B.J. Ward: Stand-Up Opera

La Traviata, opera Sempre libera
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
with Michael Sushel, B.J. Ward, Gregory Jefferson
La bohème, opera Si, mi chiamano Mimi
Composed by Giacomo Puccini
with Michael Sushel, B.J. Ward, Gregory Jefferson
Carmen, opéra-comique in 4 acts Seguidilla
Composed by Georges Bizet
with Michael Sushel, B.J. Ward, Gregory Jefferson
Die tote Stadt (The Dead City), opera, Op. 12 Marietta's Lied
Composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
with Michael Sushel, B.J. Ward, Gregory Jefferson
Tosca, opera Vissi d'arte
Composed by Giacomo Puccini
with Michael Sushel, B.J. Ward, Gregory Jefferson
Così fan tutte, opera, K. 588 Come scoglio
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
with Michael Sushel, B.J. Ward, Gregory Jefferson
Rusalka, opera, B. 203 (Op. 114) Song to the Moon
Composed by Antonin Dvorak
with Michael Sushel, B.J. Ward, Gregory Jefferson
La Perle Du Brésil, opera Charmant oiseau
Composed by Felicien David
with Michael Sushel, B.J. Ward, Gregory Jefferson
Ernani, opera Ernani involami
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
with Michael Sushel, B.J. Ward, Gregory Jefferson
La Rondine (The Swallow), opera Chi il bel sogno di Doretta
Composed by Giacomo Puccini
with Michael Sushel, B.J. Ward, Gregory Jefferson

B.J. Ward: Stand-Up Opera,Georges Bizet,Felicien David,Antonin Dvorak,Erich Wolfgang Korngold,Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,Giacomo Puccini,Giuseppe Verdi,Gregory Jefferson,Michael Sushel,B.J. Ward,Dorchester,Classical,Czech Romantic Opera,French Romantic Opera,German/Austrian 20th/21st Century Opera,German/Austrian Classical Period Opera,Italian Romantic Opera,Miscellaneous Music,Opera

Average customer rating:

You Will Laugh Your Head Off
Opera As Fun Entertainment: Comedian Soprano B.J.Ward
Opera you can live with....
Marvelous
you'll laugh you'll cry

Ward: Stand-Up Opera
B.J. Ward , Giuseppe Verdi , Giacomo Puccini , Georges Bizet , Erich Wolfgang Korngold , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Antonin Dvorak , Felicien David , Michael Sushel , and Gregory Jefferson
Manufacturer: Summit(Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Czech | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Queen of the Night

ASIN: B00004D3BV
Release Date: 2000-02-15

Tracks:

Welcoming Remarks
La Traviata: Sempre Libera
Puccini Intro
La Boheme: Sim Mi Chiamano Mimi
Dress Code
Carmen: Seguidilla
Women As Victims
Die Tote Stadt Plat
Die Tote Stadt: Marietta's Lied
Tosca...Accidents Will Happen
Tosca: Vissi D'arte
The Cosi Fan Tutte Story
Cosi Fan Tutte: Come Scoglio
Rusalka: Rusalka's Song To The Moon
Rusalka Plot Into La Perle Du Bresil
La Perle Du Bresil: Charmant Oiseau
Ernani Plot Intro
Ernani: Ernani Involami
Closing Remarks
Encore: La Rondine: Chi Il Bel Sogno Di Doretta

Customer Reviews:

You Will Laugh Your Head Off .......2005-05-16

One line is all I need to quote: B.J. Ward sings Rusalka's Song to the Moon, and calls Dvorak's Rusalka "Disney's Little Mermaid with a Quentin Tarantino ending" !!!

Opera As Fun Entertainment: Comedian Soprano B.J.Ward.......2005-05-16

Who would have thought opera could be so much fun and make for great comedy ? B.J. Ward is herself a gifted and unique soprano, even if she is not among the ranks of today's most famous. She first heard Licia Albanese sing La Rondine and was hooked on opera ever after. In this recording, taped live at an Embassador's building in New York City, B.J. Ward treats the audience to hilariou stand-up comedy while at the same time singing arias from some of the great, mainstream operas. Hopefully, this will attract the younger folk into opera, for if you can appreciate great comedy styling, surely you can appreciate opera, the best musical and theatrical art form. The cover on the album is also quite catchy. I enjoyed this album a lot. I'm a fan of B.J. Ward, who is to opera what the parodist composer C.P.Q. Bach is to classical music. Other recordings of Miss Ward include Larynx, the Song Bird (I think thats what its called) and Queen of the Night, these are compilation albums of arias sung by the incomparable B.J. Ward. She may not be Renee Fleming, she is surely not Maria Callas, but she is an artist in her own right, with a beautiful voice that is full of her own love for opera. I think she is the closest singer and personality to the personage of Beverly Sills.

Prior to each aria in this album is a bit of stand-up comedy introducing the piece, explaining the scene and plot of the opera. The operas included here are all the big names- Verdi's La Traviata, Puccini's La Boheme ( "both women die of tubercolosis" says B.J. Ward, "only Mimi in Boheme is not as well-dressed ") She has knowledge of opera history, she hates how women are victims in opera, always dying out of love, being screwed over by men (the composers of these operas were sexist men she says but its not like that today). Her wit and humor are very 90's, like a female Jerry Seinfeld, and the arias are exquisite. She sings Vissi D'Arte from Tosca, Como Scoglio from Cosi Fan Tutte, Fiordiligi's difficult showpiece- and she succeeds in singing the whole thing- The Seguidilla from Carmen, in rich mezzo voice, Sempre Libera from Traviata, another coloratura razzle-dazzle piece, with extraordinary strength and acrobatic skill. She sings a rarity, too - "Ernani, Involami" from the early Verdi opera Ernani. She concludes with a tribute to her idol soprano, Licia Albanese in a fine rendition of "Doretta's Dream" aria- Chi Il Bel Sogno Di Doretta. Don't hesitate to buy this album today and enjoy the comedy and operatic stylings of the one and only B.J.Ward...she's a one woman opera in itself.

Opera you can live with...........2002-01-15

B.J. Ward has taken perhaps the most dreaded musical genre and made it not only highly enjoyable but very funny as well...this tour de force of perhaps the greatest female solos written for the operatic stage delivered in the true operatic styling coupled with Ward's pointed wit not only the music and a few arcane (and laughable) plot points combined with a history of opera and age in which it was written makes Stand Up Opera a pleasure...I'm hoping for a sequel

Marvelous.......2001-09-24

funny; makes me wish I had been at the concert

you'll laugh you'll cry.......2001-04-03

This is a thoroughly engaging CD. I laughed, I cried...it was shorter than "Cats" She makes many witty observations about opera, but she still shows a great respect for the art form. If you like opera or you want to get to know it better, then I highly recommend this CD to you.