MUSIC REVIEWS
The East Village Opera Company - self titled
Hydah Walker
Rum and coke. Paper and pen. Sweet and sour. Rock and opera? Bizarre considering it’s hard to imagine Led Zeppelin touring with Giueseppe Giacosa. Some genres just have little to nothing in common. But the adage opposites attract plays a key role in blending those differences to create The East Village Opera Company.
On their self-titled sophomore album, multi-talented Tyler Ross and Peter Kiesewalter steer this staggering 11-person band. The dark beauty of masterly opera composers such as Giacomo Puccini, Alfredo Catalini, and Georges Bizet is given a brilliant dose of equally superb rock along with sampled lyrics from the likes of Dido and Marvin Gaye. The cd starts off with Mozart’s “Overture”. It’s a powerful and hard-hitting opening.
Besides contributing additional lyrics, AnnMarie Milazzo leads the vocalists with absurdly exceptional range. Her gorgeous voice dances from husky “Nessum Dorma” to smooth “Au Fondu Du Temple Saint” to delicate “When I Am Laid In Earth” to sensual “O Mio Babbino Caro”. Ross and Kiesewalter possess skillful vocals as well, but it is Milazzo who effortlessly stands out.
EVOC brings vintage and contemporary to a new level. The combination of violins, acoustic basses and drums is thrilling. Masterpieces from La Wally, Madame Butterfly, La Boheme and Carmen are literally rocked to life. Each song is uniquely redone and each comes with a short informal description in the cd booklet. The best of both worlds is provided again in the written lyrics with the direct English translations taking up space next to the original Italian and French mode.
There is a different ambience with each track. This is due not only to the band’s in-your-face talent, but also due to award-winning-music-shaking Neil Dorfsman; popular and diverse recording engineer and producer. EVOC’s fan base and recognition grew rapidly in March 2004 when they performed at Joe’s Pub in Manhattan. The group was convinced not much would come out of their show (their first album “La Donna” in 2003 didn’t break records on the music charts). Fortunately the crowd, consisting of “record business folks and media types” felt differently. Within months EVOC was selling Joe’s Pub out and within a year, signed a deal with Universal Classics.
The music industry isn’t popping out creative and matchless artists left right and center. Especially not in these musically trying times. Lyrics have no depth and beats, harmonies and measures sound alike. EVOC brings passion that is sorely lacking in basically every genre. It takes a certain expertise and one of a kind technique to combine alluring darkness and haunting radiance so flawlessly.
Proving to be more than a random craze, The East Village Company is slowly but surely making it’s mark on the world of not only rock and opera, but also on the almost forgotten classics that most anyone can fathom and savor.
