Opera

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Mendalla

Mendalla

Happy headbanging ape!!
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I went to the opera today. It was Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro done by the opera program at Western. Obviously, it was not as professional and polished as you'd get at Opera Ontario or the COC, but they do a remarkable job. The leads were good at their roles, they had some nice set pieces, and the orchestra did a fair job (did hear some tuning issues, though).

The opera itself is a comedy, but one with a rather messy story. I would need to draw a diagram to explain it all properly. Lots of A is marrying B but C also wants B type stuff. There's a twist in Act 3 that comes from way out in left field, too. No way you could see it coming and it's a pretty blatant deus ex machina plot-wise.

Thie music, OTOH, is Mozart at his peak. The overture and 2 or 3 of the arias are standard repertoire and among his most famous works.

So, this is the thread where I will post and talk about opera.

Any other opera fans? How did you get into opera? What are your fave composers, operas, singers? Do you get to see much live opera (hint:I don't :()
 
Not me, sorry. But I had a second cousin who was pretty big in the opera world. Dodi Protero.
 
I love opera. Saturday afternoon at the Met on the CBC has always been my Saturday afternoon "listen" if possible. Mainly since I was a small child. It's the background of my Saturday, always. I go often, off and on, to the south end movie theatre which sells the opera series tickets. They're really good, and even at $25 or so, they're SOOOOO much cheaper than real tickets. I spent a lot of childhood time at the old O'Keefe theatre with my Mom, watching live opera.

Fave composer? Probably Verdi, although I like lots of others.
Fave opera? Electra, without a single doubt. Like a lot of Strauss, hate most of Wagner. Feel really ambivalent about German composers, really.
Current favorite singer(s)? Anna Netrebko, the late Dmitri Hvorostovsky.
 
Mendalla said:
I went to the opera today. It was Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro done by the opera program at Western. Obviously, it was not as professional and polished as you'd get at Opera Ontario or the COC, but they do a remarkable job. The leads were good at their roles, they had some nice set pieces, and the orchestra did a fair job (did hear some tuning issues, though).

The opera itself is a comedy, but one with a rather messy story. I would need to draw a diagram to explain it all properly. Lots of A is marrying B but C also wants B type stuff. There's a twist in Act 3 that comes from way out in left field, too. No way you could see it coming and it's a pretty blatant deus ex machina plot-wise.

Thie music, OTOH, is Mozart at his peak. The overture and 2 or 3 of the arias are standard repertoire and among his most famous works.

So, this is the thread where I will post and talk about opera.

Any other opera fans? How did you get into opera? What are your fave composers, operas, singers? Do you get to see much live opera (hint:I don't :()
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I've seen a couple of operas. Romeo and Juliet and La Boheme come to mind. For me it was a so-so experience. My father was once a featured performer in La Boheme. He was outstanding.
 
I've been to at least one, wondering if there's more.
I enjoyed the one I do remember. I prefer musicals, ballets, etc. though, so unless it's not going to cost me anything or is really inexpensive I probably won't buy tickets.
 
It is on my list of to-do. I have been told that the ones that are broadcast at theatres are a good way to learn, as they have subtitles.
Is that true, @BetteTheRed , do you know?

I had the Magic Flute for my boys when they were young and we would listen on car rides. Sadly, that is the closest I got.
 
Pinga said:
It is on my list of to-do. I have been told that the ones that are broadcast at theatres are a good way to learn, as they have subtitles.
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Agreed, though I also kind of regret that they have largely replaced the regular TV broadcasts on PBS. Those really helped get me into opera and cost nothing beyond having a cable subscription.

Also, note that most live productions now have sur- or subtitles. Even the one I saw today though they were a bit lackluster and got dangerously cutesy to the point of even using a hashtag at one point.
 
I think the one I saw (20ish years ago) had subtitles then too.

Errr 2nd thought, maybe it was just in English. One way or another the story was easy to follow.
 
When we were in NYC we went to the Met to see an opera with our group. It was bittersweet for me since my mother was a huge opera fan who loved Placido Domingo. He was honoured for his fifty years with the Met when we were there she would have loved to have been there.
 
