Burnt Toast
Passion. Humiliation. Heartbreak. Crumbs.
An irreverent spin on the hallowed institutions of love and marriage, Burnt Toast is a television opera comprised of eight comic "mini-operas," each depicting a different stage of romantic love. The relationships run the gamut: from the passionate to the bored, to the fantasized, and of course to the dead relationship, each as recognizable as the last.
Featuring performances by such stellar talents as Paul Gross, Cathy Jones, Colin Mochrie, Jessica Holmes, Colm Feore, Scott Thompson, Liane Balaban, and Mark McKinney and the voices of Isabel Bayrakdarian, Russell Braun, Barbara Hannigan, Jean Stilwell and many more.
Member Reviews
A Curiosity - SofaTuber
I saw the names of so many Canadian actors that I love, so I zipped this one. I didn't realize it was all sung (dubbed in by real opera singers) when I zipped it. It was done as several short, humorous stories. I found it entertaining. I've really never seen anything quite like it before.Opera enthusiast or not, Burnt Toast entertains - RippleRockKid
Burnt Toast is a rather short, light-hearted television opera. It isn't overly ambitious in music, story or production and, as a result, is quite a successful and entertaining production.
The challenge in creating a television opera is that one is dealing with two mediums that have much in common, yet much that clashes. As a result they often displease opera fans and fail to interest non-opera fans. The first problem is casting. Most opera singers' acting chops aren't passable on camera and one shudders to think of even the best singing actors taking on a real operatic vocal score. Burnt Toast features a Canadiana-all-star cast of actors, all voiced over by Canadian opera pros (who, sadly, were given poor billing such that it wasn't clear who sang what part). Only a few bit parts were acted by the vocalists. Several of the voiceless actors give excellent performances and they seem to be having a lot of fun with it too. Highlights were the traffic scene in act 2 and the song of wedding vows in act 4. The traffic scene in particular exploits that which TV does well where as the stage does not.
The 60-minute length is about right. It starts to drag a little in the latter half with both music and story lapsing into cliche - not withstanding the hilarious quotes of Mozart sung in nagging falsetto by an embittered husband - but it ends more-or-less on time, which is more than can be said for many tv specials and operas.
Member Reviews
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A Curiosity - SofaTuber
I saw the names of so many Canadian actors that I love, so I zipped this one. I didn't realize it was all sung (dubbed in by real opera singers) when I zipped it. It was done as several short, humorous stories. I found it entertaining. I've really never seen ...Opera enthusiast or not, Burnt Toast entertains - RippleRockKid
Burnt Toast is a rather short, light-hearted television opera. It isn't overly ambitious in music, story or production and, as a result, is quite a successful and entertaining production.
The challenge in creating a television opera is that one is dealing ...