What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of an opera? Grandiose staging, booming voices, dramatic betrayals, video games? When we think of video games, most people would probably picture boss battles, virtual coins and fast-paced action – not velvet curtains and duelling tenors.
Surprisingly, opera and classical music have remained strong themes in video games. With several major developers paying tribute to the art form. From the death-defying worlds of high fantasy action role-playing games to the strategic sprawl of Sid Meier’s Civilisation, here are our favourite operatic moments in video games.
Final Fantasy VI – The Opera House level.
Square Enix’s beloved Final Fantasy series has always been about pushing the envelope, and VI was no exception. Halfway through the game of the sixth instalment, players find themselves at an opera house.
Here, Celes, one of the game’s main characters must step into the shoes of Prima Donna Maria, who is the target of a villainous kidnapping plot (very opera!). During the performance, players guide Celes as she sings Aria di Mezzo Carattere, a sweeping love song set to surprisingly emotional pixelated visuals.
Despite the hardware limitations, the sequence struck a powerful chord with players. Many cite it as one of gaming’s earliest examples of video games as art, blending music, storytelling and gameplay into a surprisingly moving experience. And, because this is a JRPG (Japanese role-playing game), things soon spiral into chaos when Ultros (a rather off-putting purple octopus) interrupts the opera, leading to a frantic rescue mid-performance.
Hitman: Blood Money – Death at the Opera.
Opera appears much darker in IO Interactive’s Hitman: Blood Money (2006.). Here, players slip into the shoes of Agent 47, a cloned assassin tasked with taking out a rival organisation.
One mission, namely‘Curtains Down’, is set inside a lavish Parisian opera house during a rehearsal of Puccini’s Tosca. The target? Criminal tenor Alvaro D’Alvade. Alvaro, in contrast to his character, plays Mario Cavaradossi. Amid the haunting tones of Tosca’s soundtrack, like the usual twisting plots of opera, players must stage an ‘accident’ – swapping a fake firearm with a real one!
Civilisation series – the classical masters.
Opera’s influence doesn’t end with story-driven adventures. In Sid Meier’s Civilisationseries, players can literally buildopera houses within their empires, boosting culture and happiness in their self-made empires.
Famous composers like Mozart, Beethoven and Vivaldi even appear as recruitable ‘Great People,’ helping players lead their civilisations to artistic glory.
Christopher Tin, best known for his Grammy-winning Baba Yetu, which served as the opening theme for Civilisation IV) took his talents to Llangollen’s International Eisteddfod. Alongside our very own WNO Orchestra, Christopher Tin performed his album Calling All Dawns, a celebration of the stages of life.
Feeling inspired?
Video games, like opera, are filled to the brim with rich storytelling and glorious soundtracks. Explore the magic of storytelling this Season with Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro or witness Puccini’s gut-wrenchingly poignant opera Tosca this Autumn.
