# Not an opera guy but...



## Bradius (Dec 11, 2012)

Other than Wagner, I'm not into opera. However, I heard Maria Callas singing Norma by Bellini on Classical Archives yesterday. Wow! Like the voice of an angel! I might have to rethink my disinterest in opera.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Wagner did like Bellini quite a bit, at least when he was younger. I read somewhere Tristan und Isolde was more or less inspired by Bellini's output. Not that Bellini needs Wagner's approval  when it comes to writing for voice he's unsurpassed, especially if you can appreciate technically difficult singing vs. sheer power (pair technical brilliance with a genuinely beautiful/personal voice and it gets out of this world). Callas sang the hell out of Norma, as it was one of her favourite roles (she was a big fan of the the so-called belcanto repertoire). Check out Caballe's Norma, as well - and, you know, while you're at it, Bellini's other works (Puritani, Sonnambula, Capuleti etc.)


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Bradius said:


> I might have to rethink my disinterest in opera.


I've done that several times myself. I seem to have opera phases. Well, not phases so much as short bursts.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Bradius said:


> Other than Wagner, I'm not into opera. However, I heard Maria Callas singing Norma by Bellini on Classical Archives yesterday. Wow! Like the voice of an angel! I might have to rethink my disinterest in opera.


give it a chance. there are wonders there.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

come to think of it, it was Callas singing Norma that got ME into opera the first time too ... second was Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera (Callas again), third Anna Moffo in Sonnambula... so you're on track!


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Try post-Wagner composers. R. Strauss, Debussy, Berg, the Russians, and even Puccini.


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## RobertoDevereux (Feb 12, 2013)

I found that Poulenc's "Les Dialogues des Carmelites" somehow reminds me of Wagner's writing - large strokes and lyric yet very dramatic. Or, if you want to stay close to your experience with Norma, try other belcanto masterpieces, like Donizetti's "Maria Stuarda" or "Lucrezia Borgia" - they are very lyric and very romantic, but with a "rough edge" (like Norma!).

And, as *Itullian* has said above, give it some time - there are some real jewels out there.

RD


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## Bradius (Dec 11, 2012)

Thanks for the comments. They're very helpful. Looks like I may be adding opera to my music interests now!


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

RobertoDevereux said:


> try other belcanto masterpieces, like Donizetti's "Maria Stuarda" or "Lucrezia Borgia" - they are very lyric and very romantic, but with a "rough edge" (like Norma!).


:tiphat: Lucrezia Borgia is the first opera I watched from start to finish.


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## rborganist (Jan 29, 2013)

Callas was one of a kind. Her voice was not always conventionally beautiful, but it was very expressive, and she was a very persuasive actress. It was thanks in large part to her that much of the bel canto repertoire that we know today was revived. It's hard to believe that Norma, La Sonnambula, I Puritani, the Tudor Ring (Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, and Roberto Devereux), and other such works were once forgotten. It was Callas who convinced us that this was not all "twittering bird" music but high drama. I've also heard it said that Brunnhilde's Immolation Scene owes more than a little to Norma's, so apparently Wagner continued to admire Norma. And it isn't always remembered that Callas was singing Wagner when she was asked to take on I Puritani with less than a week to prepare.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

rborganist said:


> It's hard to believe that Norma, La Sonnambula, I Puritani, the Tudor Ring (Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, and Roberto Devereux), and other such works were once forgotten.


weird, right? Although I'm not sure Norma was ever truly forgotten, but a shame about the others. Luckily, it's not the case anymore.


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