Flashmob Opera at Meadowhall in 2005

Video Description

BBC: "Shoppers in Sheffield were given a musical feast as the BBC's second Flashmob Opera was held in Meadowhall. The opera - a contemporary take on the legend of Faust - was performed live from the shopping centre in front of unsuspecting crowds on Thursday night." [7 April 2005 on BBC 3 TV]. In this version, Sophie Faust had long ago made a deal for her fame and fortune with the devil's demon Mephistopheles - who now comes to collect his reward - Sophie herself. The music is mainly popular operatic or other classical, with a couple of impromptu performances by members of the public who applied. I found this hour long rarity lurking on an old computer hard drive and could not find it anywhere on the internet, other than a few text pages archived on the BBC website. It is upscaled from a standard definition TV broadcast. This flashmob opera is unusual, not to everyone's taste but has a lot of excellent performances with professional opera singers, the acclaimed Cantamus girls choir, a story line with a moral, and a little girl age 9 at the end singing a beautiful melody from Oliver. Everything was done 'live' to the ever-present risk of disaster so unsurprisingly for such an event in public, there were a few minor hitches. The storyline and lyrics were updated from the legend of Faust to match the modern setting of this large indoor shopping mall. Flashmob it may be but it took the BBC 6 months to plan it. Twenty years ago. [by Dave] 00:00 Orchestral: Prelude to Act 3: Wagner, Lohengrin excerpt (intro) 01:22 Chorus: Barcarolle, Offenbach, Tales of Hoffman (Shopping is paradise) 04:28 Storyline & Cast details (Sophie Faust's deal with the Devil, abandoned her child for fame) 06:51 Aria: Seguidilla, Bizet, Carmen (Sophie in the casino, watched by the Devil) 09:00 Aria: O Sole Mio, di Capua/Mazzucchi (Old school friend Danny thinks of his time with Sophie) 12:32 Aria: Se Vuol Ballare, Mozart, Figaro (Devil reminds Sophie that deals have consequences) 15:10 Aria: Duet: Se a Caso Madama, Figaro, Act 1 (Devil warns her the party's over!) 18:23 Quartet: Or Co'dadi, Verdi, Il Travatore (Croupiers remind us that the house always wins) 21:13 Duet: Se a Caso Madama, Figaro, Act 1, reprise (Devil damns Sophie to eternal shopping) 22:35 Chorus: Che Faceste, Verdi, Macbeth Act 1 (Zombie creatures force her to shop) 25:42 Aria: Regna il sonno su tutti: Verdi, Macbeth (Sophie begs the Devil for another chance) 27:34 Orchestral: Prince Igor, Act 2, Polovtsian Dance of the boys (Sophie's first 2 of 3 challenges) 29:02 Aria: Vous qui faites, Gounod, Faust Act 4 (Devil's final challenge, harder than it seems!) 31:43 Aria: Un Bel Di (One Fine Day), Puccini - Madame Butterfly (Distraught Sophie wants to repent) 36:08 Aria: Che gelida manina, Puccini, La Boheme (Danny finds Sophie collapsed and helps her) 40:45 Storyline update (Flashmob dancers' are introduced) 41:50 Orchestral: Dance of the Knights, Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet (flashmob dancers) 43:46 E Lucevan le Stella: Puccini, Tosca (Sophie runs. Danny is in despair) 46:32 Ride of the Valkyries: Wagner, Die Walkure (Valkyrie shoppers, Sophie tries to escape) 49:03 Flashmob percussion (Devil summons his disciples) 51:10 Trio: Puccini, Tosca, Floria! Amore (Danny tries to rescue her but the winner takes all!) 52:55 Storyline: (Sophie is thinking of only one person now, little Daisy) 53:45 Solo: Where is Love?, Lionel Bart, Oliver (Sophie's abandoned daughter Daisy looks for mum) 55:23 Storyline: (But is there a way to break the Devil's spell?) 56:09 Chorus: Handel, Messiah, Hallelujah Chorus (Finale and conclusion). 58:42 Credits Narrator: Patrick O'Connell CAST Sophie: Rebecca von Lipinski Danny: Peter Auty Richard (Devil): Mark Stone Daisy: Hannah Rodger (at age of 9) Valkyries: Donna Bateman, Clare McCaldin, Michelle Watson Conductor and Advisor: Robert Ziegler BBC Concert Orchestra Cantamus Girls Choir Sheffield Teachers Operatic Society Chapeltown Silver Prize Band