UPDATE: What does great art do to our bodies? In an exciting world first, The Science of Opera with Stephen Fry and Alan Davies saw a team of medical scientists from UCL discovering what happens inside us when we go to the opera.
Opera lover Stephen Fry took his friend, Royal Opera virgin and QI panellist Alan Davies, to the Royal Opera House. They were hooked up with the latest medical gadgetry to record the physical effects on their bodies of watching Verdi's political masterpiece Simon Boccanegra.
The Science of Opera promises some landmark medical discoveries as well as answering some key questions; was Alan Davies won over by opera? Did Stephen Fry get shivers down the spine during the show? Did either of them fall asleep? And what could opera do to you?
What happens to British comedians these days as they get older? Well, music can sometimes play a part.
Because sometimes they become stubbly American TV stars with moody blues as a sideline, à la Hugh Laurie. And sometimes they make a television series about how wonderful classical music is, like Harry Enfield. Or they write a column for Gramophone, like Armando Iannucci (the comic genius behind Veepand Steve Coogan's "Alan Partridge"). Or support classical music causes, like Barry Humphreys (Dame Edna would be proud, and maybe sardonic).
British comedians even create wonderful music parodies, praise be to the late Dudley Moore.
Stephen Fry, Laurie's long-time former comic sparring partner, has long declared his love for music and especially the work of Richard Wagner. There have been radio appearances on the subject, television programs and now a fully-fledged festival at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Fry co-curates the Deloitte Ignite Verdi/Wagner festival at the ROH, which runs September 6-29 over four weekends. It celebrates the bicentenary of the famous Giuseppe and Richard through an array of music, dance, film and other events.
The attractions include a sound installation in the Crush Room, featuring recordings from people all over the world singing "Va pensiero" from Verdi's opera Nabucco.
And a huge interactive sculpture by Es Devlin (whose design credits range from Les Troyens at the ROH to the London Olympics Closing Ceremony and, err, Take That's "Progress Tour") will document Die Walküre from every production aspect--the same attention-grabbing name behind The Ring's Cyclotrope.
Following hs successful precursors on the subjects of Dickens and Shakespeare, Simon Callow--actor, writer, renaissance man--will star in his new one-man show, Inside Wagner's Head.
Also, there will be a mime version of Wagner's Ring Cycle (abridged), a comedy take on Verdi, a juggling take on Wagner and Juilan Joseph's jazz take on Tristan und Isolde.
Fry himself puts in an appearance with fellow comic Alan Davies in "The Science of Opera." The pair investigate the findings of a team of neurologists who have analyzed what happens to humans in physical terms when they watch and listen to opera.
For full details on the Royal Opera House's Deloitte Ignite Verdi/Wagner Fest, just click HERE.
What next, Classicalite wonders? André Previn doing an iconic sketch with a British comedic duo?
Oh, hang on, that's been done before.
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