# So if you could play any role ...



## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

... but only one role, which would it be?

I hate to admit it, but Norma is very attractive to me, as a role. *L* I ... just don't look the part, unfortunately. The baldness, among other things. But if I could play only one role, I think it would be Gustav, from Ballo in Maschera. That's a juicy role.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Odabella in Attila.

She's a warrior woman. She finds out that Attila had murdered her father & she cons him into marrying her (which isn't consummated). She prevents Attila being killed by someone else & gets to kill him herself to avenge her father's death. And she lives to marry her true love. OK he's a wimpish tenor but that's her choice.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Well, Leonore, of course -- as long as Jonas Kaufmann is my Florestan.:kiss:

Aside from my incurable obsession, I suppose the role I'd like the best would be Minnie in _La Fanciulla del West_. She's not the "victim" so many of Puccini's heroines seem to be (aside from Dragon Lady Turandot); she's spunky, quick-witted, romantic, and she gets her guy.

Or maybe I just have a thing for gun-toting women . . . :lol:


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

sospiro said:


> Odabella in Attila.
> 
> She's a warrior woman. She finds out that Attila had murdered her father & she cons him into marrying her (which isn't consummated). She prevents Attila being killed by someone else & gets to kill him herself to avenge her father's death. And she lives to marry her true love. OK he's a wimpish tenor but that's her choice.


Gosh that never would have occurred to me! I've only ever seen one production of Attila and hated it. Well, it wasn't clear from the performance just WHY Odabella was saving Attila's life. Apart from other difficulties ... have to give the opera another shot I guess lol


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

MAuer said:


> Well, Leonore, of course -- as long as Jonas Kaufmann is my Florestan.:kiss:
> 
> Aside from my incurable obsession, I suppose the role I'd like the best would be Minnie in _La Fanciulla del West_. She's not the "victim" so many of Puccini's heroines seem to be (aside from Dragon Lady Turandot); she's spunky, quick-witted, romantic, and she gets her guy.
> 
> Or maybe I just have a thing for gun-toting women . . . :lol:


Yeah Minnie is great. If the MUSIC was better I'd love the opera. Hard to imagine Jonas Kauffmann starving to death in a cellar ... surely he'd have charmed some lovely lady into bringing him a key!!


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Fun fantasy! Staying with my gender (I am used to it  I wouldn't mind being a stellar lyric Baritone and having a go at Winterriesse, or Das Lied von der Erde. If I were a tenor, Stravinsky's In memoriam Dylan Thomas, and Tom from 'A Rake's Progress.' - those the first 'off the top of my (balding head.'

Cross-gender, Berg's "Lulu" is one helluva fantastic and incredibly demanding role.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

PetrB said:


> Fun fantasy! Staying with my gender (I am used to it  I wouldn't mind being a stellar lyric Baritone and having a go at Winterriesse, or Das Lied von der Erde. If I were a tenor, Stravinsky's In memoriam Dylan Thomas, and Tom from 'A Rake's Progress.' - those the first 'off the top of my (balding head.'
> 
> Cross-gender, Berg's "Lulu" is one helluva fantastic and incredibly demanding role.


Really! Who's done Lulu best, do you think?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Mauer has already taken my greatest desire - to play Minnie. I love the way she uses cunning and sleight of hand (or should one say sleight of stocking) to win the poker game and save Johnson's life.

Well if I can't be Minnie I'll be Giulio Cesare. Then I get to sing _Va Tacito e nacosto_ while staring down Tolomeo.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

guythegreg said:


> Yeah Minnie is great. If the MUSIC was better I'd love the opera.


Have to say I think the music is absolutely fantastic. It's my favourite Puccini opera.



> Hard to imagine Jonas Kauffmann starving to death in a cellar ... surely he'd have charmed some lovely lady into bringing him a key!!


