How Spectre’s Opera Music Scene Stole the Show

How Spectre’s Opera Music Scene Stole the Show – A look at how the music in the latest James Bond film helped to set the tone and atmosphere.

The Opening Scene

The music

The opening scene of Spectre is a stunner, an extended single take that follows James Bond (Daniel Craig) through a Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City before he infiltrates a secret meeting, killing several bad guys along the way. It’s a bravura piece of filmmaking, and it’s made even more impressive by the fact that nearly the entire sequence is set to an operatic waltz.

The music in question is “Granada,” composed in 1932 by Mexican composer Agustín Lara. It’s a hugely popular song in Mexico (and elsewhere), and its nostalgic lyrics about lost love perfectly set the tone for the somber opener. But more than that, the decision to use an existing piece of music rather than create something original for the scene is what makes it so special.

For one thing, it allows director Sam Mendes to avoid any overt reference to James Bond’s musical history. There’s no bombastic John Barry-style orchestration here, no need for a flashy Shirley Bassey vocal performance. The song is already well-known, and its use feels organic rather than forced.

But more importantly, the use of “Granada” gives Mendes a chance to play with audience expectations. We’ve come to expect certain things from a James Bond opening scene: fast cars, beautiful women, exotic locations, and (of course) plenty of action. But by using a pre-existing piece of music, Mendes subverts our expectations and gives us something altogether different: a mournful meditation on death and loss.

It’s a bold choice, and it pays off in spades. The scene is visually stunning, emotionally resonant, and deeply troubling — everything a good James Bond movie should be.

The setting

The film’s opening scene is set in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead parade. Bond is chasing a criminal through the streets, and as he does, we see a huge procession of people in costumes and make-up streaming past. There’s music playing, and it’s loud and exciting. When Bond finally catches up to his quarry, they scuffle on top of a moving float, and the camera pulls back to reveal that they’re surrounded by thousands of revelers. It’s an incredible spectacle, and it’s all set to the tune of “The Harry Lime Theme” by Anton Karas.

The scene is visually stunning and incredibly kinetic, but it’s the music that really makes it special. “The Harry Lime Theme” is a catchy tune that perfectly fits the tone of the scene. It’s just the right mix of exciting and dangerous, and it sets the stage for what promises to be an epic adventure.

The Second Act

In the second act of Spectre, the movie’s titular villain (played by Christoph Waltz) lures James Bond (played by Daniel Craig) into a trap by attending an opera. The music in the scene is “Gustavo III” by Giuseppe Verdi, and it’s one of the most beautifully chilling pieces of music in any Bond film.

The music

While the acting and story are both important aspects of any movie, the music can often be what really makes or breaks a scene. In the case of Spectre, the movie’s operatic music scene is one of its most memorable and talked-about moments.

Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall” may have won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, but it was the film’s use of classical music that really stole the show. The operatic music scene in Spectre is set during a key moment in the film’s plot, and it features some of the most beautiful and powerful singing you’re likely to ever hear in a movie.

The opera scene in Spectre is so good that it has even inspired some people to start learning opera themselves. If you’re looking for a way to get into opera, or if you’re just looking for some amazing music to listen to, be sure to check out the operatic music scene from Spectre.

The setting

The beginning of the movie features a dramatic fistfight atop a Vienna opera house during a performance, with the precariously perchedrier Craig tumbling into the seats below. But it’s the following music-filled scene that gives the movie its operatic heart.

Spectre brings James Bond to Austria’s capital city for the first time, and it uses the city’s world-renowned Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) as a backdrop for one of its key scenes. After attending a performance of Tosca, James Bond (Daniel Craig) meets his contact, Mr. White (Jesper Christensen), in one of the Staatsoper’s grandiose private boxes.

While Mr. White confirms that he is indeed “the man who killed [Bond’s] bride,” we as an audience are also getting intimate with one of Europe’s most significant cultural institutions. The Wiener Staatsoper is not only one of the busiest opera houses in the world, but it also boasts an impressive history dating back to 1869.

The Final Scene

The music

The final music scene in Spectre is one of the most talked-about aspects of the movie. In it, Daniel Craig’s James Bond goes to see an opera performance by his former lover, Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci). The music is by Giuseppe Verdi, and the aria that Lucia sings is “Nel giorno del Ringraziamento” (“On Thanksgiving Day”) from I vespri siciliani.

The scene is beautifully shot and edited, and Bellucci’s performance is both sensual and haunting. It’s a fitting end to a film that pays homage to the classic Bond movies of the 1960s and ’70s.

The setting

The final scene of Spectre is set in an empty opera house, with only two people remaining inside. One is the protagonist, James Bond, who has come to confront the villain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. The other is Blofeld’s henchwoman, Sylva Koscina. Koscina is seated at a piano on the stage, playing Chopin’s “Funeral March.” BLOFELD ( Ernst Stavro Blofeld) stands in the shadows, watching her.

Bond enters the auditorium and walks down the aisle. He climbs up onto the stage and approaches Koscina. She stops playing and looks at him.

BOND: Are you alone?

KOSCINA: Yes.

BOND: Good. I’d hate to interrupt your playing.

KOSCINA: It’s just a funeral march. fitting for the occasion, don’t you think?

Blofeld comes out of the shadows and stands next to Koscina.

BLOFELD: You’re too kind, Mr. Bond. But I’m afraid you’re going to have to kill me now.
There’s nothing personal in it, you understand. Just business.