There are moments that define Final Fantasy: Aeris' death, the revelation of Sin, "I'm Captain Bosch!", Galuf's tale, and a hundred other personal tales, but all fans can agree that one of the most enduring segments in not just Final Fantasy but indeed, all of gaming, is the Opera House scene in Final Fantasy VI.
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Yesterday, April 2, marked the 21st anniversary since the release of that classic title and to celebrate, noted soprano and video game lover Jillian Aversa released a live action video in honor of those beautiful four minutes with a new rendition of Aria de Mezzo Carattere, the original opera track composed by Nobuo Uematsu. Noted cellist Tina Guo joins her in creating a slightly more modern take on the piece.
The video is a little overcooked, but the music remains as haunting as ever.
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"The arrangement began as a collaboration with my husband, Andrew Aversa (a.k.a. zircon), for the Final Fantasy VI: Balance & Ruin project he directed on OverClocked ReMix," comments Jillian Aversa. "We added more orchestral elements when I started performing the piece with Video Games Live, so I was thrilled at the opportunity to record with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra for our latest album, Video Games Live: Level 4!"
Jillian and her husband Andrew are https://www.youtube.com/user/JillianAversanoted video game musicians, with Jillian paying tribute to several of the great games on her YouTube page and Andrew composing the soundtrack to many titles, such as Soul Calibur V.
The Aria di Mezzo Carttere was composed by Uematsu as part of a four part performance piece called 'Maria and Draco' from the middle of FF VI. It is a tale of star crossed lovers and fervent, passionate emotions. Even in 8-bit form, we knew it was something special and if none of us ever saw another opera, then this one was enough. We hope you feel the same watching the video below.