The BBC is set to stage a flashmob opera somewhere in Sheffield!

A flashmob is a spontaneous gathering, organised secretively by email or text message and subject to meticulous timing
TAKE PART

Want to take part in the flashmob? Sign up now.

Text OPERA to 88822 or email flashmob.opera@bbc.co.uk
Click here for sms terms and conditions

When: Thursday 7 April
Where: Somewhere in Sheffield

and they wonder why some of us want the license fee to be abolished:loopy: :loopy: :loopy:

Hardly a flashmob if organised by the BBC, or is it?

Edit: Now I've seen what it is about. I remember catching a glimpse of the one they did at Paddington Station in London. Singers performing opera in amongst commuters and using volunteers as a chorus.

Originally posted by panda79
and they wonder why some of us want the license fee to be abolished:loopy: :loopy: :loopy:

It's a novel way of performing opera using professional singers and musicians, in an entertaining way, in an effort to broaden peoples' tastes. Surely better than making the same formulaic crap that ITV and Channel 4 churn out? This is exactly the sort of thing I pay my license fee for.
The one at Paddington was great. Some of the commuters had tears in their eyes due to stumbling on an unexpectadly bizarre and joyous creation on their normally stressful commute home.

Im there- these are fun!! i saw a flashmob pillow fight in poland and there were about 250-300 people- it looked ace!!!

Hope ill get to take part even though ive got work that night!!!! :( Seen it when it was on TV. Brilliant!

:clap:

Hi you lot, I'm new here got no idea what you're talking about but I'll pick it up as we go along...nice meeting ya!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/flashmob/flashmob.shtml

For anyone who is interested, this is what the BBC have sent me:

Brand New Flashmob will take place in Sheffield on April 7th. To take part in this next Flashmob, all you have to do is send a text saying opera to 88822 (terms and conditions: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/flashmob/sms_terms.shtml)

You will be sent a text message on April 7th telling you exactly where and when the Flashmob takes place.

In the meantime, visit the site for further details and download the music which you can sing on the day.

Thank you for your interest and enthusiasm.

BBC Flashmob Team

Sounds fun! What's the music? Can you just la-la-la if you can't sing?

I understood that Sheffield has been subject to a flashmob before. I heard that a group of people, all gathered around the doorway of a record shop down Fargate way, shouting the name a well known pop-star, and whooping it up. A large crowd gathered, and after a few minutes, the flashmob melted away. The remaining onlookers were left crowding into the shop only to find no trace of the famous pop-star, and wondering what had happened. Anyone know if this really happened?

Put me down for this -sounds quite good fun.
These events tend to attract an assortment of sad,loopy people
who wave cigarette lighters around at pop concerts.But there is always the bonus of the nubile young woman in a silky see-through top ripping off her clouts and giving us appreciative onlookers an eyefull.Trust the Girls High School has been invited.
On with the show I say..

Anarchy is great if it isn't organised by a large corporation:suspect:

Sound 's pretty cool. I wonder where it will be, I can't think of anywhere bar meadowhall. Seems the obvious choice (only place big enough, with enough people already there).

My money's on Meadowhall.
It has to be under cover in case of rain.

When: Thursday 7 April 2005 Where: Somewhere in Sheffield. Flash Mob (http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/flashmob/flashmob.shtml)

admin note : threads merged

the television mag says it will be from a "shopping centre in the nortth of england" well we know its sheffiedl but im betting it aint crystal peaks :) see u at meadowhell oasis

dave

Apparently the 'Sheffield Teachers Operatic Society' will be performing in this.

Anybody heard of them?

No sooner said than done!

http://www.sheffieldteachers.org.uk/news_detail.asp?id=81

Can someone please tell me about this flashmob Opera it sounds fab, would really like to know where abouts in Sheffield this is to take place. Or a contact telephone number of someone who knows.

Thanks guys!!:clap:

It's on BBC3 tomorrow night at 8pm and 10.30pm

No not the programme! The actual physical flashmob? there is some indication that it is to take place at meadowhell???

Can someone please tell me about this flashmob Opera it sounds fab, would really like to know where abouts in Sheffield this is to take place. Or a contact telephone number of someone who knows.

ON page one of this thread is a number to text :loopy:
;)

I was speaking last night to someone who was a performer in the show (at the Lyceum?) and I was under the impression it had been and gone, recorded last Saturday and was on TV tonight.

Well I have text-ed the number and got a reply saying that I will be told tomorrow where and when to turn up!

Oh, and by the way, the number is:

888222

AFAIK the programme on thursday is live

dave

thanx neeeeeeeeek I saw the number but kinda wanted a sneeeeeeeky peek as to where it would be although I realise thats why they call it flashmob.

The text just tells you on the day which is tommorrow.... too late for me!!

