All the Great Operas...in 10 Minutes

"Seduction. Brawls. Premarital Sex." Just another evening in Times Square? Nope, it's Bizet's Carmen, one of the 11 operas lampooned in this funny (and very brief) guide to all the major operas. Assuming (correctly, of course) that no one has time for opera today, but that we all agree the stuff is high art and therefore educated folk should have a wee bit of knowledge in the area, filmmaker Kim Thompson has done those of us who wouldn't be caught dead carrying those funny glasses on a stick a big favor. Using cut-out animation, wonderful sound effects, and lightning-fast narration, she gives us the (abbreviated) Cliff's Notes versions of Tosca (ending: "so, Tosca throws herself off a tower"), Don Giovanni, Ring of the Nibelungen, Madame Butterfly, La Traviata, and others. Though made in 1992 (and a big favorite on the Bravo channel) this program is new to video, and it's a wonderfully priced addition to any library's arts collection. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)