Jae said:
My father was once a featured performer in La Boheme.
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Mom's favorite. While Dad was the real opera fan and gets most of the credit for getting me into it, she did enjoy Boheme and I think I watched two televised productions with them, both starring Luciano Pavarotti.
 
Pinga said:
If you were to pick one (or two) from the list remaining in the season, which would you pick for a newbie.

https://mediafiles.cineplex.com/Events/2018/Cineplex-MetOpera-2018_2019-EN_v2.pdf
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Carmen is a good story well-told, though horribly politically incorrect in the MeToo era (it's basically about a woman being stalked and murdered, with the excuse that her flirting led the man astray, ie. victim blaming). That said, some modern productions spin it in ways more favourable to her. Music is some of the best in all of opera. You probably know some of the tunes already. I see that Roberto Alagna is in it. He's one of the great tenors of this era.

I love Die Walkure but it's part of Wagner's Ring Cycle so doesn't stand entirely on it's own, though it does so better than the next two. Big, bold, epic myth-making.

Fille du Regiment by Donizetti has some lovely music (he's a lesser known composer outside opera circles but wrote some terrific music) but I am not that familiar with the plot.

Dialogues I have heard but I recall it being a tough slog so not a good intro.

So I would say maybe Carmen (with the proviso I gave) and Fille du Regiment. If you want something really big and epic, then maybe Walkure.
 
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And I am heading for bed, but shall leave you with some Mozart from the opera that kicked off the thread.

The famed overture, heard as often in concert halls as in opera houses.


The great Jessye Norman with Dove sono from Act III


And Figaro's big aria from the end of Act I sung by bass-baritone Bryn Terfel

 
I worked for a short time for the Vancouver opera - selling tickets. At the time I learned a lot, which I have forgotten. Saw Pirates of Penzance (operetta) and Magic Flute and one other modern one I can't remember - I got comps. I found going to the opera kind of uppity. Somebody I saw from church barely acknowledged me.

I saw lots of rehearsing and costume design and diarama building and set building and lighting design and dance practice - bits and pieces that went into it everyday until opening day - that the public doesn't get to see - said hello to those people in passing in the kitchen - they don't "look" like opera types, lol - artists and techies - had a tour of the warehouse facilities and huge studio, saw the behind the scenes people everyday, and I worked in an office decorated with all kinds of crazy props from past operas. That was cool. Once, when some professional female performers .were locked out of the studio to rehearse, I walked into the bathroom where they were belting out opera. Pretty cool. More fun than going to the opera itself, Imo.
 
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I saw with my own eyes how much work went into each production. It was top notch. Fascinating. So, I believed in what I was selling even though I didn't see all the finished productions. We did have staff meetings where we discussed the stories and saw videos - but I have forgotten much of my opera history lessons.
 
When I was a teen, there was a program to support kids to go to concerts, opera and theater by selling tickets for $10 or less. You didn’t get the best seats, but that way, every kid could enjoy the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Opera, musicals. Not sure if that program still exist.
 
I've seen only one live opera. I was taking a sight reading course at university & someone had a bunch of comp tickets to this

Wozzeck - Wikipedia

I was glad I went. It was a new and interesting experience for me. Wozzeck probably isn't the ideal opera for a first-timer though, unless you have a particular interest in early 20th century avant garde culture. I found the keyless, atonal style challenging for that duration. Grim stuff.
 
My Dad always made us breakfast in the morning while.singing opera and while driving the car...he had numerous record collections. I couldnt tell you the names of the opera he was singing but when I hear them even today, they are familiar.
Of the ones Ive actually encountered Turandot stands out.
 
ninjafaery said:
I've seen only one live opera. I was taking a sight reading course at university & someone had a bunch of comp tickets to this

Wozzeck - Wikipedia

I was glad I went. It was a new and interesting experience for me. Wozzeck probably isn't the ideal opera for a first-timer though, unless you have a particular interest in early 20th century avant garde culture. I found the keyless, atonal style challenging for that duration. Grim stuff.
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Yeah, Berg would not be my first choice for an intro. Among the moderns, Richard Strauss is probably a better choice, though he was arguably more of a late Romantic.

And operas by guys like Glass and Cage are best left until you have some experience with minimalism in general.
 
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