All the Great Operas in 10 minutes

Recent cultural moments reminded me of a hilarious short film that I saw when I was younger (it was hard to find because I couldn't remember the title). This short film was made as a final year project in 1992 when Toronto animator Kim Thompson was studying at Ryerson University. It is made with cut-out animation and has a delightfully Terry Gilliam Monty Python-esque style. With dead pan narration (and no music) the film goes through a brief plot synopsis of 8 (well actually 11) operas and gives a death count and list of crazy stuff that happens.

The operas included are Verdi's La Traviata and Aida, Puccini's Tosca and Madame Butterfly, Bizet's Carmen, Mozart's Don Giovanni, and Wagner's Tristan and Isolde and The Ring of the Nibelung (The original Lord of the Rings, actually 4 whole operas, often called The Ring Cycle). While mostly good choices I would definitely argue whether these are actually the greatest operas. What about the Barber of Seville or the Marriage of Figaro? And why did she put both Tosca and Madame Butterfly on there but not La Boheme? Oh well. The total death count is 38. Silly operas.