Winners announced for #operaplot Twitter contest

By Marcia Adair First published in the Los Angeles Times, April 22, 2011.

Now in its third round, the #operaplot Twitter contest has become a must-read for classical-music fans around the world. The online contest requires individuals to summarize the plot of an opera in the length of a Tweet, which is 140 characters or less, including spaces. This year’s contest, judged by bass-baritone Eric Owens, features five winners who offered humorous tweets about Wagner’s “Das Rheingold,” Verdi’s “MacBeth,” Schoenberg’s “Moses und Aron” and Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” and “The Marriage of Figaro.”

The contest is organized by Marcia Adair, a Toronto blogger who is also an occasional contributor to Culture Monster. Here are this year’s winners, with some editing for adult content:

@otterhouse: Moses, Aaron and the 12 tones of Israel. #operaplot [Moses und Aron]

@OperaGaga: I should be able to … my maid. Apparently, no one else agrees. #operaplot [The Marriage of Figaro]

@colinsamuels: @foolintheforest It’s 106 miles to Sarastro’s palace, we got a flute, some bells, it’s dark and you’re wearing feathers. Hit it. #operaplot [The Magic Flute]

@operaplotzRus: Long chord, mermaids, horny dwarf, gods, giants, back-room deals, castle, curtain. #operaplot [Das Rheingold]

@amndw2: An anxiously murderous Scot/Whose wife on her hand sees a spot/Thinks fate is his friend/But falls in the end/The Bard wrote this #operaplot [MacBeth]