I had the opportunity on Tuesday night to go see the Houston Symphony perform “Bugs Bunny at the Symphony” for free. What an awesome experience! It was taking some of the most beloved shorts, and playing the music live by the symphony. I was able to take my girls with me, and realized that I had not introduced them to Looney Tunes! Something that has been remedied now.
As we watched and listened, I was transported back to the basement of our home in Janesville, Wisconsin on Saturday mornings about 10 AM. That’s when Looney Tunes was on. And for you younger folks, no, there was no DVR or streaming options. You either watched it when it was on, or……you didn’t watch it at all! And so many of the pieces brought back memories. And that was the thing with Looney Tunes. You didn’t realize you were learning, but it was fun!
“What’s Opera Doc?” was one of the shorts performed, and of course, as I was watching, I sang along with Elmer Fudd, “Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit!” And this took parts of Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” along with parts of his Ring cycle of music. My girls enjoyed the entire night, although my youngest, being 12 and very scientifically minded…had a few issues with the physics involved in some of the Roadrunner shorts. But she did enjoy it!
One of the great things about living in a major metropolitan area like I do is the access to amazing musical events and opportunities. I’m thankful that there is intentionality of giving families and individuals the opportunity to experience the fun in music, as well as excellently crafted and performed music for free or at a low cost. If you have access to events like this I highly encourage you to partake in them! If you don’t, look for opportunities where you can. It may mean a little more planning and possibly a little bit of a drive, but it’s worth it!
