A Fruit Seller Suddenly Burst Into Opera in a Busy Market. Then the Woman at Another Stall Sang Back

It was an ordinary Friday in November 2009 at the Mercado Central in Valencia, Spain, one of the largest covered markets in Europe.

Shoppers were picking out fruit, vegetables and ham. Nobody expected a concert.

Then a man behind a fruit stall began to sing. Not a pop song, but a love duet from Verdi’s opera “La Traviata.”

The piece was “Parigi, o cara,” the tender moment when the opera’s two lovers dream of leaving Paris together. Verdi wrote it more than 150 years ago, but the melody still stops people in their tracks.

People turned, puzzled. A moment later, a woman who had been serving customers at another stall answered him in a soaring soprano.

When they finished, the shoppers burst into applause. But the surprise was not over.

From another corner of the market, a second tenor began the famous “Brindisi,” the joyful drinking song from the same opera. One by one, more singers dressed as vendors and shoppers joined in, until six voices were ringing under the high market roof.

Crowds packed the aisles to watch. Some filmed on their phones. Some sang along. Older couples simply stood and smiled.

The singers were part of a campaign by Valencia’s opera house, the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, to show everyday people that opera belongs to them too.

At the end, someone held up a sign with a playful question: “¿Ves como te gusta la ópera?” In English: “See? You do like opera.”

The video has now been watched more than 5 million times. Press play, and see if you can keep from smiling when the “Brindisi” begins.