Recommend some opera

Cafe Society
1

…not the obscure stuff. I mean opera-for-beginners.

I was thrown into the world of opera a few years ago when I was recruited to stage manage The Marriage of Figaro. After not really getting it for a while, I eventually grew to enjoy it. During the long run of that show, I pretty much got the whole thing memorized, and I loved every second. I remember thinking to myself, “This opera stuff is great! I should learn more.”

But I never did.

Well, the time has come. Where should I start? I figure I should probably continue with more late Mozart, like Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute, since that’s what drew me in in the first place. But is that really a good idea? What other operas should I know to be considered “opera-literate”? Also, I’d love to hear if you’ve got specific productions you would recommend.

I can read music, but not German or Italian. So what I’ll probably do is download the album on iTunes, locate the libretto somewhere, and read that while I listen.

2

Something I enjoy is operas on DVD. You can get the full operatic experience without having to drag your butt to the opera house. If you’re getting into Mozart, check out these (Amazon link) from the 2006 Salzburg festival. I’ve watched The Marriage of Figaro, Cosi Fan Tutte, Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute from this set, and they’re all great. I intend to watch more of them.

After Mozart, do some Verdi (Rigoletto, La Traviata), Puccini and Rossini. The most famous Rossini opera is of course The Barber of Seville, and it is truly fantastic. Another great one by Rossini, though lesser known, is La Cenerentola.

3

I agree with going whole hog and getting the dvd or checking out your local opera house. Albums are great, but they are daunting if you don’t understand what the hell is going on at that moment. For instance when you’re stuck in some five minute recitative and you’ll grow bored of listening and following along with the lib in your hands some times gets tiresome

The Met Opera dvds are killer. If you want to stick with Mozart the Don Giovanni with Byrn Terfel and Renee Flemming is amazing.

I would also recommend getting any Puccini they have available. In my mind it can’t get better than Puccini for opera. Theres a fantastic Turandot out with Eva Marton and Placido Domingo that can be had for around 20$ at a music store
Also, Check out the Met Live Broadcasts in theaters, Im not sure when they are starting up again but i saw a couple last year and thought it was well worth my 20$.

4

I also highly recommend lectures such as these - link , linkety , link - from The Teaching Company. They’re brilliantly entertaining and a great introduction. All the TTC lectures on music are done by professor Robert Greenberg and are great both for opera and classical music in general. I’m completely hooked on them. They’re in downloadable mp3 format and are regularly on sale at a pretty good price. Great for chucking on your iPod.

Oh, also, about operas on DVD (as well as on CD): as a budding librarian, I should mention that you might not have to actually buy them - for me the friendly local library has often been the place to go.

5

It’s best to see the opera performed; a CD is nice for the music, but you can’t really see the action. Also, be sure there are supertitles so you can follow the story.

But once you “get” opera, it’s wondeful. I’m partial to Riglotto, myself.

6

IMO, a good beginner’s opera is Verdi’s La Traviata. It’s full of recognizable, lovely arias, and the story is a bit easier to relate to than a lot of operas. There’s a terrific film of it by Franco Zefferelli, and it stars Placido Domingo and Teresa Scala (I don’t know if I got her name right). It’s beautiful both to listen to and to look at, and Placido Domingo is my favorite tenor.

7

I was just going to suggest that film.

It’s very accessible, the music is marvelous, Teresa Stratas is lovely, Domingo is handsome, and it’s all filmed beautifully.

They did cut some of the music to film it, so this isn’t a definitive opera, but it’s a great introduction to Verdi.
ETA: The second time I saw this was in a university course and the sobbing! There was a lot of it. I always well up at the “Amami, Alfredo.” sob

8

Recommend me some opera, with links to even older threads, should give you some ideas.

9

Here’s a clip of one of the famous songs from “La Traviata,” from the Zeffirelli film. I think it’s a very engaging production: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcKdnkGBSgA

10

Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro was my introduction to the delights of opera many years ago. I’ve never looked back since.

Equally accessible operas for the beginner would include:

Barber of Seville, Rossini
Lucia Di Lammermoor, Donizetti
Carmen, Bizet

11

There’s a bit in the film Pretty Woman where the Richard Gere character takes the Julia Roberts character to an opera and he warns her that the music can be very powerful. He is proved right. Go and see it live, it doesn’t matter if the company isn’t a particularly exalted one. The CD/DVD experience doesn’t compare. In any case* La Traviata* or La Boheme should be amongst your first choices.

12

I would absolutely recommend Ingmar Bergman’s “The magic flute”. It is manages to replicate the whole opera experience very well (it’s sung in swedish, mind you, so you’ll probably have to put up with subtitles).

