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Swingin’ The Opera album cover

Album guide

Swingin’ The Opera

Antti Sarpila & Opera Big Band

Released
2001
Label
Finlandia Records
Forces
Clarinet, Saxophone, Big band
Personnel
Antti Sarpila clarinet, soprano and tenor saxophone, conducting the Opera Big Band, formed of musicians of the Finnish National Opera Orchestra

The Opera Big Band was assembled from musicians of the Finnish National Opera Orchestra, with Antti Sarpila as arranger, conductor and reed soloist. That gives Swingin’ The Opera an enjoyable inside joke: players from the opera house turn its best-known arias into big-band swing.

Sarpila’s clarinet and saxophones take the place usually occupied by the singers, while the band turns melodies written for the stage into material for improvisation. Even the titles join in, with operatic references recast as jokes such as “Every Day I Have the Booze” and “Bull Shift”.

Hear both

The classical side contains only the source pieces used on the album, in album order. The jazz side presents the complete album whenever a dependable copy can be embedded.

The originalsBizet, Puccini, Verdi, Gounod, Tchaikovsky, Leoncavallo · classical source works

The listening queues above follow the same order. The classical player omits tracks that are not based on a classical original.

Jazzed upAntti Sarpila & Opera Big Band · 2001
Open full album in Spotify

Spotify’s player is here for convenience; the full track listing below remains available to everyone.

Source works

The album’s complete track listing, with each classical source identified and original compositions marked plainly.

  1. Over Toro (based on “Overture” from Bizet’s Carmen)Bizet: Carmen: Prelude
  2. Florence, Florence (based on “O mio babbino caro” from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi)Puccini: Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro
  3. Memories Of Bygone Days (based on “Ma mère, je la vois” from Bizet’s Carmen)Bizet: Carmen, Act I: No. 7, Duo, Parle-moi de ma mère
  4. Ida’s Idea (based on “Celeste Aida” from Verdi’s Aida)Verdi: Aida, Act I: Celeste Aida
  5. Song Of The Flower You Gave Me (based on “Flower Song” from Bizet’s Carmen)Bizet: Carmen, Act II: Flower Song
  6. Casta Fiore (based on “Jewel Aria” from Gounod’s Faust)Gounod: Faust, Act III: Air des bijoux, the Jewel Song
  7. Gypsy Swing (based on “Gypsy Song” from Bizet’s Carmen)Bizet: Carmen, Act II: Chanson bohème, the Gypsy Song
  8. Sleepless In The Night (based on “Nessun dorma” from Puccini’s Turandot)Puccini: Turandot, Act III: Nessun dorma
  9. Don’t Play With Fire (based on “Habanera” from Bizet’s Carmen)Bizet: Carmen, Act I: No. 5, Habanera
  10. Under The Starlit Sky (based on “E lucevan le stelle” from Puccini’s Tosca and Rose’s “Avalon”)Puccini: Tosca, Act III: E lucevan le stelle. Vincent Rose’s Avalon, a 1920 popular song, is non-classical.
  11. Onegin Line (based on “Lenski’s Aria” from Tchaikovsky’s Jevgeni Onegin)Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin, Op. 24: Lensky’s aria
  12. Every Day I Have The Booze (based on “Sempre libera” from Verdi’s La Traviata)Verdi: La traviata, Act I: Sempre libera
  13. Swing In The Clowns (based on “Vesti la giubba” from Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci)Leoncavallo: Pagliacci, Act I: Vesti la giubba
  14. Bull Shift (based on “Toreador’s Song” from Bizet’s Carmen)Bizet: Carmen, Act II: Toreador Song