Academy of Vocal Arts gives operatic spin to ‘Fly, Eagles, Fly’
Listen to opera singers take on the Lincoln Financial Field classic.
It might be time to add vocal warm-ups for your Eagles tailgating routine if you want to try this on Super Bowl Sunday.
About 20 resident artists at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Center City joined the Super Bowl celebration on Friday and sang an operatic rendition of the Eagles fight song. Eagles gear was sparse, and the singers had questions about the lyrics (“watch our Eagles fly or fight?”), but the singing delivered.
The singers harmonized, and introduced operatic flourishes to the song. When the Eagles hit ‘em low, the singers went low. And when they hit ‘em high … you get it.
The best thing about Philadelphia is the intersection of culture and sports, said Scott Guzielek, the academy’s president and artistic director. So the Super Bowl seemed like a natural way to bring the two together.
“When you have a school of singers, who’ve got great voices and great high notes. Why not showcase them a little bit differently than you know you know other people in South Philly sing it at the bar,” Guzielek said.
» READ MORE: ‘Fly, Eagles Fly’: A short history of the Eagles’ fight song
The academy is a four-year, tuition-free, training program for opera singers. It is celebrating its foundation’s 90th anniversary this year.
Most, if not all, of the academy’s current resident artists are not from Philadelphia, Guzielek said, which explains why most didn’t shout E-A-G-L-E-S with the fervor of a fan heartbroken at the Vet as a child.
But perhaps in addition to training artists in music, the academy is helping indoctrinate singers into Philly fandom. After all, they are all to belt “fly, Eagles, fly” when they attend a Super Bowl party.