Well, when I got home from the bar earlier, I turned on TAL (Teach and Learn) channel, some local crap here in Albuquerque, and they were doing opera.
I HATE opera. But sitting here, I found myself getting into it.
Next I will try to find out what they are saying.
Hell, cultural enrichment is a good thing…
The Opera in Calgary has ‘opera titles’ to explain what is being sung.
There is also a sort of overview generally published in the program for the opera.
I don’t understand most of what they’re singing, but gosh I love to listen!
Might I recommend that chain-smoking genius, Puccini?
screw opera, you should listen to some good classical. try rimsky-korsakov’s ‘scheherezade’ or tchaik’s sole violin concerto, in D maj. or, my favorite, some good string quartets, like schubert’s ‘death and the maiden’, smetena ‘from my life’, or grieg’s quartet in (i think) g min. ok, i’m stopping myself here.
Well, I like classical…I just thought I might broaden my horizons, so to speak…
Hell, I personally like blues (and rest John Lee Hookers’ soul, at the crossroads) but I tripped myself out actually enjoying some opera, so I might explore the genre a bit.
gotcha, klaatu, i just couldn’t resist promoting some of my favorite selections…
Cool, amati, and I bookmrked this thread, so I can check out your recommendations, I mean dang, Led Zep is cool but…
Since this post has been hijacked already, my husband, the violin player, wants to know, “What about Paganini’s 24 Caprices?”
paganini? [sub]<amati, also a violin player, massages his left hand and mutters incoherently about tenths>[/sub] oh, yeah, he’s great!
Klaatu-
Go for it! There’s lots to love about opera (especially if I’m in it ;))
Two bits of advice:
Try to see one in person. Opera on tv is a TERRIBLE distortion. It wasn’t meant to bee seen, or heard, up close. I am an opera singer, and I cannot watch it on tv. You need the visual and acoustic space of a real theatre to see/hear what it’s all about; that’s where the warmth and beauty of the voices will come alive, and where the big-brush drama will seem to scale.
And, realize that there are as many kinds of opera as there are kinds of movies/tv shows/bands, etc. There are comedies, dramas, love stories, tragedies, fairy tales, horror stories, and they are matched with an equal variety of musical and vocal style. If one doesn’t seem to suit your taste, try something different – you might be surprised.
If you want some suggestions, drop me a line.
Klaatu- Try Tosca. It is the opera I like most in terms of story. All the important characters (including the bad ones!) die. It is by Giacomo Puccini, I think.(Someone correct me if I just said a stupidity)
My other favorite is Il Pagliacci. Domestic violence in a nomadic circus.
You may also want to try to listen to operettas, which are less tragic and serious, or zarzuelas, same as the operettas but of Spain. If you want to try and listen zarzuelas, I recommend María Fernanda. Good story and good songs.