Incredible moment opera chorus bursts into a Verdi melody on Italian metro

12 January 2021, 13:53

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

Joyful scenes on the Sicilian metro, as a local opera chorus bursts into song.

This is the moment a Sicilian opera chorus burst into one of the most beloved Italian opera melodies, while riding the metro.

Around three years ago, singers from the chorus of a Catania opera house performed a jubilant ‘Libiamo ne’lieti calici’ from Verdi’s La Traviata, as an enthralled train carriage audience watched on, filming on their phones.

Verdi’s famous duet – literally ‘Let’s drink from the joyful cups’ – is also what’s known as a brindisi, a lively song that encourages the consumption of wine.

So, no one would raise any eyebrows if you were to pour yourself one, following the joy that is this video.

“Today in the Metro, there is an air of good music!” the clip on Facebook, which has been seen by more than 2.5m people, is captioned.

Incredible moment opera chorus bursts into a Verdi melody on Italian metro

After taking the first verse, the foremost brave tenor passes the proverbial baton to his colleague, further down the carriage.

So continues the musical relay, until the whole ensemble joins in, in one joyous chorus.

The singing continues as the chorus members unhurriedly exit the train, allowing others to board.

These wonderful singers are members of the Chorus of the Teatro Massimo Bellini opera house, named after local-born Norma composer Vincenzo Bellini, whose long-flowing melodic lines earned him the nickname ‘The Swan of Catania’.