25 Oct 12
Originally posted by scacchipazzoA true fan! You, sir, are a cultured man. Well done. Well done indeed.
The standard repertoire is full of wonderful opera. The one Kewpie mentions are all standards. Rwingett correctly mentions anything by Mozart. Magic Flute is great, but even greater is Don Giovanni. Le Nozze di Figaro is a close second. Cosi Fan Tutte is wonderful. Beethoven's Fidelio is a must. Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice is wonderful. Weber's Der Freisc ...[text shortened]... . I have seen all the above operas except for Parsifal and Les Troyennes.
30 Oct 12
Originally posted by KewpieEasy baby steps indeed are needed. Operetta is always a good start. Gilbert & Sullivan always wonderful exponents of the genre. Here's a trick for La Boheme, however. Concentrate on the love duet from act one. Listen to it over and over, preferably with libretto in hand. Enjoy the beauty of the poetry as Puccini weaves it into the music and the music into the poetry. Repeat over and over until tears appear in your eyes from the joy of beholding wonderful art!
Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. My novice enjoyed Tales of Hoffman but found La Boheme hard going, so I think I'll have to try something with little subplot or required plot knowledge, maybe Gilbert & Sullivan, and work my way up from there.
30 Oct 12
Originally posted by Bosse de NageExcellent tastes, my dear Bosse de Nage. However, I respectfully disagree. Wozzeck or any Berg opera is far, far from being accessible to novices. Even most steeped in opera would find the work difficult and far from tuneful. But indeed it is a masterwork of the very first order.
Alban Berg's Wozzeck is a wonderful collection of tunes sure to appeal to opera debutantes the world over.
04 Nov 12
Originally posted by scacchipazzoThanks for the kind compliment - which is, of course, undeserved - I am really a relative novice in things operatic - but since it became a passion, have been trying to attend as much as I can. Still, there are quite a number of major works in the repertoire that I am as yet waiting to see staged!
Thank you, sasquatch, but I tip my hat to teinosuke. He knows way more than I ever dreamed an opera fan could know. Opera is a great medium for music.
04 Nov 12
Originally posted by scacchipazzoI rather suspect that Bosse de Nage was being ironic! Welsh National Opera is staging Lulu in Cardiff and Birmingham next spring - I'm looking forward to it, difficult though it may be!
Excellent tastes, my dear Bosse de Nage. However, I respectfully disagree. Wozzeck or any Berg opera is far, far from being accessible to novices. Even most steeped in opera would find the work difficult and far from tuneful. But indeed it is a masterwork of the very first order.
05 Nov 12
Originally posted by TeinosukePerhaps, but Wozzeck would scare away any fledgling opera fan for good. Even the less difficult repertoire can be quite difficult as we can attest from Kewpie finding La Boheme hard. I agree with her that upon first listen it can be quite daunting. Most operas take quite a few listens with libretto in hand to fully digest for they are meaty pieces of music and can indigestible at first.
I rather suspect that Bosse de Nage was being ironic! Welsh National Opera is staging Lulu in Cardiff and Birmingham next spring - I'm looking forward to it, difficult though it may be!
05 Nov 12
Originally posted by scacchipazzoI think it's important with some very emotional operas that we can identify with the characters - Mimi, Carmen, Tosca to mention a few. If we can do that and if we can relate to the story, the music helps create and support our emotions. I think Puccini was very good at that, and so are/were many composers.
Perhaps, but Wozzeck would scare away any fledgling opera fan for good. Even the less difficult repertoire can be quite difficult as we can attest from Kewpie finding La Boheme hard. I agree with her that upon first listen it can be quite daunting. Most operas take quite a few listens with libretto in hand to fully digest for they are meaty pieces of music and can indigestible at first.
I suppose I could express this better in Swedish but I hope you know what I mean. 🙂
05 Nov 12
Originally posted by lolofIn Stockholm in December / January you have the chance to see Un Ballo in Maschera, Verdi's opera about the assassination of King Gustav III, in the very opera house in which the King was actually assassinated in 1792.
I suppose I could express this better in Swedish but I hope you know what I mean. 🙂