Easier to imagine him than Ben Heppner in the Met production. After all the singing about how starved and emaciated he is, Karita Mattila hilariously tries to give him a hug and can't even get her arms to meet round his neck.:lol:


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Attila

Martin


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Jupiter in Offenbach's Orphee aux enfers - he gets some great lines, turns into a fly and goes "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...' and also makes a play for the heroine, so what's not to like? Laurent Naouri was a very lucky man when he played Jupiter to Natalie Dessay's Eurydice - the cover of my recording shows him in fly mode having a great time grappling with her on a sofa.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> Have to say I think the music is absolutely fantastic. It's my favourite Puccini opera.
> 
> Easier to imagine him than Ben Heppner in the Met production. After all the singing about how starved and emaciated he is, Karita Mattila hilariously tries to give him a hug and can't even get her arms to meet round his neck.:lol:


*L* too funny ... good point, tho!


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

elgars ghost said:


> Jupiter in Offenbach's Orphee aux enfers - he gets some great lines, turns into a fly and goes "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...' and also makes a play for the heroine, so what's not to like? Laurent Naouri was a very lucky man when he played Jupiter to Natalie Dessay's Eurydice - the cover of my recording shows him in fly mode having a great time grappling with her on a sofa.


Good thought - I think someone posted a video of that recently in this forum. They both looked like they were having an AWFUL lot of fun!!


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Have to say I think the music is absolutely fantastic. It's my favourite Puccini opera.
> 
> Easier to imagine him than Ben Heppner in the Met production. After all the singing about how starved and emaciated he is, Karita Mattila hilariously tries to give him a hug and can't even get her arms to meet round his neck.:lol:


I agree, I love La Fanciulla... Io sono una povera fanciulla. ....lalala
And for once, happy ending!!!!

Martin


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## ZombieBeethoven (Jan 17, 2012)

guythegreg said:


> Gosh that never would have occurred to me! I've only ever seen one production of Attila and hated it. Well, it wasn't clear from the performance just WHY Odabella was saving Attila's life. Apart from other difficulties ... have to give the opera another shot I guess lol


It might be worth giving it another try! I just saw Attila in San Francisco. Wonderful performance. We had the good fortune to be seated near some enthusiastic people. At the end of the first act, one woman turned to me and asked "Can we go again?!" It was like we had been on a rollercoaster ride and were ready for another go!

Papageno would be a fun one. Now if I only had the voice...


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

ZombieBeethoven said:


> It was like we had been on a rollercoaster ride and were ready for another go!
> 
> Papageno would be a fun one. Now if I only had the voice...


Wow ... THAT'S a recommendation! Now I wish I'd gone to it ... not that I was in town at the time lol


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

Staying within my gender and fach: Prunier from Puccini's La rondine. Not the most exiting role, but he's a fun character and has some really delicious music (first iteration of Chi il bel sogno di Doretta, anyone?).

Ignoring gender and fachs and everything: Zerbinetta. Or one of the Rossini heroines. Or Brünnhilde and/or Isolde. If I had to pick one, it would be Armida. The second act rondo is just about the most amazing thing Rossini wrote.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Aksel said:


> Staying within my gender and fach: Prunier from Puccini's La rondine. Not the most exiting role, but he's a fun character and has some really delicious music (first iteration of Chi il bel sogno di Doretta, anyone?).
> 
> Ignoring gender and fachs and everything: Zerbinetta. Or one of the Rossini heroines. Or Brünnhilde and/or Isolde. If I had to pick one, it would be Armida. The second act rondo is just about the most amazing thing Rossini wrote.


uh ... what's a fach? Haven't heard La Rondine yet, but it's at the Met this next season so I'll see it then. Yeah, Zerbinetta's a good one. Or Queen of the Night, that's a good one too.


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

guythegreg said:


> uh ... what's a fach? Haven't heard La Rondine yet, but it's at the Met this next season so I'll see it then. Yeah, Zerbinetta's a good one. Or Queen of the Night, that's a good one too.


The Prunier, Marius Brenciu, is really, really good. Enjoy it. It's a really great first two acts, I think it's one of Puccini's strongest scores. Then things turn rather bad rather fast. The third act is rather weak.
But the staging is gorgeous.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

guythegreg said:


> Really! Who's done Lulu best, do you think?


Well, I'm only truly familiar with the full-length version as completed by Friedrich Cerha, and then recorded with Pierre Boulez conducting, Teresa Stratas in the role of Lulu. Everything seemed 'so right' about it, and I certainly trust Boulez in this arena, just the right amount of 'romantic' rubato while having the sense of its 'modernity' -- all perfectly in balance. Whoever else has done it well, this landmark premiere recording of the completed piece is certainly one kind of definitive, and should be the key recording amongst others for those who do go in for multiple different performances of a work.

