Flash Opera Surprises Shoppers

It’s a scene straight out of many Christmas movies. Busy customers checking off wish lists as they shop at the elegantly decorated Macy’s Department Store. The presence of the impossibly tall tree bespangled in brilliant blue lights presides from the balcony over the holiday traffic that has hit the sales floor below. Excitement is everywhere as people try on clothing, get a make-over, or snack on cider cookies with their children. Associates attend to everyone’s needs as the Wanamaker Organ pipes Christmas music over the dapper displays.

This particular store happens to be the Macy’s at Center City and on this particular Saturday it was right around lunch time when the organ began to play a little louder. Some people didn’t notice when the volume increased on the four-handed arrangement played by Peter Conte and Fred Haas. Some acted like they didn’t notice but customers were quickly aware something special was going on when 650 vocalists began singing the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah.

Unbeknownst to customers and many Macy employees, 28 groups from the Philadelphia region had secretly gathered a short time before at the old Wanamaker Building's Greek Hall. Organized by the Opera Company of Philadelphia they practiced the piece before slipping in with the public and performing flash mob style in a “random act of culture”.

The Opera Company posted a video of the happening on You Tube where it has received hundreds of thousands of hits and is accompanied by suggestions for dozens of multiple perspectives shot by participants and people in the crowd. This was the second event the company has staged, the first being a rendition of "Brindisi" from La Traviata at the Reading Terminal Market in April. "This isn't about audience development per se, it isn't about harnessing new technology per se – they are collateral benefits," said Opera Company of Philadelphia executive director David B. Devan. "What is at the heart of this is bringing joy into people's lives with the widest platform possible."

With a little planning and a $30,000 grant from the Knight Foundation’s Random Acts of Culture Program, there will be more fine art mobs popping up in the Philadelphia area between now and June. The details are under wraps but if you’re out and about when it happens next, feel free to sing along.

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By Heather Fairchild - Heather is a multimedia developer, business owner and work-from-home mom.