Billy Corgan Setlist

— Act One —

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Tonight, Tonight
Jellybelly
Galapogos
Thirty-Three
Beautiful
Muzzle
Lily (My One and Only)
Stumbleine
Thru the Eyes of Ruby
— Act Two —
In the Arms of Sleep
1979
By Starlight
X.Y.U.
Bullet With Butterfly Wings
To Forgive
Cupid de Locke
Porcelina of the Vast Oceans
Tonight, Tonight

I was with my family in Chicago for Thanksgiving, and my wife surprised me with a ticket to A Night of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Opera at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House. This limited engagement show is celebration of the 30^th anniversary of the Smashing Pumpkin’s seminal double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness with a reimagined approach. Conductor and composer James Lowe worked with Billy Corgan but was given artistic freedom to morph the songs as he saw fit. The goal was to appeal to Smashing Pumpkins fans but also to ensure that the “regular” Lyric Opera-goers would find something to appreciate. I highly recommend reading the content on the Lyric Opera’s website linked above. It does a far superior job of giving you the background on the genesis of this impressive undertaking, and details of the execution of Billy’s vision than I will here.

On to the show! The performers consisted of a full (I think) orchestra, ~35-40 choral singers, four featured singers, and the occasional Billy. The set design and visual spectacle of the show were as impressive as the aural experience, and together they created a sublime event. I would categorize this as a combination and transformation I did not realize how much I needed, and which made me appreciate the album all the more. The show opened with the title track, which lends itself quite nicely to an orchestral format. The second song, “Tonight, Tonight” also felt familiar and right at home as an opera song. For a sense of the visuals, take a look at the linked video. “Jellybelly”, a high-energy, gritty song, I can imagine took some work to shape it into the finished project for this show. Billy made his first appearance to provide vocals for “Thirty-three”, the reimagined version of which fit the format effortlessly (I imagine James Lowe, the man charged with helping to bring Billy’s vision to life, might say there was a bit of effort involved). “Beautiful” provided an opportunity for a lovely duet between baritone Edward Parks and mezzo-soprano Zoie Reams. “Stumbleine” brought Billy back to the stage to provide vocals. The first set ended with “Thru the Eyes of Ruby”, led by soprano Sydney Mancasola. Watch the video in the link to get a sense of version of the visuals, which really were stunning and so enhanced the show.

After a 25-minute intermission during which I explored the theatre and took some pictures (see below), the second set began with “In the Arms of Sleep” featuring the vocals of Zoie Reams. Billy backed by the chorus perform “1979”, which was both similar to and different than the album version. There was a whimsy, yeah I just said whimsy, to this arrangement of the song that was a lot of fun to experience that included violins being plucked (check out the video). “Starlight” arranged in the style of a ‘40s standard was performed by tenor Dominick Valdes Chenes. Next up “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”, which felt dark and ominous with the choir and eventually all four of the opera singers joining the song. It was fun to hear them singling “despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage”. Billy came back out to sing “To Forgive”. I was really impressed by the emotional impact of the arrangement as well as Billy’s performance. “Porcelina of the Vast Oceans” is another heavy song that was arranged wonderfully – giving the song a new life. This was another song that featured the chorus along with all four of the featured singers. The show closed with a second performance of “Tonight, Tonight” featuring Billy and the four featured singers. The close of the song and the show, brought the audience to their feet for minutes of applause, recognizing the hard work of everyone on the stage. It was a really remarkable show, and I’m very glad I was able to see it live. The snippets of video available on Youtube do a pretty good job of giving a sense of the visuals, which really enhanced the music, so check them out.