# Recommend Opera Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 4, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115 "2011-02-04T03:50:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/1 "2011-02-04T03:50:10Z")
I just got a finance job with an opera company and need to start getting my opera knowledge beyond “Carmen” and “What’s Opera, Doc?”. What are some of the best movies out there about opera, or filmed operas, or opera docos? I recently saw “Sing Faster: The Stagehand’s Ring Cycle” and loved it. I know there are some fans, and IIRC I thought there were one or two performers among the teeming millions, so help a girl out who has only a light and sketchy knowledge but an interest in learning. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/2 "2011-02-04T04:01:41Z")
Are you looking for operas that were specifically filmed as movies, or merely video recordings of performances? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/3 "2011-02-04T04:28:20Z")
I heartily recommend Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s _The Tales of Hoffmann_. It is gorgeous for both eye and ear. It features Moira Shearer and Robert Helpmann. If you’ve ever seen _The Red Shoes_, (another Michael Powell vehicle that Turner Classic Movies shows now and again) you’ll have some idea what you’re in for. But in my opinion, _The Tales of Hoffmann_ is far superior, even if it is less well known. I don’t know if it ever came out on DVD. I have a VHS copy. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/4 "2011-02-04T13:13:00Z")
There was a film a few years ago about the stagehands/background singers for the San Francisco Opera “In the Shadows of the Stars”. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/5 "2011-02-04T14:14:40Z")
Ingmar Bergman did a nice version of **The Magic Flute** ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/6 "2011-02-04T14:14:53Z")
If you haven’t seen _Amadeus_, please check it out. Parts of Mozart’s operas are beautifully featured. (And I know that [Topsy Turvy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topsy_Turvy) is about operetta–Gilbert & Sullivan, in fact. But it’s an excellent view of Putting On A Show.) ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/7 "2011-02-04T14:53:42Z")
[Diva](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082269/) was a funky French caper film with some good opera scenes. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/8 "2011-02-04T15:00:35Z")
The BBC did a [documentary](http://www.answers.com/topic/the-golden-ring-the-making-of-solti-s-ring) of the Solti Vienna Philharmonic Ring. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/9 "2011-02-04T16:44:29Z")
**Cosi** - Australian film about the production of _Cosi Fan Tutti_ by residents of a mental hospital. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/10 "2011-02-04T17:00:34Z")
_Aria_ is an anthology film with 10 different opera short films directed by 10 different famous directors. When it’s bad, it’s not too good, but there are some very beautiful moments, too–and the music selected is quite diverse. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/11 "2011-02-04T18:51:41Z")
Thanks for the great suggestions. I’ve seen a couple and will see about hunting up the rest. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/12 "2011-02-04T22:36:38Z")
If it’s available in your location, you might also want to check out one of the [Metropolitan Opera’s live simulcasts at local movie theaters](http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events_template.aspx?id=11964). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/13 "2011-02-05T01:26:12Z")
Don’t try to fake it. These guys will spot a fraud. The idiot who can’t work Excel on the desk over? She can spot a fraud. She probably graduated with a BMus and specialised in 19th Century Opera. So do a good job. Do what you know well (which I assume is finance), and make the opera stuff your evening research. I can think of worse things to be stuck with when the missus insists on a night alone… ---
**Author:** ![desert29rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@desert29rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/desert29rat)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/14 "2011-02-06T23:18:28Z")
Both The Red Shoes and Tales of Hoffmann are available on DVD. There is a beautifully-made movie version of La Traviata from 1982 starring Teresa Stratas and Placido Domingo, directed by Franco Zeffirelli. I particularly like the movie version of Carmen with Julia Migenes from 1984. The singing may not be up to everyone’s standard, but it’s still my favorite. If you want to see any comic light opera, watch The Pirates of Penzance with Linda Ronstadt and Kevin Kline (the 1983 movie, not the 1982 filmed stage version). They take quite a few liberties, but I still like it better than other versions. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/15 "2011-02-09T01:29:23Z")
> [@desert29rat](#): > > If you want to see any comic light opera, watch The Pirates of Penzance with Linda Ronstadt and Kevin Kline (the 1983 movie, not the 1982 filmed stage version). They take quite a few liberties, but I still like it better than other versions. Or far, far better is Mike Leigh’s _Topsy-Turvy_, a film that recreates in astonishing detail the world of Victorian theater and of Gilbert and Sullivan themselves. It’s a meditation on the creative and collaborative processes, and features a lot of music from Gilbert and Sullivan, including some of their lesser-known works. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/16 "2011-02-09T13:11:34Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Don’t try to fake it. > > These guys will spot a fraud. The idiot who can’t work Excel on the desk over? She can spot a fraud. She probably graduated with a BMus and specialised in 19th Century Opera. > > So do a good job. Do what you know well (which I assume is finance), and make the opera stuff your evening research. I can think of worse things to be stuck with when the missus insists on a night alone… The OP isn’t trying to “fake” anything. She just wants to further her education. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/17 "2011-02-09T13:32:03Z")
_Meeting Venus_ with Glenn Close was a very entertaining film about an attempt to stage a Eurozone production of _Tannhäuser_. I don’t know how much it will further your musical education (although some of the characterizations of opera singers are disturbingly spot on) but it’s a good film anyway. I’ll second the Bergman _Magic Flute_ and likewise recommend the Met broadcasts for general performances. And finally, although it’s not a video, get thee to Anna Russell’s 15-minute version of the Ring cycle. It is both true and deeply, deeply funny. And available on CD. ---
**Author:** ![Mithril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mithril/32/3517_2.png) [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/18 "2011-02-09T18:11:12Z")
PBS has a documentary called “The Audition” that was about the finalists for a spot in the NY Metropolitan Opera. It will give you an idea about what the singers go through. The Met has released some of their HD-transmitted operas on DVD. They were very well done, and the staging budget doesn’t get much higher that the Met, so it’s pretty impressive. The level of talent goes without saying. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/19 "2011-02-09T18:16:07Z")
There’s a lovely [Zeffirelli movie version](http://www.amazon.com/Leoncavallo-Pagliacci-Cavalleria-Rusticana-Obraztsova/dp/B0007P0LNE/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1297275237&sr=1-2) of Mascagni’s _Cavalleria Rusticana_ and Leoncavallo’s _Pagliacci_. Recommended! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115/20 "2011-02-09T19:01:42Z")
_A Night At The Opera_ is one of my favorites. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-opera-movies/570115.md?page=2)