Opera fuses with rock, country and flamenco on this exciting, idiosyncratic journey through 300 years of vocals music.

12 MP3 Songs in this album (43:35) !
Related styles: Classical: Opera, Rock: Rock opera, Type: Vocal

People who are interested in Josh Groban Luciano Pavarotti Meat Loaf should consider this download.


Details:
"It matters not if you don't know a turnbuckle from a Turandot, have I got a show for you.
I knew little of Opera for Heathens before I walked into the Yardbird Suite but when I walked out I knew I had a joyous experience I had to share with you, gentle reader.

The show features a burly B.C. native, Kevin Armstrong. Armstrong has all the requisite operatic training. He has sung in major halls in Europe and Canada, played some seventy times in Jesus Christ Superstar and has issued a number of CDs. But that does little to explain what happens when he starts to sing. First of all, he's got a tremendous range calling himself a baritenor (baritone/tenor). It probably doesn't help his operatic career that his range is between the two but it sure gives him some great low notes.

The voice is fluid, powerful enough to wake the pigeons in Hinton in its upper reaches and has a particular ability to slide easily into falsetto for such songs as Music of the Night.

In fact, if there is a problem with the redoubtable Mr. Armstrong, it is that his voice is so powerful that in the close confines of the Yardbird, it's a good thing he sings a few quiet songs to give your ringing ears a rest.

We have all probably suffered through classically trained singers trying to sing pop. We know that classical teachers are horrified when their students try to sing, say, the Queen songbook and endeaver to train any rock tendencies out of them. Not Kevin Armstrong.

He is as much at home in Meatloaf as he is in Mozart sliding easily from German to French to Italian and back to English.

Add to that he's an amazing picker. He accompanies himself on guitar, both acoustic and electronic, making the instrument sound like everything from a full symphony to church bells. "Here's some Mozart with a few guitar licks from Johnny Cash," he cheerfully informs us.

My, how this man can sing. A shortened list of songs includes Styxx's Come Sail Away, This is the Moment from Jekyll & Hyde. Seven Seas of Rhye from Queen and Bring Him Home from Les Miz.

He finishes off with what he calls his cartoon aria which is, of course, Rossini's Largo al Factotum (from the Bugs Bunny oeuvre). He had us all singing about that illusive fellow Figaro, while he mounted some of the most frenzied picking this side of Nashville.

Kevin Armstrong's Opera for Heathens is a wonderfully entertaining hour. Five Suns."

-Colin MacLean, Edmonton Sun

âThe name of this show was originally Vocal Violence,â jokes Kevin Armstrong early into his set. That would have been a misnomer: the classically-trained bari-tenor bends his voice in thrillingly beautiful ways, whether performing pieces from Tosca or Bat Out Of Hell II. The operatic and musical selections are the strongest parts of the show: Armstrong showcases familiar songs such as âLargo al Factotumâ and âBring Him Homeâ from Les Misérables. The popular pieces he performs are less stimulating, but the sheer technical skill on display helps make up for it. Armstrong is friendly and personable on stage, taking suggestions from the audience and cracking jokesâhe is far from the cliché of the stuffy opera singer. In all, Opera for Heathens is a beautiful and often electrifying display.
-VUE Weekly