Godfather III -- Opera

I am not a big fan of Godfather III, but is the opera that "Tony" sings a real opera? My question is because I've never heard a more awful opera--and whoever did the singing for "Tony" didn't have much of an operatic voice. What was Coppola thinking?

Yes, it was a real opera: "Cavalleria Rusticana" ("Rustic Chivalry") by Mascagni. I also didn't like the way Tony's aria (the first one in the opera, "Siciliana," was sung). But it's a great opera when done right--short, ugly, but, IMO, with the highest concentration of great music in a short (~80 minutes) running time.

What was FFC thinking? It was a wise choice for GFIII. I saw it as typifying the whole Sicilian "thing" that Michael was involved with all his life:

It's about infidelity, cuckolding and (relevant to GFIII) violent revenge. The lead character, Turiddu (played by Anthony) has an affair with the wife of Alfio, in the process jilting Santuzza, whose honor he stole and then abandoned. Santuzza, heartbroken and wanting revenge, tells Alfio that Turiddu is cuckolding him with his wife. So, Turrido and Alfio have to fight to the death to achieve revenge and restore honor. Note that FFC showed a confrontation between Turiddu and Alfio in which Turridu bit his ear--the traditional Sicilian challenge to a fight to the death over honor. Notice how Vincent grins when it happened? Recall that he bit Zasa's ear early in the movie--for the same purpose.

I'm with TB on this. It is magical when done right, and I've seen it several times at the Met. It was amazing.

It must be tough singing opera to an audience that really understands the words!




Director: Do something with your hands while you sing!
Singer: Do what?
Critic: Hold them over your mouth!

I too go with TB on this. The opera paralleled alot of what was going on in the movie.

he only thing unrealistic is that usualy when Cav. plays, they also play Pagliacci, another short Opera. It would be weird just to have a production of Cav as is done in GF III. It is too short to stand alone, and does not allow enought time for all the shenagins that are happening during the performance to actually happpen.

Perhaps Michael's scream at the end was his interpretation of "Vesti la Giubba"?

Also, they changed the order of some songs. And yeah, Antony isn't exactly the best tenor. Get it with Björling or Domingo, I think there are a few versions on Youtube.

And yes, where was Pagliacci? Why would Michael & co. leave after Cavalleria? Not that I like Pagliacci that much - most tenors chew the scenery so hard, even Brian Blessed would tell them to chill out.

The bill in front of the opera house seems to indicate a 9:15 start time, so a second opera may not have been necessary. It would probably be quite a lot to expect a very new singer to prepare both lead roles at the same time.