Sing Your Own Song: An Opera Love Story

The retired, student, and amateur singers featured in this first full-length documentary from independent filmmaker O'Neal chose opera as their genre. They gather with appreciative fans every Sunday evening at a restaurant in Los Angeles County to hear and be heard. Many of them have done it for 50 years. A well-paced story line, engaging interviews with her subjects, and pleasing practiced performances from the vocalists (sung opera style, sans microphones and with a professional accompanist) make O'Neal's well-edited film a true "opera love story." At just the right length, it is so cozy that excessive lingering would have made it an indulgent home movie. No "tracks" or subtitles are offered, and the extras seem most meaningful to the "family" left looking for another venue after their longtime host, himself an operatic tenor, closes down his restaurant.