June 1, 2009 issue
Video game inspires Goshen opera
Senior composed story, music based on Super Mario Bros.
By Tyler Falk Goshen CollegeGOSHEN, Ind. — Combining his musical talent with his love for video games, Goshen College senior Jesse Landis-Eigsti wrote and produced an original operetta, I Fratelli Mario (The Brothers Mario).
The cast of the student-produced operetta, I Fratelli Mario, bow after the final production April 23. The 25-minute comedy operetta was written by graduating senior Jesse Landis-Eigsti, fourth from left, and performed by student volunteers, from left: Greg Yoder (as Browser); Andy Brubaker (as Mario); Martin Brubaker (as Luigi); Emily Swora (as Princess Peach); and Andrew Landis (as Link). — Photo by Jodi H. Beyeler/Goshen College
The a 25-minute comic operetta is based on the video game characters from “Super Mario Bros.”
Landis-Eigsti liked the idea of putting the story of a video game, typically seen as a low-art form, into an opera, which is seen as high-art.
“I knew I wanted to do something humorous that wouldn’t take itself too seriously,” he said.
Landis-Eigsti, a music composition major from Lakewood, Colo., said the plot follows the basic story line of the Super Mario Bros. video game — a game he first played in elementary school when his family got a Nintendo video game console.
In the game, the Mario brothers are on a quest to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser, the main antagonist, who is trying to take over the Mushroom Kingdom.
But Landis-Eigsti’s opera adds some twists: a sibling rivalry between Mario and Luigi, the addition of Link from The Legend of Zelda video game and the princess who wants to be independent and save herself.
The music was almost all original and designed to remind the audience of the music from the games.
“Sometimes I would sneak in a chord progression or melody line, but mostly it’s original music,” Landis-Eigsti said.
“The songs from those video games are 20 years old, and people instantly recognize them … that’s no small feat.”
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