Many years ago I did see a tremendous production of the piece, as broadcast from the New York Metropolitan Opera, conducted by James Levine. Stratas had been booked, but 'due to flu' backed out and I have forgotten whom the understudy was - shamefully because she was tremendous. Stratas was (is?) a tremendous musician, but was extremely self-effacing and overly harsh on herself, that causing a deserved reputation for being more than difficult to work with. She was Violetta in Zeferelli's La Traviata, opposite Placido Domingo, again turning in a stellar performance: Zeferelli said she was both amazing and tremendous, and so difficult to work with he would never think of working with her again.

Earlier, when the piece was still an incomplete torso, given in concert performances, Anja Silja gave her all, and that was also more than memorable.

[I am not such an audiophile as to seek many multiple versions of recorded music: two is usually my maximum of what I want or find interesting. I often purchase a recording I know of, or ask a colleague whose sensibility I trust. Of opera fans, I believe there are many who have multiple recordings of works, acquired for the particular performance of singer X or Y or Z. That pursuit, to me, means owning many 'uneven' performances, where 'A' is great and 'B' is "Meh." I tend to acquire what I think is the best overall recording of "The Piece," opera included, and rarely choose by performer(s) alone: that is probably rather remote from the way most opera fans go about it.]


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

guythegreg said:


> uh ... what's a fach?


A Fach is the German word for voice categorisation. They go into a lot of detail so it's not just tenor, it's "buffo tenor" "Character tenor", "Lyric tenor", "youthful Heldentenor", "Heldentenor".

I remember reading that if as an opera singer you sign up to be part of the permanent cast at a German opera house, you have to be careful to write into the contract an accurate fach for yourself. If you just put "Soprano" they can insist on your singing anything from Zerlinetta to Brunnhilde and that could destroy your voice.


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## powerbooks (Jun 30, 2012)

A silent role, so I can just enjoy the rest of the playing! 

Quite a few important silent roles in opera, actually. Can you name some of them?

(Mobs and chorus don't count, ok?)


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I would play Nekrotzar obviously.


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## powerbooks (Jun 30, 2012)

Il Boia!

(Pu-Tin-Pao!)


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

powerbooks said:


> A silent role, so I can just enjoy the rest of the playing!
> 
> Quite a few important silent roles in opera, actually. Can you name some of them?
> 
> (Mobs and chorus don't count, ok?)


King Duncan in Macbeth 

Any excuse to post another scene


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## Dakota (Jun 30, 2012)

powerbooks said:


> A silent role, so I can just enjoy the rest of the playing!
> 
> Quite a few important silent roles in opera, actually. Can you name some of them?
> 
> (Mobs and chorus don't count, ok?)


Interesting question. The first (partially) silent bit that leaps to mind is Rusalka for part of that opera. I gotta think about others.

I quite fancy Emilia Marty in The Makropoulos Case; 300+ years would give me time to hear more operas.


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

powerbooks said:


> A silent role, so I can just enjoy the rest of the playing!
> 
> Quite a few important silent roles in opera, actually. Can you name some of them?
> 
> (Mobs and chorus don't count, ok?)


Vespone in La serva padrona comes to mind.


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## Bardamu (Dec 12, 2011)

I would like to sing a bass role like Mefistofele.


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## bellini (Jul 12, 2012)

Tosca, maybe. I'd love to kill Scarpia.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

PetrB said:


> Well, I'm only truly familiar with the full-length version as completed by Friedrich Cerha, and then recorded with Pierre Boulez conducting, Teresa Stratas in the role of Lulu. Everything seemed 'so right' about it, and I certainly trust Boulez in this arena, just the right amount of 'romantic' rubato while having the sense of its 'modernity' -- all perfectly in balance. Whoever else has done it well, this landmark premiere recording of the completed piece is certainly one kind of definitive, and should be the key recording amongst others for those who do go in for multiple different performances of a work.