Thanx anyway

i'm fairly sure that it is to be held in meadowhall oasis (from sources in the know :))

just been down to the big M place and lots of tech kit appearing all over the place and music stands in the oassis guess tyhe cat is out of the bag for the flash opera thing now

Just come back from Meadowhall and the BBC are all over the Oasis :wink:

So it will be 8 o'clock tomorrow night in the Oasis.......:clap:

been confirmed this morning on look leeds (foreign news section) that it will be at meadowhell, wont go myself but will watch it in comfort :)

dave

Just received the text message from the BBC:

Brand new Flashmob opera taking place tonight, 8pm in Meadowhall.

But then we had worked that out already here!

Im gonna miss it! :( gotta work!

Can anyone please record it for me on bbc 3 8pm?

I will be forever grateful :D

:help:

Looks like it might be repeated at;

Brand New Flashmob Opera

Thu 7 Apr at 22:30 on BBC Three
Sat 9 Apr at 01:00 on BBC Three

At least that what the website says...

Just back - I thought it was very good. You had to move around a lot to see what was going on, but the soloists were excellent, as was the orchestra. Looking forward to seeing it on the box soon.

I saw it - and it looked (and sounded) excellent! How many members of the Forum were there on there?

What with The Games, Flashmob Opera and (coming soon) World Snooker Sheffield certainly gets some excellent national TV coverage - probably better than any other city.

Leeds - eat you heart out!

just got back from 'hell and gotta say that was fun :) i was stood directly in front of the camera during the "throw popcorn on the floor" scene (hard to follow the story when you're there!). looked and sounded cool.

congrats to the Beeb.

That was brilliant!

The first song was all about shopping in Meadowhall. Lots of girls with bags. Really tounge in cheek!

Couldn't really follow the entire story but I think the leading lady sold her soul to the devil just outside Warner Cinema. (Know how she feels).

But she was saved by our hero, the Meadowhall Security Man.

Best bit: The Ride Of The Valkyries - Women shopping with prams.

A wonderful show - and a great advert for Sheffield.

It was fantastic, good to see an old mate playing one of the guys in the casino!

It is just a shame it was on BBC3, it deserved better.

I suspect it will be repeated on BBC 2, in a couple of weeks; the last one in London was. It was really good wasn't it? I was there and got my songbook and stood along with the 'silence please' lot. It's nice top see things such as 'opera' looking less 'stuffy' and 'elitist'.

my girlfriend also knew someone at the casino - presumably that was a local singing group?

Originally posted by LL200
my girlfriend also knew someone at the casino - presumably that was a local singing group?

The guys were from Sheffield Teachers Operatic Society. I think the girls singing on the stairs at the start and finish were from Cantamus.

It was really good to see Peter Auty again. The last time I saw him was on one of those "I Love 198x" programmes talking about how he was robbed of fame for being the real singer of "Walking in the Air" from The Snowman.

http://www.sheffieldteachers.org.uk/index.asp

http://freespace.virgin.net/marek.kuczynski/cantamus/

Hiya

For those that are interested, you can download the lyrics and music here :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/flashmob/download.shtml

Note the copyright notice at the bottom :

The BBC grants you a 5-week (from 24 March - 28 April 05), non-exclusive licence to download this Flashmob audio file only for your personal, non-commercial use and as otherwise set out in the BBC's Terms of Use. You may not download, edit, or use this file for the purpose of promoting, advertising, endorsing or implying a connection with you (or any third party) and the BBC, its agents or employees. The BBC will not be liable for any loss or damage which you may suffer as a result of or connected with the download or use of this file.

:thumbsup:

Originally posted by Deavon
That was brilliant!

The first song was all about shopping in Meadowhall. Lots of girls with bags. Really tounge in cheek!

That'll be this one then :

O Sole Mio (Eduardo Di Capua)
Peter Auty sings about the shopping centre and Danny's love for Sophie.

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rmhttp/radio3/osolemio.mp3

O SOLE MIO (Eduardo Di Capua)

Verse 1
Singapore noodles and Kentucky chicken
An Indian kebab and a Cornish pasty
Italian pizza and an ice cold beer
Who needs to travel when the world is here

Chorus 1
Free Cappuccino lend a helping hand
The sweetest music from the finest band
No fortune's in Security
A smiling face means more to me.

Verse 2
I keep her school book and I sing her name
Despite her beauty and her endless fame
Would she were here to share this all with me
I?d rather win her than the Lottery.

Chorus 2
Oh Sophie Faust do you know who you are?
When you're out there dating some sad movie star
The more you have the less you're free
For a heart that's true, then come to me.

Originally posted by rtapper
That'll be this one then :

O Sole Mio (Eduardo Di Capua)
Peter Auty sings about the shopping centre and Danny's love for Sophie.

No, that wasn't it. It was a song praising and naming Meadowhall and being out of the cold winter weather, sung by the girls alone.

I watched it with my kids and we all really enjoyed it. I found myself chuckling away on many occasions about the lyrics. I particularly loved the song about 'shopping Zombies'!! How very true!

All in all a very enjoyable experience. Far better than actually shoping at Meadowhell (and they did actaually call it that!) anyday!

Something strange and unique happened at Sheffield's Meadowhall tonight.

