If you think the Who had the last word in rock opera and that Queen was the end all in operatic pop, the East Village Opera Company ? a powerhouse five-piece band with a string quartet and two compelling vocalists ? will have you rethinking those precepts. The success of foreign-language-driven pop by Josh Groban and il Divo no doubt made it possible for this unique outfit to adapt some of these opera classics into a 21st century context. The Mozart-composed overture (from Le Nozze di Figaro) has some of those Who-like synthesizer speckles over an insistent drumbeat before a blistering rock assault begins, which is sort of like paying homage to one of the great sources of the concept. Though the first-time listener who is not an opera fan may not know all the original titles (whose composers include Puccini, Verdi, and Bizet), it's a great introduction to the art form because each track is performed at full length and in the original languages. The best of these are the synth-metal jam La Donna e Mobile from Rigoletto, a soulful and symphonic sweep through Habanera from Carmen (which should ring a bell), and Nessun Dorma from Turandot. The East Village Opera Company was co-founded by lead singer Tyley Ross and arranger\u002Fmulti-instrumentalist Peter Kiesewalter. They assembled a full-on rock band, adding two guitars, bass, and drums to Kiesewalter's keyboards, then synched it to a string quartet. A second vocalist, Ann Marie Milazzo, was recruited for explosive duets with Ross and various soaring solos. The project was produced by three-time Grammy winner Neil Dorfsman, with string arrangements recorded in Prague by the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra.