Unbeknownst to many or in fact nearly everyone apart from the band themselves, Nirvana used to break into an opera tune live.
“L’amour est un Oiseau Rebelle” also known as “Habanera,” is an aria from Bizet’s 1875 opera, Carmen. The translation of “L’amour est un Oiseau Rebelle” in English is “Love is a Rebellious Bird,” and the lyrics deal with the theme of the untamed nature of love.
The reason why this little operatic ditty played by the band went unnoticed or unidentified for so long was because Nirvana fans were simply unaware of the track’s origins! As Dangerous Minds point out, avid Nirvana fans aren’t massively into 19th-century classical works it seems. However, Nirvana were!
Nirvana played “L’amour est un Oiseau Rebelle” now and then live but never recorded the pot of operatic jam. Check out the live videos below. The Aria is played at the beginning of both clips.
A version of the Aria sung by vocalist Maria Callas was recently featured during a scene in the popular biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. Sadly, Kurt Cobain never sang a vocal to the aria which would have been interesting!
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