The Homer of Seville

"The Homer of Seville"
The Simpsons episode
Bart and Lisa see Homer's painting, a parody of Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam.
Episode no.	Season 19 Episode 2
Directed by	Mike Frank Polcino
Written by	Carolyn Omine
Production code	JABF18
Original air date	September 30, 2007 (2007-09-30)
Guest appearances
Plácido Domingo as himself Maya Rudolph as Julia
Episode features
Max Pross David Silverman Mike Frank Polcino
Episode chronology
← Previous "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs" Next → "Midnight Towboy"
The Simpsons season 19
List of episodes

"Homer of Seville",^[2] also known as "The Homer of Seville",^[3] is the second episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 30, 2007.^[4] In the episode, Homer gains an operatic ability to sing following an accident, and becomes a professional and famous opera star. While running from a mob of crazed fans, he is saved by Julia, a beautiful and dangerous stalker.^[5]

The episode was written by Carolyn Omine and directed by Mike Frank Polcino,^[6] while Plácido Domingo guest stars as himself and Maya Rudolph guests as Julia.^[5]

It averaged 8.4 million viewers, with a

Although crazily obsessed with Homer, Julia proves to be a great fan club president and Marge is impressed with her efficiency. Her continual sexual advances force Homer to put his foot down and fire Julia, who vows to get back at Homer. At breakfast the next day, Homer pours himself a bowl of cereal and a cobra hidden inside the cereal box attempts to attack him. He pacifies the cobra by repeatedly swinging it against the refrigerator. Lisa concludes Julia is trying to kill him for firing her. Springfield's finest are put on bodyguard detail for Homer.

As Homer prepares for his next performance, Marge pleads with Chief Wiggum to cancel the show, but he convinces her that Homer will be safe, explaining that the opera house is under total surveillance. Later, while Homer performs on stage, Marge and the kids remain on the lookout for Julia. Bart spots her disguised as the conductor and Marge watches in horror as Julia loads a poison dart into her conductor's baton. Just as Julia prepares to use her baton, Marge grabs a French horn and uses it to redirect the dart back at Julia. Upon being hit by the dart Julia falls to the ground and Chief Wiggum calls on his snipers to finish her off. Every bullet misses, except for one; a second later, the giant chandelier falls from the ceiling and crashes on top of Julia. Julia is wheeled into an ambulance, vowing to return. Homer and the family head for home and Homer announces that he is retiring from the opera and explains that he can think of a much more fun thing he can do while on his back: painting. It is shown then that he painted a version of the Sistine Chapel roof on the ceiling of his living room, with him as Adam and Marge as God. An instrumental version of "Se il mio nome saper voi bramate" (which was being sung by Homer in the last operatic scene) plays as the credits roll over a black background.^[9]

Cast

• Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson and Barney Gumble
• Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson
• Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson and Maggie Simpson
• Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson
• Hank Azaria as Carl Carlson, Chief Wiggum, Moe Szyslak, Man and Director
• Harry Shearer as Reverend Lovejoy, Dr. Hibbert, Surgeon, Montgomery Burns, Waylon Smithers, Lenny Leonard and Ned Flanders.
• Plácido Domingo as himself
• Maya Rudolph as Julia
• Pamela Hayden as Donnie
• Tress MacNeille as Nurse, Woman, Fan #1's Mother and Fan #3
• Maggie Roswell as Fan #1 and Dorothy
• Karl Wiedergott as Hockey Player and Fan #2^[10]

Cultural references

• The title is a reference to The Barber of Seville.^[11]
• The church calls "Jesus: The Real American Idol".^[11]
• Homer mentions Au jus.^[11]
• The Springfield Opera House resembles the Sydney Opera House.^[11]
• Plácido Domingo claims his nickname is "P Dingo".^[11]
• Homer slaps the cobra against the fridge and holds it up for Maggie to laugh at, referencing a scene in The Jungle Book.^[11]
• After Homer worries that there might be people out there trying kill him he deduces that the cobra might be their symbol; a possible reference to
  Cobra, a villainous organization from G.I. Joe
  that has the animal as their emblem.
• During Homer's first performance, the shot pans upwards, past all the scenery to Lenny and Carl in the rafters, who comment on Homer's performance, a reference to Citizen Kane.
• The pan also passes a large red sign saying 'L'amour' referring to Baz Luhrmann's adaption of La Bohème, which featured that sign as a scenery piece.
• Homer's entourage,
  Entourage.^[11]
• The stores the family pass by are pop-culture parodies.[12]
• The montage scene of Julia stalking Homer is accompanied by music from the overture of
  Mozart's Don Giovanni
  .
• Julia closing her eyes, revealing "Love You" on her eyelids parodies a similar scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.^[13]
• Chief Wiggum cuts down the hanging chandelier, due to the possible dangers of it falling. This is most likely a reference to The Phantom of the Opera.
• A poster of The Phantom of the Opera also appears on the wall of Homer's dressing room at the opera house.
• When Bart sees the poison dart used by Julia, Marge mentions Arthur Fiedler the Boston Pops Orchestra conductor carried one with him.
• The scene of Homer painting the ceiling on his back is a reference to The Agony and the Ecstasy.
• On their way home from church, Marge names several restaurants they pass by. One of these is "Buffet the Hunger Slayer," a reference to Buffy Summers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
• At the end of the episode, Homer is seen painting the
  Creation of Adam, a fresco painting of the Sistine Chapel
  ceiling, onto his living room ceiling. In Homer's painting, he takes the place of Adam and Marge takes the place of God.

Richard Keller of TV Squad thought the episode was decent with several laughs, the funniest moment being when the chandelier crashes down on Julia. He also praised voice actor Dan Castellaneta's professional singing voice.^[11]

The episode was nominated for a

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to "The Homer of Seville".

• "Homer of Seville" at The Simpsons.com
• "The Homer of Seville" at
  IMDb