CD reviewed by Glenn Gaslin Film starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer. Directed by Woody Allen. Released by Milan Records. Who knew opera could rock so hard? Or that the first great Woody Allen movie in a decade would feature anything other than a carefully curated collection of whimsical jazz? To heighten the tension, lust and greed of his already tense and lusty tragedy, Allen injects key scenes with the glorious, violent arias on this soundtrack. Much of it's nearly a century old, too, performed by the great tenor Enrico Caruso, who died in 1921, giving an eerie quality to the music that first brings together Rhys-Meyers's crafty tennis pro and Goode's super-rich family. The tragic melodies of Verdi, Bizet and Rossini are as much a part of the sour love triangle as Johansson's lips, and the music stalks the characters, like a killer over their shoulder. Don't listen alone.
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