SINGING MAGICIAN PERFORMER FINDS MIXING MAGIC AND OPERA DOES THE TRICK.Byline: MARK KELLAM Valley News Writer Patrick Bell has been doing magic professionally since he was 13 and has been training as an opera singer since he was 16. After performing magic and opera separately for years, Bell started combining the two forms of entertainment about a year ago. Calling his show ``Opera-Kadabra,'' he performs at schools and private parties, and he recently entertained an audience at the Joslyn Center in Burbank. Bell, 28, of Canoga Park said the big benefit of mixing magic with opera is that he can ``trick'' young audience members into enjoying classical operatic pieces. For example, while he's singing the Toreador Song from the opera ``Carmen Carmen throws over lover for another. [Fr. Lit.: Carmen; Fr. Opera: Bizet, Carmen, Westerman, 189–190] See : Faithlessness Carmen the cards repeatedly spell her death. [Fr. ,'' he performs several tricks, including producing a rose from a handkerchief. While he sings Figaro's aria from ``The Barber of Seville,'' he escapes from a straitjacket straitjacket /strait·jack·et/ (strat´jak?et) informal name for camisole. strait·jack·et or straight·jack·et n. . At the Joslyn Center, Bell, a baritone, sang a few songs without any magic. Those songs were Billy Bigelow's eight-minute ``Soliloquy'' from ``Carousel'' and ``The Impossible Dream'' from ``Man of LaMancha.'' Bell performs with both the Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California, United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Chorus and the TV ministry ``Hour of Power'' Crystal Cathedral The Crystal Cathedral is a Protestant, Christian megachurch in the city of Garden Grove, in Orange County, California. The church was founded in 1955 by Rev. Dr. Robert H. Schuller and his wife, Arvella, on the campus of what was known until that time as Choir. He holds a bachelor's degree in music and a master's degree master's degree n. An academic degree conferred by a college or university upon those who complete at least one year of prescribed study beyond the bachelor's degree. Noun 1. in vocal performance from UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Patrick Bell, above, makes a white rose appear from a handkerchief as he sings the Torreador Song from the opera ``Carmen'' at the Joslyn Center in Burbank. Top, Bell ends his performance with ``The Impossible Dream'' from ``Man of La Mancha.'' Mark Kellam/Valley News |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion