Opera lovers?
 

As a classical singer, more recently extended into opera singer, I've realised that singing opera makes me really happy =]
I've sung the Flower Duet from Lakme with a friend of mine, a piece that EVERYONE in the world should hear at some point in their lives because it is just so beautiful.
I sung the Sull'aria from The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart with the same friend, and we performed it in the Theatre Royal in Haymarket, London.
I love to sing and perform and just generally the opera is such a beautiful thing to go and enjoy =] I love the Magic Flute and La Boheme.

Share your favourite operas and experiences!

I've only been to see one opera, which was a college production of Don Giovanni (the opera was bastardized, unfortunately). I really need to get a copy of The Magic Flute since I dig the Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni.

The Magic Flute is incredible, and it's a slightly easier one to understand and enjoy as it's far more lighthearted! The second aria by the 'Queen of the Night' is so beautiful. It makes me shiver! I'm working on singing this one as well.

Hi SaphiaGlam,

Is this the video you intended?



To get the video to work, just use the the "C2ODfuMMyss" portion of the website (the part that comes after the "v=") between the two Youtube commands.

I found a longer version of this same scene that includes the German dialogue before the song, and I enjoyed trying to understand that and the build-up to the song.

I think I haven't explored opera as much as I should to really appreciate the magnitude of its artistry. One problem is that often the operas are not in English, and while I can usually follow the German operas (although it is still hard for me to understand all the words when they are sung), I can't understand the Italian or French operas, and so much of the impact is missing for me. I really like to understand the meaning behind the words and actions. Subtitles certainly help!

I have seen quite a few operas by Wagner when I was 18 years old in Germany, as well as orchestra performances conducted by Herbert van Karajan, whom people told me was famous, although that had no impact on me because I didn't know why he was considered famous. At the time I didn't appreciate the operas and performances as much as I probably would now. My parents graciously invited me to a Berlin opera series that, I think, included *all* Wagner's operas over the course of a year. The operas were very, very long...and we were often very, very high up in the seats. So, it was difficult to follow the action and emotion. Sometimes the plots seemed far-fetched so that I could not suspend disbelief and thus always watched them with a feeling of divide or separation, rather than feeling immersed in the action, in the moment of the play/opera.

I ask myself, now, if I *like* the sound of opera...the head voice, the vibrato. I am amazed by the skill of the singers, because I know with my own far more rudimentary singing that such control/relaxation plus range must take much training and attention. Hearing what it is like for you to sing and perform operas makes it more interesting to me! I have mixed feelings, though, about the style of singing. Sometimes opera singing seems too melodramatic for me. Sometimes the songs seem more about demonstrating skills (such as with super high notes) than conveying emotion. Yet there are opera songs that *are* incredibly beautiful and moving!

Perhaps I should say that I do not like all operas, but sometimes I hear pieces that pull me in. Often, though, for me watching/listening to an opera is like looking at a fine, intricate porcelain glass vase through a window of a fancy store. It isn't something I would purchase; it seems overly flowery. I probably would like a very simple, honest opera (perhaps a modern opera? *Are* there modern operas? There must be! Heh heh...maybe those are called "musicals," about which I also have issues!) that doesn't involve murder or love relationships that seem heavy on passion but short on substance.

SaphiaGlam, have you seen the movie, The Audition, about opera singers trying out for the Met? I'm quite certain you must have since you are an opera singer! I felt the movie was excellent...seeing what opera singers go through to become famous was fascinating! Getting to know them a little as individuals by watching their stories and their progress makes me care more about the music they sing. Here's a YOUTUBE clip of the movie:



Oh, and a belated welcome to MB!

--Erica

I haven't seen The Audition, I will definitely check it out though, thanks for the reference!
If more complex operas don't appeal to you, I'd look at operettas; light-hearted operas such as Iolanthe.
Infact pretty much anything by Gilbert and Sullivan is worth a try.

Edit: And thanks for the welcome ^_^

I'll have to take a listen to Iolanthe, which I've never heard of! Thanks for the suggestion.

I did listen again to the Lamke "Flower Duet," which I had heard before you mentioned it, but I didn't remember the song went with that name. That is a lovely piece. You and your friend must have had a wonderful time singing it! I found this short youtube recording of part of the "Flower Duet," which seems to have the most famous portion of it (I think the actual piece is longer, correct?). Now everyone on MB can follow through with your recommendation to listen to this song, which you said is "a piece that EVERYONE in the world should hear at some point in their lives because it is just so beautiful." :)

Tbh that isn't the best performance I've heard. This is the version I have on my iPod. So beautiful. This is very similar to what my friend and I sounded like singing it, if I do say so myself xD


This is the best performance I've found so far. It's exquisite. It's the full duet as well, the famous portion doesn't come in until 1:20, but it's so worth listening to all of it. ^_^

La Boheme holds a special place in my heart - really the first Opera I studied and really listened to. Some of those arias and duets are chilling.

Way back in youth orchestra played the Magic Flute's Overture, good memories. Now when I listen to the whole thing I'm not sure if I'm a huge fan of all the coloretura (sp?), I guess I'm more of a romantic...

La Boheme ^_^ *sigh*
Saw the most beautiful open-air production of that. Really added to the atmosphere being outside in the freezing cold xD Cried alot at the end as well.
That's a lovely opera. I hope I can see it again soon!
I'm going to see Turandot at the London Coliseum in early December which I'm PSYCHED for!

I am not a fan of operas because they often seem overly simplistic and overly theatrical, but our orchestra is playing an orchestral version of "Hänsel und Gretel" by Engelbert Humperdinck and the "Evening Song" movement is quite beautiful, I feel. So, I decided to share it.

Who was Engelbert Humperdinck? No, he isn't that British singer or the man from the movie "The Princess Bride." He was a German composer (1854 – 1921) best known for this opera, Hänsel und Gretel.

One interesting fact about Humperdinck is that he was the first composer to use Sprechgesang, a vocal technique halfway between singing and speaking (Wikipedia). Maybe he was one of the first rap composers! :D Also, he had a heart attack during a music performance, and died the next day of a second heart attack. So, it's bad that he had a heart attack...but good that he was listening to music!

The composition "Evening Song" includes lovely swells and crests. I like the violin part the best because it is melodious and interesting but fairly easy but fun to play. I get chills sometimes while playing it.

The following youtube video is of a youth orchestra playing "Evening Song" quite capably along with a university orchestra. My favorite part is around 4:00 and especially up through 5:00 and right after when you hit the crest around 5:20. I might even break down and buy an MP3 of the professional orchestral version of "Evening Song" to hear it in all its glory without the coughing that you get in the video.

Hänsel und Gretel - Evening Song (Orchestral Version) by Engelbert Humperdinck



And here is how the song sounds when sung by opera singers:

Hänsel und Gretel - Evening Song (Opera version) by Engelbert Humperdinck

Never really delved directly into opera. I've listened to excerpts that are from operas, and Madam Butterfly(Which somebody I knew won in a contest, and gave to me). It's a really really good classical piece, in my eyes.

Albeit, one opera I've ALWAYS wanted to see a tape of in entirety is Ligeti's "La Grand Macabre". Any clip I've seen of it has been amazing:



I can't seem to find any copies of the full thing, though. Shame, I can find the soundtrack but without what I'm seeing here as visuals, I can't imagine enjoying it as much(albeit it's very fun to listen to).

Skaligo, I'd never heard of the "La Grand Macabre" opera by Ligeti.

The staging in that YouTube clip certainly makes it look tantalizing, but this description of the opera from Wikipedia makes it look downright delicious:

An "anti-anti-opera" with an overture that is a mixture of rhythmic sounds scored for a dozen car horns! :laughing:

Now *I* want to see this/hear this, too! I think you are very right that without the sets, the opera would lose most of its meaning.

Here, this is an odd clip: "Gepopo (Barbara Hannigan), the chief of the secret service, informs Prince Go Go of the panic in the streets as the citizens learn of the impending end of the world." This person below must be Gepopo. Move over, Lady Gaga!!

I've only recently started listening to opera. Out of the three I've really sat down to listen to, La Boheme is by far my favorite. The other Puccini I've listened to, Madama Butterfly, seemed too theatrical for my taste. The third opera I've listened to is La Traviata, which I also liked, but still not as much as La Boheme and not enough to become a listening staple like La Boheme is for me.

That's my two cents on opera, more like one cent I guess.

I've started to listen to some of the orchestral pieces written by the Russian composer, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, for operas. I still have to listen to much of the actual *singing* but here is one of his compositions from the ballet-opera "Mlada" that I enjoy because of its happy, brilliant sound. I especially like 1:12 - 1:30, which is great fun to play on the violin. It feels exciting! :)

Rimsky-Korsakov - "Mlada" opera, "Procession of the Nobles"



Next is a scene from the actual opera-ballet (which features background singing). Seeing this scene (below) made me wonder what the heck is going on. So I looked it up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mlada_(Rimsky-Korsakov) and find that the plot is rather interesting to me (although typically melodramatic as operas and ballets often seem to be) because of the second murder, which disturbs me more than the first one.

Plot: A woman kills a man's bride to try to claim him as her own. The bride's ghost hovers around her love. Eventually he realizes the murderess for what she is and kills her after she confesses her sin (eek! So much for forgiveness :rolleyes:). The bride and groom are reunited in heaven.

Nina Ananiashvili in "Mlada":

Listen to his Christmas Eve Suite, I remember liking that.

I have never actually listened to Rimsky-Korsakov's operas. Thank you for posting that Vegangelica!

Never appreciated it before college, but I'm growing to like some of it. Like Andrea Chenier:

This is the most beautiful opera piece I've ever heard.

If someone were to wander into a music forum and hear just one song, this is the one I hope it would be. I will always be grateful to the person who shared this song with me so that I could enjoy it. Thank you.

"Marietta's Lied" - Die tote Stadt, an opera by Erich Wolfgang Korngold http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_tote_Stadt
sung by Kiri Te Kanawa

i am hardly a connoiseuer but love Puccini's Madama Butterfly immensely, especially Un Bel Di Vedremo

Didn't even know he did them, should check them out cause he's a genius.

This far and not mention of the greatest



what, you guys got taste or something?!?!?!

Hi,

really very nice post i would like to share them with all ....
and i am sure they will also like this so much


Thanks

Not really opera, but classical chorus OK?

Schubert's 'Ständchen' (D920)
Dawn Padula & the Sons of Orpheus



I never tire of hearing this. Schubert wrote the music at the request of a student in preparation for a birthday.
The idea was to wake the lucky woman with a choral serenade outside her window.

Here is another nice performance of the piece:

Schubert's 'Ständchen' (D920)
I'm not sure who the soloist is, since the video just says this is the Capella d'Amsterdam under the direction of Daniel Reuss




I also just listened to the melancholy but sweet D957, which I think is more famous than D920 since I had heard it before. I prefer D920 because it tugs at me more, but Angela Gheorghiu sings D957 very well, in my opinion:

Schubert's "Ständchen" D 957, n°4
Angela Gheorghiu



The youtube video caught my attention because Angela Gheorghiu is so glamorous!

http://www.pjf.org.uk/blog/wp-conten...-Gheorghiu.jpg http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/...hiu+angela.jpg

Mozart's 'Queen of the Night' aria - Lucia Popp




Fragments of this aria from the Magic Flute were in the movie
'Amadeus'. Lucia Popp's performance is the best I could find
on YouTube. Her power and clarity are just phenomenal.

Puccini's 'O soave fanciulla' - Anna Netrebko & Rolando Villazon


O soave fanciulla - Anna Netrebko - Rolando Villazon - YouTube

I like these here voices real good.

Those are real purty voices. I like those there voices good too!

They were loud too, while still sounding good.

This guy can sing good too:

Verdi's 'La donna è mobile' (Rigoletto)
Juan Diego Flórez, tenor (Vienna 2006)

Hey, I've heard that ditty before! ;)

He does sing good. I wish I sang like that.

In all honesty, though, I sometimes find it hard to appreciate famous music that has been played so much that I know almost everyone knows it. I feel as if I shouldn't like a piece now considered by many to be "trite" due to being so well-known, even among "common people."

I'm afraid this shows I'm sometimes a musical snob, unable to fully appreciate music if I think everyone else likes it, too. Other people's views of music shouldn't affect the value I see in it.

Looks like a genetic splice between Cher and Marisa Tomei.

I've been to plenty of classical concerts, which I often enjoy thoroughly, but the only opera I can recall seeing is Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Wagner. I can't say I liked it, it was nearly six hours long (including the breaks), and the alleged "comedy" was completely lost on me. I appreciate the vast amount of work put in the opera, but it was simple too bombastic and glamorous for it to appeal to me. Maybe some other opera, perhaps by Mozart, would be a better starting point.

Got some random operas at the library. Watched 'The Rake's Progress'(Stravinsky) which amused me quite a bit. Didn't musically astound me but I like the sarcastic very simple approach.

Watched a piece of Sadko which seemed very visually, and musically interesting.

Also have Verdi's Atilla which I hadn't cracked into yet.

Not a big Wagner-ophile myself. I honestly thought his work was very ridiculously unsubtle to the point of insult.

I understand that it's more classical contemporary as far as genre is concerned, but Sarah Brightman is vocally...well, probably one of the most superb things I've ever heard in my life.

I think an opera by Mozart would be a much better starting point, Monkey. Your opinion of Wagner is almost exactly the same as the one I formed after watching many by him:

I've seen several Mozart operas, and although they've faded from my memory, what's left is the feeling that the music is much more accessible, melodic, and playful than Wagner. Not being able to understand the words, though, always hampers my enjoyment of operas that aren't in English or German. Subtitles are nice. :)

Mozart - "The Marriage of Figaro"
Seattle Opera Presents The Marriage of Figaro
A selection of scenes



The OP also mentioned "The Magic Flute," which is charming with catchy and silly songs such as the famous...

Mozart - "Papageno and Papagena" from "The Magic Flute"

An English translation of the German lyrics can be found here: http://www.aria-database.com/transla...agic_flute.txt
This song begins (after all the Pa Pa Pa-ing) as follows:

PAPAGENO: Bist du mir nun ganz ergeben? Have you now yielded to me?
PAPAGENA: Nun bin ich dir ganz ergeben. Now I have yielded to you.
PAPAGENO: Nun, so sei mein liebes Weibchen! Now, then be my dear little wife!
PAPAGENA: Nun, so sei mein Herzenstäubchen, Now, then be the dove of my heart,
Mein Herzenstäubchen! The dove of my heart!
PAPAGENO: Mein liebes Weibchen, mein Herzenstäubchen. My dear little wife, dove of my heart.

Then they sing about defeating Zero Population Growth by being blessed with a profusion of young Papagenos and Papagenas (aka children). ;)

Watched Sadko, and Atilla. Enjoyed both musically wasn't astonished by either, though. Sadko had a well more interesting story, and visuals, and was amazing in it's inclusion of fish people.

off-topic but has anybody got a download link to Bartok's The Miraculous Mandarin that works?

(ballet)

This should work for you:

http;//www.nuisancedownloads.com/ballet/bartok

yeah hardy ha ha

.
J.G. Wentworth's 'Opera' commercials have won International
Summit Awards for Best Humor and Best TV. It's good music too.

877-Cash-Now Opera Commercial

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It's interesting that Padilla and Evancho sang the same 'O mio babbino caro', since that makes a direct comparison that much easier. But we're comparing an adult with a child. I preferred Evancho's performance, even though her child's lungs hold her back a bit. Great potential there.

Jackie Evancho

America's Got Talent YouTube Special - Jackie Evancho - YouTube

Barbara Padilla

Barbara Padilla's 1st Audition America's Got Talent 2009 HQ - YouTube

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