Wow - I'll have to give it a real try. I went to Lulu at the Met, couldn't stay for the whole performance, it just didn't grab me at ALL. But I'll work at it.



> Many years ago I did see a tremendous production of the piece, as broadcast from the New York Metropolitan Opera, conducted by James Levine.


There is a Levine production with Julia Migenes as Lulu, on sale at Amazon - could that be the one you mean?



> I am not such an audiophile as to seek many multiple versions of recorded music


lol I've seen some reviews by, well, what *I* think of as audiophiles, and they always kind of put me off. They spend so much time talking about such minor points that I can't get interested. I imagine these are people with the highest quality audio equipment available, who have the time to spend comparing one recording to another without actually loving the operas themselves very much. To me, I'm not an audiophile - but I have god knows how many different recordings of Traviata, and Ballo in Maschera, and Don Carlo, etc etc etc, simply because I wanted to hear how this performer would do this role or how that performer would do that role, and in general all these recordings are wonderful because they all have their strengths! I have Birgit Nilsson as Amelia, doing Ballo in Maschera in German, and it's amazingly good. Well, that's an overstatement - nothing Nilsson does could really amaze anyone with how GOOD it is, I'm thinking. Maybe it would be amazing if she was playing Renato lol.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> I remember reading that if as an opera singer you sign up to be part of the permanent cast at a German opera house, you have to be careful to write into the contract an accurate fach for yourself. If you just put "Soprano" they can insist on your singing anything from Zerlinetta to Brunnhilde and that could destroy your voice.


I'll be sure to put in my contract that I shall sing ONLY and EVER Norma!!


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> I would play Nekrotzar obviously.


ah, god, I'm going to have to try Le grand Macabre, ein't I ...


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

powerbooks said:


> A silent role, so I can just enjoy the rest of the playing!
> 
> Quite a few important silent roles in opera, actually. Can you name some of them?
> 
> (Mobs and chorus don't count, ok?)


YES!! Ambrogio, from Barber of Seville!! (well, in some productions it's a speaking role, but in the Met's production it's ALMOST COMPLETELY silent. But a very juicy role!


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

powerbooks said:


> Il Boia!
> 
> (Pu-Tin-Pao!)


sorry, I need more of a hint than that ... lol still pretty new to opera, sorry ...


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

sospiro said:


> King Duncan in Macbeth
> 
> Any excuse to post another scene


Woah Annie that was great - who was that? All of them, I mean ...


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Bardamu said:


> I would like to sing a bass role like Mefistofele.


I loved Sam Ramey in that - not QUITE enough to buy it, but it was a hell of a role ... priceless moment: Ramey mounting the stage with a violin case, opening the violin case and removing his high-heeled shoes lol


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

bellini said:


> Tosca, maybe. I'd love to kill Scarpia.


Killing Scarpia would be fun .. he really ought to SUFFER a bit more than he usually does, no?


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

guythegreg said:


> Well, that's an overstatement - nothing Nilsson does could really amaze anyone with how GOOD it is, I'm thinking. Maybe it would be amazing if she was playing Renato lol.


Anything La Nilsson did was amazing. I mean, the woman sang Elektra at age 62! And she sang it better than most others would have done in their 40s


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## powerbooks (Jun 30, 2012)

guythegreg said:


> sorry, I need more of a hint than that ... lol still pretty new to opera, sorry ...


Turandot, the executioner!


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

I want to survive, I like happy ending operas, I will choose Russlan from Russlan and Liudmila...

And this Liudmila is so hot!






Я очень люблю Руслана и людмилу

Мартин

Martin


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Vi ochen' liubliu (oops) Ruslan unt Lyudmila? Perche?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

guythegreg said:


> Vi ochen' liubliu (oops) Ruslan unt Lyudmila? Perche?


Oh my goodness! Italiussian! That's definitely a new one!


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

guythegreg said:


> Vi ochen' liubliu (oops) Ruslan unt Lyudmila? Perche?


Я очен люблю Глинку и Римсково-Корсакова, я панимаю когда они поют.

Пока

Мартин

Translation: I love very much Glinka and Rimsky-Korsakov, I understand when they sing.

Bye

Martin


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Oh my goodness! Italiussian! That's definitely a new one!


LOL. Indeed. That's funny.

