For years, opera has been the whipping boy of the music industry- the stigmatized genre that newer arts use to step on and lift themselves up, and the art is struggling against the burden that this stigma carries. Opera has for too long played the straight man who gets the pie in the face on behalf of younger, hipper genres, but it’s starting to fight back.
Most people have never been to an opera, and don’t know that they can be silly, goofy and a lot of fun! The creators of Loony Toons saw this and incorporated lots of opera in their stories, both in the plots and into the score for their cartoons. Perhaps they are even partly responsible for the stereotype of the “Fat Lady with the Horns.” Part of the fun of opera is the melodramatic satire with which they address their problems. Strong gestures are used to drive the mood, but also to poke fun at themselves!
In reality, the word “Opera” in generally synonymous for “intense emotions,” which is why the word appears in genres that aren’t technically musical, like “Space Opera” or “Soap Opera.” People imagine that these emotions are typically angst, but they are sometimes humor as well!
Some video games latched onto these operatic themes and music, and used them in their own games, which we are re-claiming for our project.
Super Smash Opera 