This was brought to mind by the thread about The Masked Ball in “Eyes Wide Shut.”
In the absurd comedy “Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother,” certain events occur on stage during a performance of “The Masked Ball” by Eduardo Gambretta. The “English Translation” is obvious farcical, but does the opera actually exist? Was it solely invented for the movie, or did they take something real and perform a travesty of it?
“Why don’t we all drink some very sexy wine?”
It’s Verdi’s A Masked Ball (Un ballo in maschera).
Sources of information and collaboration:
http://www.schoolandholmes.com/charactersr.html
http://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=82222&forumID=1&archive=0
??? Then why is a placard held up attributing it to Gambretta?
(I can’t seem to find any actual Gambretta in any case…)
Is the scene in question actually in the Verdi? The scene is quite short, but seems to involve one man catching another man with his wife, challenging him to a duel, but being calmed. That’s not much to go on, but is there something like that in the Verdi?
Gambretta’s a mystery to me as well.
Most of the plot in the opera revolves around a man’s suspicions of his wife’s adultery. At the ball he assassinates his rival after seeing her in his arms. (Spoiler.)
Here’s a link to a libretto of Verdi’s A Masked Ball in English. The page is Act 3.
Without having the score in front of me, I’m guessing that the action’s in Scene 3, which opens with something that sounds like “We’re Singing At A Party” might scan:
Love and the dance go on
in these joyous halls,
while life is only
a fleeting dream.
O night of precious moments,
of romance and of song,
why dost thou not halt thy flight,
to repose on the wave of pleasure?
And the line: “You have your hand on my wife’s booby”
May take place with:
RENATO
(unobserved, he throws himself between and stabs Riccardo)
And this is my farewell to you!
The notes on the costuming at the masked ball work for the movie version as well.
Cool! Thank’ee! My next stop is Verdi!
(I’m disproportionately fond of “Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother.” I like it more than it really deserves. When forced to be objective, I recognize its many failings. But it has some subtle strengths – yeah, also some bare-backside humor – seriously, it has one or two truly elegant moments. And lots of ham.)
Oh, I agree. Although it isn’t the gem Young Frankenstein is, it has too many good parts to ever miss.
I should probably watch Smarter Brother again some time. I recall seeing it once, shortly after I had seen Young Frankenstein, and finding it incredibly disappointing by comparison. You all seem to acknowledge that it has its weaknesses, but I wonder if watching it with fresh eyes, and with my expectations at a more realistic level, I might find something worthwhile in it.
My favorite joke in the movie is…
“Six foot tall ugly murderer at door.”
“Jesus Christ!”
“Act natural.”
But my favorite moment in the movie is the roof-top showdown between Sigersen and Moriarty, when Moriarty taunts Sigersen. Gene Wilder’s subtlety of expression is brilliant, as Sigersen quietly and realistically acknowledges, yes, his brother really is smarter than he is. It’s a moment of quiet drama, a moment almost of pathos (and, in this flick, definitely one of bathos.) The movie becomes serious…for about eight seconds.
My favorite bits revolve around the old English Music Hall numbers, and Marty’s phonographic memory.
stop it you’re such a tickle tease! You know I’m super passionate!
Come on, let’s…