I am studying Russian by myself, I have a friend in order to practice, If I bother you I won't write in Russian any more!

Paka

Bye


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

guythegreg said:


> Vi ochen' liubliu (oops) Ruslan unt Lyudmila? Perche?


Better like this...

Vi ochien liúbitie Russlan y Liudmila... Pachimú? ( vous, monsieur, in French) Or more friendly, ti ochien lúbish (tu in French) Russlan y Liudmila... Pachimú?

Martin


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

lol yeah I was thinking it should have been lubitie - couldn't think of the right ending at the time tho! Oh well ...


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## Hesoos (Jun 9, 2012)

I'd like to play Rigoletto. I love this character. It's a bit like Dr Jekill and Mr Hide... it's a bit like all the people. Singing blaming to all the people and the nature for all the evil you have in yourself... and the most important in the world is your own people or family. An ugly creature who can sing beautifully. (I don't mean i'm ugly heh heh...I just understand the feelings of the character)


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## Hesoos (Jun 9, 2012)

guythegreg said:


> Gosh that never would have occurred to me! I've only ever seen one production of Attila and hated it. Well, it wasn't clear from the performance just WHY Odabella was saving Attila's life. Apart from other difficulties ... have to give the opera another shot I guess lol


I like all the Verdi's operas!!! Some opera can be a little less brilliant (for me Battaglia di Legnano or Un giorno di Regno)but others are fantastic. 
You could try the dvd with Ramey and Studer (La Scala)is my one and the settings are great. When the sun rise in the area of Venice is fantastic, the Studer aria with the sword, the duet Ramey and Zancanaro, the scene with the Attila's nightmare and the arrival of the pope Leon, the banquet with the lightnings and the chorus...
I think Dorabella save the life of Attila because she wants to kill him with her own hands, just a perfect and fair revenge is what she wants, in the final scene she kills him with the sword she got from him. I think I understood it, I agree it's a bit confusing. But the music is sometimes sublime.


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

Leperello


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Maybe Pelleas in Debussy's Pelleas et Mélissande. But the girl should be hot.. Sine qua non. It is a very romantic relationship and very complicated. "you shouldn't fall in love with your brother's wife"... i also wouldlike to be the tsarevich in the story of Tsar Saltan, a funny opera by Rimsky-Korsakov or the sick Prince in Love for three oranges who laughs for 22 bars.

Martin


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Hesoos said:


> I'd like to play Rigoletto. I love this character. It's a bit like Dr Jekill and Mr Hide... it's a bit like all the people. Singing blaming to all the people and the nature for all the evil you have in yourself... and the most important in the world is your own people or family. An ugly creature who can sing beautifully. (I don't mean i'm ugly heh heh...I just understand the feelings of the character)


You're right, yeah, Rigoletto has a lot of different sides to his character! He likes making fun of people but he hates being made fun of ... so anxious to protect his daughter but happy to join in the fun when others are being abused ... needs a little more philosophy in his life, eh?


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

NightHawk said:


> Leperello


Why leporello? Pourquoi?


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> the sick Prince in Love for three oranges who laughs for 22 bars.
> 
> Martin


right, who wouldn't want to laugh for 22 bars, right? lol


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## Moira (Apr 1, 2012)

Yes, Papageno would do it for me. If I were male. And if I could sing.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Moira said:


> Yes, Papageno would do it for me. If I were male. And if I could sing.


All things are possible, here in the electronic ether!


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## Hesoos (Jun 9, 2012)

guythegreg said:


> You're right, yeah, Rigoletto has a lot of different sides to his character! He likes making fun of people but he hates being made fun of ... so anxious to protect his daughter but happy to join in the fun when others are being abused ... needs a little more philosophy in his life, eh?


Yes!!
Rigoletto is my favorite character ever.


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## Dakota (Jun 30, 2012)

*Operatic Sounds of Silence*



powerbooks said:


> Quite a few important silent roles in opera, actually. Can you name some of them?


