ROCKTOPIA ROCKS BROADWAY WITH A BLAST

Everyone has been asked at one time or another who would you have dinner with living or dead?

Imagine Beethoven and Strauss   Robert Plant and Roger Daltrey.   If this sounds like a wonderful dinner party than Rocktopia is for you!

"Rocktopia," which is subtitled "A Classical Revolution," even though  it would be more accurate to subtitle it "A Classic  Rock opera Concert."

"Rocktopia" mashes up pieces by, Mozart and Beethoven as well as a dozen more classical composers with rock songs by, Yes, Styx, Queen, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, U2,Heart, Foreigner etc. The entire playlist is below.

Rocktopia pleases fans of all stripes Rock,  opera ,classical music lovers, many of whom might consider their cannon sacrosanct.

While some of the song pairings work better than others the open-minded adventurer will find Rocktopia an amazing experience.

Rocktopia unleashes with the 20-piece New York Contemporary Symphony Orchestra performing the first few minutes of "Thus sprach Zarathustra," composed in 1896 by Richard Strauss, which is better known as the theme song for 2001: A Space Odyssey. A violin solo by Mairead Nesbitt segues into The Who's song Baba O'Riley, ("Don't cry, don't raise your eye/It's only teenage wasteland"). Backing them up courtesy of a five-piece rock band.

In particular two pieces of music very much feel like a match, sharing a sense of pounding grandeur.

Pete Townsend wanted to use "Baba O'Riley" as part of a rock opera" Lighthouse". It was never produced.

The song is sung by two Broadway pros — Rob Evan, who is the co-organizer of the concert and has performed in five Broadway musicals including as Jean Valjean in Les Miz and the title character in the original Jekyll and Hyde; and by Tony Vincent, the original villain St. Jimmy in "American Idiot," he is a stalwart  of Broadway productions like "Rent" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

The four other singers are making their Broadway debuts, but they include opera singer Alyson Cambridge (whose credits include performances at The Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall), singing the Handel aria "Lascia ch'io pianga" and Puccini's"Musetta's Waltz";  Dee Snider of 80"s Hair metal titan Twisted sister and this week Cheap tricks Robin Zander as well.

Both tackle Led Zeppelin's Kashmir and "Stairway to Heaven" and Aerosmith's "Dream On." With equal aplomb. Snider brings a ferocity via his metal pedigree. It's a powerful rendition of the classic rock staple. Zander's is more soulful of the ethos of the piece.

There's also a 30-member ensemble featured in Rocktopia there is no shortage of talent for this show.

Setlist:

"Thus Sprach Zarathustra" (STRAUSS)/ "Baba O'Riley" (THE WHO)
Vocalists: Rob Evan, Tony Vincent

"Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" (MOZART)/ "Come Sail Away" (STYX)
Vocalists: Rob Evan, Chloe Lowery, Kimberly Nichole, Tony Vincent

"Lascia ch'io pianga" (HANDEL)/ "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (ELTON JOHN)
Vocalists: Alyson Cambridge, Tony Vincent

"Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor" (RACHMANINOFF)/ "Alone" (HEART)
Vocalist: Chloe Lowery

"Symphony No. 7: Allegretto" (BEETHOVEN)/ "Stairway To Heaven" (LED ZEPPELIN)
Vocalist: Dee Snider, Robin Zander

"The Rite of Spring" (STRAVINSKY)/ "Purple Haze" (JIMI HENDRIX)
Vocalist: Tony Vincent

"Overture from Romeo & Juliet" (TCHAIKOVSKY)/ "Because The Night" (PATTI SMITH)
Vocalist: Kimberly Nichole

"Another Brick in the Wall" (PINK FLOYD)/"Uprising" (MUSE)
Vocalists: Rob Evan, Chloe Lowery, Kimberly Nichole, Tony Vincent

"Kashmir" (LED ZEPPELIN)/"Nessun Dorma" (PUCCINI)
Vocalists: Dee Snider, Robin Zander ,Alyson Cambridge, Rob Evan, Chloe Lowery, Kimberly Nichole, Tony Vincent

"Pictures at an Exhibition: Gate of Kiev" (MUSSORGSKY)/"Where The Streets Have No Name" (U2)
Vocalist: Rob Evan

"Symphonie fantastique" (BERLIOZ)/"Dream On" (AEROSMITH)
Vocalists: Dee Sider, Robin Zander,  Kimberly Nichole

"Quando m'en vo (Musetta's Waltz)" (PUCCINI)/"Something" (THE BEATLES)
Vocalists: Alyson Cambridge, Rob Evan

"Caruso" (DALLA)
Vocalists: Alyson Cambridge, Rob Evan

"I Want to Know What Love Is" (FOREIGNER)
Vocalist: Chloe Lowery

"Adagio for Strings" (BARBER)/"Who Wants to Live Forever","We Are The Champions" (QUEEN)
Vocalists: Chloe Lowery, Tony Vincent

"Symphony No. 9: Ode to Joy" (BEETHOVEN)/"Don't Stop Believin'" (JOURNEY)
Vocalists: Alyson Cambridge, Rob Evan, Chloe Lowery, Pat Monahan, Kimberly Nichole, Tony Vincent

"Rhapsody In Blue" (GERSHWIN)/"Bohemian Rhapsody" (QUEEN)
Vocalists: Alyson Cambridge, Rob Evan, Chloe Lowery, Kimberly Nichole, Tony Vincent