Films can perform magic when it comes to opening viewer’s ears to new musical worlds, though a better word might be synergy, where music and visual arts join together to create something more powerful and seductive than the separate parts.

A favourite personal example is the 1981 French crime film Diva, in which a recording of Catalani’s opera La Wally played the central a role in the plot. I was no opera fan at the time, indeed had found that musical form somewhat alienating, and yet after being mesmerised by the aria performed by soprano Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez near the start of the film, the barriers began to melt.

Falling for Figaro

Joanna Lumley and Danielle Macdonald in Falling for Figaro

I wouldn’t be surprised if the new romantic comedy Falling for Figaro has a similar effect on younger audiences today. Directed and co-written by veteran Australian director Ben Lewin (The Sessions), this romantic comedy is set in the world of aspiring young opera singers. While it follows that sub-genre’s standard formula, it is laced with plentiful amusing moments and fine acting from Australian actor on the rise Danielle Macdonald and the...