And today I stumbled over a whole article on JUST that topic! I have not even had time to read it yet (am at work, sigh......) but you can find it here: http://www.wqxr.org/#!/blogs/operavore/2012/jul/15/operatic-sounds-silence/


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Dakota said:


> And today I stumbled over a whole article on JUST that topic! I have not even had time to read it yet (am at work, sigh......) but you can find it here: http://www.wqxr.org/#!/blogs/operavore/2012/jul/15/operatic-sounds-silence/


be interesting to see if you could write a whole opera with no singing or speaking, wouldn't it? I would say also no dancing, because I don't want people to get confused ... it's about the drama, and about using music to assist a stage work. Luc Besson's early work includes a film with no dialogue ...


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

NightHawk said:


> Leperello


Do you mean Leporello?

M.p.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

guythegreg said:


> You're right, yeah, Rigoletto has a lot of different sides to his character! He likes making fun of people but he hates being made fun of ... so anxious to protect his daughter but happy to join in the fun when others are being abused ... needs a little more philosophy in his life, eh?


No! He killed his daughter by accident... I wouldn't like that!

Martin


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Tristan! I love this role! Or Mr. Bruček in Janaček's opera.

Martin


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> No! He killed his daughter by accident... I wouldn't like that!


That's kind of the point - it's a true tragedy because the character has all the seeds of his own destruction at the beginning.

That said I can hardly bear to watch Rigoletto any longer these days - just too upsetting.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

NightHawk said:


> Leperello


I'd sing Leporello too, just for the fun of doing the catalogue song. I already know it by heart.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> Tristan! I love this role! Or Mr. Bruček in Janaček's opera.
> 
> Martin


Ah, the romantic hero!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> I'd sing Leporello too, just for the fun of doing the catalogue song. I already know it by heart.


Any excuse to give one of my favourite young singers a plug


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

sospiro said:


> Any excuse to give one of my favourite young singers a plug


Now, to me, the really strange thing about the Catalog Aria is how little reaction Leporello gets. Anna - it is Anna, right? - hears for the first time that this guy she's desperately in love with has been unfaithful to her oh, thousands of times, and has nothing to say. What? It's just STRANGE.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Don Juan (don Giovanni) was just in love with himself, psychoanalysis describe this as a kind of homosexuality. It makes sense. He was in love but never in love, just wanting to take advantage,sleeping with the woman was his major success. But he really didn't look at them, just to himself. The Don Juan phenomena is the same than Casanova, Don Juan in Spain (Tirso de Molina), Casanova in Italy.

El burlador de sevilla is the title of the original play. Performed for the first time in 1616.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trickster_of_Seville_and_the_Stone_Guest

It was taken by Molière and performed in 1660.

Many other authors spoke about Don Juan, the Spanish womanizer. But I believe the first was Tirso de Molina, that I read at school when ai was 15 in old Spanish.

But Casanova really existed (1725-1798)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giacomo_Casanova

Well, if you want to know, I am very curious, i think and often I am wrong, that all people are as curious as myself, I am wrong, people here don't read very much.

Tant pis!

Martin


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

guythegreg said:


> Now, to me, the really strange thing about the Catalog Aria is how little reaction Leporello gets. Anna - it is Anna, right? - hears for the first time that this guy she's desperately in love with has been unfaithful to her oh, thousands of times, and has nothing to say. What? It's just STRANGE.


Good point Greg. Maybe she's in shock?


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

guythegreg said:


> Now, to me, the really strange thing about the Catalog Aria is how little reaction Leporello gets. Anna - it is Anna, right? - hears for the first time that this guy she's desperately in love with has been unfaithful to her oh, thousands of times, and has nothing to say. What? It's just STRANGE.


Elvira. Anna is the one who was raped at the beginning and who is engaged to Don Ottavio.



myaskovsky2002 said:


> Don Juan (don Giovanni) was just in love with himself, *psychoanalysis describe this as a kind of homosexuality*. It makes sense. He was in love but never in love, just wanting to take advantage,sleeping with the woman was his major success. But he really didn't look at them, just to himself. The Don Juan phenomena is the same than Casanova, Don Juan in Spain (Tirso de Molina), Casanova in Italy.


Then again, what doesn't psychoanaysis describe as a form of homosexuality ...


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Aksel said:


> Elvira. Anna is the one who was raped at the beginning and who is engaged to Don Ottavio.
> 
> Then again, what doesn't psychoanaysis describe as a form of homosexuality ...


