I haven't signed on to OCR for over 7 years, but this song made me break my silence. Typically I just download the albums and be on my way, but I was listening to Balance and Ruin today when this song came on and had completely blown my mind. I had to listen to it again just to be fully sure I just heard what I heard, and then I proceeded to listen to it another 5 times throughout the day, and I imagine I'll give it another 5 or so listens.
The Opera has always been one of my favorite songs in Final Fantasy VI. Even without the lyrics, it is a song that tells a story from it's highs and lows, from the slow, somewhat melancholic intro to the sort of "false happy" wedding theme to the dramatic fight scene to the heartwarming ending. There have been only two covers/remixes that I have ever felt to get it right, which was The Black Mages version and Distant World's version, every other just tends to fall short.
That was until I heard this, it nails everything perfectly, the pace, the mood the emotion. It's far from traditional, but the Queen/Bohemian Rhapsody homage is absolutely brilliant, and the execution was nearly flawless. The piano/guitar/vocals are amazing, and gives me chills. This music isn't just nice to listen too, it's powerful. It makes me feel. Get get pumped and excited, and the emotional impact is far greater than any song that I can recall in recent memory.
If I had pick any gripe out of this song, it would be a personal one and a rather pitiful one at that. I feel that the lyrics could have been just a tad bit more robust. I like the interpretation Maria and Draco as a Romeo and Juliet, but I feel that something was lost in translation. Also, I can understand the need to keep in line with Queen, but I felt that possibly another vocalist to help differentiate characters within the lyrics would have served better, maybe of hit that Meatloaf Rock Opera feel,
However, the song is far above and beyond what I could expect and is easily the shining diamond in the album. Amazing job.