# Rock Opera Discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-opera-discussion/226049 "2004-01-25T22:29:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MusicJunkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@MusicJunkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MusicJunkie)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-opera-discussion/226049/41 "2004-02-02T06:02:34Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m not really sure how to classify _Hair_. I love it, but I’m not sure it really qualifies as a rock opera. I think there might be too much dialogue. But then, _Carmen_ has dialogue, too, and I don’t think anyone’s contesting its status as a opera. And _The Magic Flute_ is _loaded_ with dialogue and it’s considered an opera, not an operetta or a musical (according to my college music instructor, anyway). So, I don’t know. The Magic Flute is a singspiel, which is a tradicional german form of musical. As for Carmen: It’s three hours long and features obcession and murder. People probably just call it an opera because they would feel enbarassed to call it operetta. And if I remenber correctly Bizet tried to make the dialohues into recitative and gave up later. The Tales of Hoffman is the only other opera that I remenber that has spoken dialogue and that’s because Offenbach died before he wrote the recitative. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-opera-discussion/226049/42 "2004-02-02T07:32:54Z")
> [@BlackNGold](#): > > The bandmates would be Weird and Gilly. You’re right of course. How silly of me! Although I always did get the feeling that there were more members to the band (“Weird and Gilly AND the Spiders from Mars”), although come to think of it they might literally have been spiders…from Mars. ---
**Author:** ![JackaRoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@JackaRoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackaRoe)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-opera-discussion/226049/43 "2004-02-02T14:29:55Z")
[QUOTE=BlackNGold] > [@Lamia](#): > > Bowie’s _The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars_ is arguably a rock opera, but damned if I could tell you what actually happens in it (“Uh…the world’s gonna end in five years, and then there’s this alien who joins a rock band, and…um…I dunno, man”) or who any of the characters are except for Ziggy and his nameless bandmates.QUOTE] > > The bandmates would be Weird and Gilly. I don’t think of Ziggy as a rock opera, but a series of songs with somewhat of a narrative arc. I’m not sure what exactly that makes it. Ziggy Stardust was a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. “He played it left hand but took it too far”. ---
**Author:** ![maggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@maggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-opera-discussion/226049/44 "2004-02-02T15:38:23Z")
The band Savatage, guitarist Paul Neil (?) also has a side band called Tran-Siberian Orchestra - they do a Christmas Story and also Beethoven’s Last Night - both incredibly awesome stuffone can listen to all year! ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-opera-discussion/226049/45 "2004-02-02T22:14:40Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > What do you call traditional opera CDs? It’s still an opera. It has to be written before it can be performed. Pete Townsend wrote it, and it was performed later. Sounds like opera to me! Sorry, I thought we were talking only about rock operas and not operas. Yes you can get operas on CD but they were written for stage. Something like Savatage’s Streets was not, that’s the difference I was talking about. A true opera would have had the stage envisioned while a rock opera would have only had the music. ---
**Author:** ![lonelocust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/73ab20/32.png) [@lonelocust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lonelocust)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-opera-discussion/226049/46 "2004-02-02T22:18:50Z")
**riserus1** Thanks for your post. I was becoming discouraged reading this thread and no mention of **Frank Zappa**. Thing Fish would have been bitchin’ to see on stage. Not a 70’s opera, but \*\*Franks Wild Years \*\* by Tom Waits is by far my favorite of all time. ---
**Author:** ![lonelocust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/73ab20/32.png) [@lonelocust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lonelocust)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2004, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-opera-discussion/226049/47 "2004-02-02T22:21:38Z")
**riserius1.** Sorry. Must remember to preview. ---
**Author:** ![BlackNGold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BlackNGold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackNGold)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-opera-discussion/226049/48 "2004-02-03T00:05:36Z")
> [@JackaRoe](#): > > Ziggy Stardust was a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. “He played it left hand but took it too far”. I don’t think so. From the [Ziggy Stardust Companion](http://www.5years.com/start.htm) > [@](#): > > Bowie says that he based the character of Ziggy Stardust on the eccentric rocker > “Vince Taylor” (real name Brian Holden and also known as the “French Presley”) There’s much more info on the site, none of which mentions Hendrix. If you can dig up some reference, I’d like to see it. If you noticed, I’m somewhat a fan of the album. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-opera-discussion/226049.md?page=2)