IIRC, Carmina Burana translates as “profane songs”. Which would make sense, given that they’re about sex, drinking, feasting and gambling. There’s no real narrative structure to it, so you couldn’t make an effective opera out of it, but, hey, who cares?
(Obligatory link to the lyrics of Carmina Burana. Obligatory, but not necessarily helpful to non-Latinists, given that the site is in Dutch… if I ever come across an on-line English translation, I’ll bookmark it.)
:: stick from offstage prods Steve in ribs
Oh, yeah, the OP. Umm… I like Carmen, I feel no pain when watching the Ring cycle, and call me peculiar, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Boris Godunov.
(Incidentally, did you know that Wagner had a bike? He used to ride it around the main streets of Vienna; apparently, it’s where he got the inspiration for his Ring Cycle…)
For those of you who don’t speak Dutch, here’s a link where you can find the Carmina Burana texts with an English translation, as well as a lot of other information about the piece.
No, no, no, it was supposed to be about his laundry: The Rinse Cycle. Unfortunately what we hear today is a bad translation made by converting the original text via Babelfish from German to French to Chinese to Swahili to English to Esperanto and back to German again, hence the rather ridiculous plotlines about magic rings, dragons, evil dwarves, flying maidens and a deity who has sex with more peop…er, entities than Wilt Chamberlain. Obviously no reasonable person could think that this is what Wagner intended.
I’m fortunate enough to have heard a performance of the original version and let me tell you, it left my head spinning. How could I possibly describe the delicate Das Rinsecold, the tumultuous Die Würlpool, the light and airy Klingfried, and the final heartrending conclusion of Gottacollarring? I was all wrung out by the end of it.
Of course, 19th century German music is full of clothing references: Weber’s Die Flyshutz (a strong influence on ZZ Top), Mahler’s Kindertotenlederhosen, and Strauss’s It’s AllintheSpiegelcatalog.
Incidentally, Strauss attempted to return to the subject of home appliances in his Expressionist opera Electrolux. Alas, it sucked.
[sub]Why no, I haven’t taken my medication yet today. Why do you ask?[/sub]
FWIW, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians classifies Orff’s Carmina as a stage work in three scenes. The New Harvard Dictionary of Music calls it a “scenic oratorio,” which I think is a nice compromise.
I’ve seen it staged with ballet, and the vocal soloists in costume, twice, and once in a straightforward concert presentation.
I’m hard pressed to name favorite operas, because I manage to love almost every one I study.
Madama Butterfly is easily the most moving to me. Mozart’s Figaro is the most fun.
I also really love a couple of newer pieces that I’ve had the priveledge of performing:
Powder Her Face, by Thomas Adès, and Greek, by Mark Anthony Turnage.
I’m also inexplicably fond of Cosi Fan Tutte, even though it’s not what you might want to call a significant work.
Carmen - I must have seen thirty different productions of Carmen (31 if you count "Carmen on Ice). But I still love the work.
Strauss’ Salome is a masterwork… quasi-incest and madness… and my wife and I will be seeing it this spring here in DC! She’s not much into opera, but I’m hoping to gradually get her hooked.
Other favorites: Rigoletto, Tosca, and the well-loved Die Zauberflöte.
