist?
Lyric Opera's project is an effort to reach a wider audience through demystifying opera. Here are a few more that have taken place over the years:
Anchorage Opera's crazy television ad spot demystifies opera by playing on the stereotypes.
Opera Company of Philadelphia flash mob
Vancouver Opera's innovative Manga series brought two art forms together