And if you really want to hear an amazing performance of one of the solos, go here. Amazon’s sampler allows you to hear the start of “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen” (Act 2, 6th track) which, IMHO, is the absolutely best solo performance of that particular opera.

13

I always recommed Carmen to those wanting to take their first step in opera. First, the music will be familiar to you – you will probably be surprised at how much you can recognize. Second, it’s a sexy, modern story about obsession, with grit, passion and action and without any cliches such as consumptive heroines hacking up their lungs yet singing beautifully to the last*.

Taking place in Spain (though it’s in French), Carmen’s about a somewhat uptight, forthright soldier named José who’s supposed to arrest a trampy, trash-talking gypsy senorita (Carmen) for pulling a knife on a bitchy coworker in the local cigarette factory. She seduces the soldier into abandoning his duty and letting her go, and basically sends him down a road of self-destruction as they enter into an untidy but passion-filled affair.

Along the way there are smuggling thieves, an egocentric bullfighter who has the same intoxicating hold on Carmen that she does for José, attempts by the sweet girl-next-door who loves José (and whom his mom wants him to marry) to drag him out of the abyss of immorality, and an inevitably violent ending. And lots and lots of fiery, beautiful music.

There’s a famous movie directed by Francesco Rosi, with Placido Domingo (brilliant voice, excellent acting, and, um, sexy as hell) and Julia Migenes-Johnson (amazingly raw performance and every bit as sexy as Domingo) as the tempestuous pair of lovers.

Here’s a scene from the above film, early on when Carmen’s just been arrested. Don José is supposed to be watching over the prisoner before she’s moved to the garrison. Carmen, who’s tied up, ostensibly entertains herself by singing a harmless little song, but the whole time she’s inviting Jose to let her go and run away with her. Jose tries to resist, but … well. Carmen’s got quite a way with her. (Check out that smile at 1:51!) Migenes’s Carmen shows how much you can do with a wicked grin, va-va-voom figure and killer voice. Unfortunately in this video there aren’t any subtitles – there are subtitles in the film, but you can turn them off, and I guess this person did – but you really don’t need them to guess to know exactly what Carmen and her hopeless target Jose are saying to one another.

  • Don’t yell at me: La Boheme is my favorite opera, and I love La Traviata too!
14

But that’s why La Boheme is great! It’s got everything: Paris, starving artists, young love, TB! :smiley:

BTW, you’ll find a wealth of opera clips on YouTube to whet your appetite. Few are subtitled, but you may be able to find librettos online. There are some opera scores here Opera Scores Demo--Scores only . They have translations, which will be useful even if you can’t read music.

15

We’re going to go see Madame Butterfly on February 16th!

Me, too. Thoroughly enjoyable, and a very nice crowd of people at the theatre.

Seconding. I dragged my husband to Carmen a few years ago. For a guy who chooses watching The Simpsons and action movies for entertainment, he seemed to enjoy it. (Or else he’s a very good husband.) It was also the first opera CD I ever bought.

16

One of the best arias in all opera. I adore that piece.

Even my husband who hates opera thinks that’s, well, magical. :slight_smile:

17

Does General Hospital count?

18

No doubt about it. Two caveats though:

  1. Someone, who belongs in the 11th circle of hell thought it would be a nice idea to turn it into a RINGTONE… (polyphonic, for the Treo). Nice enough if you don’t know the aria, but horrible if you DO know it
  2. The lyrics to that particular aria are… well… (translated, badly):

“Hell’s revenge is cooking in my heart” “If you don’t kill your father you cease to be my daughter” . Sung by an angelic voice. What the…?? :confused:

19

I agree with idea of renting some DVD performances and watching at home.

Also agree that starting with Rossini, Mozart, and Verdi is a good idea - these composers have broad appeal and will undoubtedly have tunes, and perhaps even stories, you are already familiar with.

If you are going to attend live performances, which can be a truly sublime experience, I strongly suggest you buy a good opera encyclopedia and read about the opera *before * you go and see it. There can be a lot going on in an opera, and knowing the story, the historical background, the significance of the symbols and references can help you enjoy the performance considerably. Likewise, go ahead and read through the entire program as you wait for the curtain to go up. It will (usually) give you a story outline as well as mounds of information that will help you enjoy the performance. I’ve been an opera fan for decades and I still read up on shows before I attend.

I’ve given this book as a gift for such purposes.

Also. Don’t get discouraged if you see a performance you don’t enjoy or understand. Just like movies and books, not every opera is a winner, and more often, not every opera production is done well. Yet it is still worth going back until something better comes on stage. I have season tickets to the HGO, and I’d say that two or more shows a year greatly disappoint me. But the good shows, and the occasional great show, more than make up for the bad.

20

The first opera I saw was “Porgy and Bess.” The second one was “Lohengrin.”

I enjoyed both of them. But I wouldn’t start off with the latter.