… I do love The Marriage of Figaro.
Couldn’t find a highlights album that had the snippet I wanted – “Pace, pace mi dolce tesoro,” from right before the finale – so I bought the full thing on three disks.
Lovely, lovely, lovely music.
Mozart knew at thing or two about writing tunes, eh wot?
Nope, sorry. You like Opera. You just don’t like all Opera.
And Wolfie could definitely write a good tune. (You have seen Amadeus?)
I used to listen to a lot of opera, but these days Verdi’s Otello is about the only thing I stick my finger in.
Iago’s 2nd Act aria is a thing of (evil) beauty. Desdemona’s Act III “sea and sand” song brings me to tears. And the Willow song/Ave Maria? Fuggedaboudit.
If I may recommend, Don Giovanni is absolutely outstanding if you just skip over the bits that don’t involve the Don or Leporello…
I don’t like opera but I love the aria from Madame Butterfly, Un bel dì vedremo, I have no idea what she is saying but I can feel the emotion and longing and it always brings tears to my eyes.
By the way, didn’t Bugs Bunny do a parody of Figaro?
I like the one with Elmer Fudd singing “Kill da Wabbit”…
Parallel translation to be found here - it works well on its own, but in the context of the opera, where we, the audience, know full well Pinkerton ain’t comin’ back, it is heart wrenchingly beautiful.
That’s the Ring of the Nebalungs (spelling it wrong, I know), aka The Ring cycle by Wagner, which is actually 4 operas in 1: Das Reingold, Valkyrie (Bugs’ song is in this one), Seigfried and Gotterdamerung. Great stuff, but loooooong…
That’s The Barber of Seville, whose name is Figaro. In the sequel, he gets married to the lady’s maid of the wife of his lascivious boss, the count. Hijinks ensue, but all ends happily. (The above-referenced “Pace, pace mi dolce tesoro” translates to “Peace, peace, my sweet darling,” and it’s the section in which the count and countess resolve their differences. blissful sigh)
ETA: I am revelling in the moment in which Wile E. and twickster discuss opera, and yet remain true to their respective usernames. 
I had already looked it up which is why I only said Figaro which is the character but The Rabbit of Seville does end with The Marriage of Figaro.
The Marriage of Figaro was my entryway into the glorious world of opera. The arias and music were so ravishing that I fell in love straight away. Maybe there’s more beautiful music out there, I thought.
There was, and thirty-odd years later I still haven’t exhausted the supply. Welcome to the most entrancing, vibrant and powerful music on the planet, Twickster! Welcome to the world of opera.
Alas, I don’t think so. I was first turned on to MoF about 25 years ago, and haven’t proceeded further.
Figaro is incredible. Every note is beautiful beyond description. And the libretto – it’s funny, but there’s a lot beneath the surface. It’s all about forgiveness, if you listen all the way through, reading along with a translation. It’s a great love story (two great love stories, really), about real human beings with strengths and flaws and everything.
And, oh my God, that music. Voi che sapete perfectly captures the longing curiousity of an adolescent boy. The Countess, mourning the passing of her love, in Dove Sono (nothing funny about that one). The Countess and Susanna conspiring to trick their men in that gorgeous duet (Sull’aria). And Susanna’s aria in the last act (Deh, vieni, non tardar), well, if that doesn’t move you to tears, you’re made of stone. And the Count, sincerely begging forgiveness (Contessa, perdono), and getting it (Piú docile io sono), that’s the message of the whole rigamarole. Forgiveness.
Have you tried oratorio? Handel’s Messiah is easily the most famous, but there’s Samson, Judas Maccabeus, and many, many more.
I loathed opera. Then, one semester short of my BA, I discovered I was short 3 units in “Music, Art, or other wastes of time.” The only class still open was one on “Appreciation of Opera.”
<groan>
One semester later, I still didn’t like it very much, but now I knew why. And I can run the category on Jeopardy!
I kinda like Israel in Egypt: the Ten Plagues set to music!
Well, yeah, how can you not like the Messiah? (“For unto us a child is given…”)
I also like Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, oddly enough.
I like Puccini’s La Boheme. I wouldn’t have seen it at all --I love all things rock and roll, but I’m such a RENT head, that I wanted to give it a try. I enjoyed it.