The Opera, yes: but more so was watching the middle classes decend on the Oasis during the hour before the performance...

Slowly but surely the usual throng of tracksuits and nike caps were replaced by country casuals and sensible coats.

Single mums with oversized bums in undersized denim skirts found themselves outnumbered by married mums discussing their succesful sons.

And yes the normal Vicky Pollard type chatter about who slept with who, where you can get 2 of those yellow bands for a pound and why nobody's speaking to Shazney anymore because she slept with Leroy and he should know better because she's a slag anyway. So Shutup! Was drowned out by discussions about 'Faust', how the Church Summer Fete is in early stages of planning and managing the bottom garden now that spring is well under way.

A very unique night for Meadowhall indeed!

Seriously though the opera was great fun to watch. Wish I had learnt the story before going tonight though!

Ooh I wish I'd gone! We watched it on the Tv and I was in awe when they got the whole of M'Hall singing the Hallelujah chorus at the end! I mean, even the cynical teens! I was very impressed. The story was, I gather, much easier to follow from the programme. I was truly impressed by this, it's just a shame so few people watch the channel, and more still of a shame that my digital TV telewest on screen guide thingy didn't mention 'Sheffield' in the title, which would've caught my eye (I almost missed it), and probably the eyes of many other channel hoppers.

I was there with the flashmob singers! it was great!!

It was a bit hard to follow the story while you were at Meadowhell (even though I'd read the synopsis on the web site) but it looked really good on TV when i got home.

I thought the soloists were excellent and it was good to see so many people enjoying themselves in meadowhell!

Can we do it again, please?

Originally posted by super_pie
It's nice top see things such as 'opera' looking less 'stuffy' and 'elitist'.
It is, but in fact it is a sad misconception by the British public that opera is elitist and stuffy in the first place. There is no financial barrier to entry for opera, tickets for the opera in London with world class performers start at just £8. If you go to the Royal Opera House for example, you see what a great social leveller it is, all demographics united simply by a passion for musical drama.
To be elitist is literally the last thing that opera houses want, they want as many bums on seats as possible.

I thought flashmobs were supposed to be spontaneous though. With all the planning that went into that, it definitely was not spontaneous! Look L**ds were reporting on it at dinnertime!

I'm also told it wasn't truely live as some of the bits were filmed around dinnertime, and you can see in some of the clips that there's daylight coming in through the windows and skylights in Meadowhall.

The only reason I watched it was because it was at Meadowhall. The dodgy camera work was making me dizzy and I think it would've been better had more people joined in. Those shown at the end looked very embarrased and didn't seem to want to enter into the whole singing thing.

Meadowhall should have an arts day, but not do an opera and claim it's a flashmob. You could have a gallery near Debenhams, craft fair near (the soon to be removed) sainsburys, opera singers in the Oasis and street performers all the way through Meadowhall.

Not taking anything away from the perfomances as they were excellent. If he'd have been a proper security guard though, he'd have had to run off half way through and catch some chav nicking a Nike TN from Sports Soccer :)

Originally posted by Norton
Meadowhall should have an arts day, but not do an opera and claim it's a flashmob. You could have a gallery near Debenhams, craft fair near (the soon to be removed) sainsburys, opera singers in the Oasis and street performers all the way through Meadowhall.

Does the Oasis not already do something like that? At the Trafford Centre there is a big stage and you often get classical performers and other musical events.

Originally posted by Norton
I thought flashmobs were supposed to be spontaneous though. With all the planning that went into that, it definitely was not spontaneous! Look L**ds were reporting on it at dinnertime!...
...The only reason I watched it was because it was at Meadowhall. The dodgy camera work was making me dizzy and I think it would've been better had more people joined in. Those shown at the end looked very embarrased and didn't seem to want to enter into the whole singing thing.

I think the reason some people looked embarrased or confused at the end was because a lot of the people there had no idea this was going to happen. Surely in that way it was very spontaneous?

Not a flashmob in the pure sense of the term but surely better to be there enjoying it and taking part rather than sitting at home being critical???

Originally posted by alchresearch
Does the Oasis not already do something like that? At the Trafford Centre there is a big stage and you often get classical performers and other musical events.

I've performed in Meadowhall before with a band, I think it was part of the children's festival?

Anyone interested in a report about last night, tune into Look North in about 5 minutes and Christa will talk you through it!

Originally posted by chill
To be elitist is literally the last thing that opera houses want, they want as many bums on seats as possible.

True, but it's important to get this point out across to joe public; of which many do see the idea of opera as being 'elitist'. But by looking at the major view of most, we see the 'flashmob opera' was a great triumph. Some may have never considered going to an opera before, but after seeing and hearing it while shopping in topshop, some might have changed there minds. :clap:

some cam-phone pics of the night....

(some are rubbish, some ok)

http://www.markuk.co.uk/flashmob

News story here (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds20565.html). Apparrently, not many people watched.

i watched just for paddy o connell (had a crush on him for years) lol!