一聽音樂網

You've?heard?opera,?and?you've?heard?rock--but?you've?never?heard?opera?rocked

like?the?East?Village?Opera?Company.?The?East?Village?Opera?Company--a

powerhouse?five-piece?band,?a?string?quartet,?and?two?outstanding

vocalists--brings?the?towering?emotion?and?timeless?musicality?of?opera?into

the?21st?century?on?its?Decca/Universal?Classics?debut?with?its?inventive,

hard-hitting?arrangements?of?the?music's?"greatest?hits"--including?"La?donna

?mobile"?from?Rigoletto,?"Habanera"?from?Carmen,?and?"Nessun?dorma"?from

Turandot--performed?at?full?length?and?in?the?original?languages.



The?concept?of?the?East?Village?Opera?Company?is?totally?fresh,?but?not

unprecedented?in?pop.?In?1985,?for?example,?former?punk-rock?impresario

Malcolm?McLaren?released?Fans,?an?album?of?"hip-hopera"?that?brought?funky

beats?and?electronic?programming?to?the?works?of?Puccini?and?Bizet.?But?EVOC

is?a?whole?new?thing:?an?integrated,?eleven-strong?working?band?dedicated?to

rocking?the?opera?and?electrifying?the?classics,?as?the?ensemble?has?been

doing?to?spectacular?effect?ever?since?its?New?York?stage?debut?in?the?spring

of?2004.



The?East?Village?Opera?Company?was?co-founded?by?lead?singer?Tyley?Ross?and

arranger/multi-instrumentalist?Peter?Kiesewalter.?They?assembled?a?full-on

rock?band,?adding?two?guitars,?bass,?and?drums?to?Peter's?keyboards,?then

synched?it?to?a?string?quartet.?A?second?superb?vocalist,?AnnMarie?Milazzo,

was?recruited?for?impassioned?duets?with?Tyley?Ross?(cf.?"Au?fond?du?temple

saint,"?from?Bizet's?The?Pearl?Fishers)?and?soaring?solos?like?"Ebben?--Ne

andro?lontana"?(from?La?Wally?by?Alfredo?Catalani).



EVOC's?Decca/Universal?Classics?debut?was?produced?and?recorded?in

April-July,?2005?by?Neil?Dorfsman,?a?three-time?Grammy?Award?winner?whose

credits?include?international?bestsellers?by?Sting,?Dire?Straits,?Paul

McCartney,?and?Bjork.?The?string?arrangements?were?recorded?in?Prague?by

the?Czech?Philharmonic?Chamber?Orchestra?featuring?lead?violinist?Pauline

Kim.



By?embracing?what?Peter?Kiesewalter?calls?"the?pomposity?of?rock?and?the

pomposity?of?opera"?without?demeaning?or?satirizing?either?form,?the?East

Village?Opera?Company?flies?where?countless?other?"classical-crossover"

efforts?have?failed.



"We?have?a?profound?love?and?respect?for?the?opera,"?Peter?insists.?"But

it's?so?dramatic,?so?over?the?top?by?today's?standards,?that?it?cannot?be

delivered?with?a?straight?face.?You?need?a?little?bit?of?irreverence?in

it."



"With?modern?recording?technology?and?a?wide?variety?of?musical?styles?at

our?disposal,?our?goal?has?been?to?approach?these?songs?the?way?we?feel?the

composers?would?were?they?alive?today,"?says?