Ah, gotcha. You can tell I'm not a HUGE don G. fan!!


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Believe it or not, there is a small opera company in London that staged a performance of _Don Giovanni _where this character was presented as gay -- and the roles of the three women were rewritten for male singers to fit in with the concept.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

MAuer said:


> Believe it or not, there is a small opera company in London that staged a performance of _Don Giovanni _where this character was presented as gay -- and the roles of the three women were rewritten for male singers to fit in with the concept.


sounds like it could be interesting - did you go? was it good?


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

guythegreg said:


> sounds like it could be interesting - did you go? was it good?


No, just read about it in the latest issue of _Opera Now_. The reviewer was not impessed.


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

I'd love to be able to sing Rosina, flawlessly, like Maria Callas did...
And Norma, would come next! I love it, but I only learned Casta Diva!
Deh, it's only a dream!


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

*Kind of a dangerous fantasy...*

Induces me to entertain my assertions (or delusions) of operatic understanding.

Okay, here goes:

*Tannhäuser.*

Some famous _heldentenoren_ have taken a pass on this role. Clinton Forbis in our era. [I once heard him say that he couldn't imagine putting his voice through all the stress that it suffers in service to an unrewarding character.] In an earlier generation, Jon Vickers came to a similar conclusion, reportedly dismissing Heinrich as "a rounder."

But he's NOT "a rounder." _I_ know what makes him tick.

Heaven help me- if you gave me a world-class _heldentenor_ voice, blended in a little bit of "stage presence" [wouldn't take much] and added _my_ understanding of the character, I think I could do something special.

It's possible that I'm being delusional. But I think not.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> Induces me to entertain my assertions (or delusions) of operatic understanding.
> 
> Okay, here goes:
> 
> ...


Well, if you are, I can't prove it! And hey, opera is about entertaining illusions anyway, right? hopefully not the illusion of entertainment ...


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

Of all opera male roles...Calaf.

And as Calaf, i would sing, just before the three enigma's scene, Handel's aria "Mio cor che mi sei dir" from Rinaldo (tuned down to tenor voice naturally).

The strength/determination of Calaf was the reason i entered in this world. He stands as the freudian super-ego for me.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

dionisio said:


> Of all opera male roles...Calaf.
> 
> And as Calaf, i would sing, just before the three enigma's scene, Handel's aria "Mio cor che mi sei dir" from Rinaldo (tuned down to tenor voice naturally).
> 
> The strength/determination of Calaf was the reason i entered in this world. He stands as the freudian super-ego for me.


But ... but Liu was right there, and almost certainly NOT INSANE! Calaf is nuts! lol


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

guythegreg said:


> But ... but Liu was right there, and almost certainly NOT INSANE! Calaf is nuts! lol


Calaf is probably my least favourite male "hero" role. He disgusts me. I'd even prefer Pinkerton.


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

If gender and vocal range didn't limit it, I would SO sing Don Giovanni. Such a brilliant role.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> Calaf is probably my least favourite male "hero" role. He disgusts me. I'd even prefer Pinkerton.


Ay dios mio. There's not much to choose between them - sure you wouldn't rather have Don G? :lol: he at least would be sure to know what he was doing ...


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Sieglinde said:


> If gender and vocal range didn't limit it, I would SO sing Don Giovanni. Such a brilliant role.


That's the beauty of the virtual ether - you can be Don G! Just like I can be Norma. Enjoy!


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

guythegreg said:


> Ay dios mio. There's not much to choose between them - sure you wouldn't rather have Don G? :lol: he at least would be sure to know what he was doing ...


At the end, Pinkerton at least realizes he's a jerk. Calaf just blames everything on Turandot.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

MAuer said:


> At the end, Pinkerton at least realizes he's a jerk. Calaf just blames everything on Turandot.


OMG - you know, Puccini NEVER FINISHED the opera. Wouldn't it be the perfect ending for Calaf to realize what a titanic size putz he's been and convert to the worship of Liu?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

guythegreg said:


> Ay dios mio. There's not much to choose between them - sure you wouldn't rather have Don G? :lol: he at least would be sure to know what he was doing ...


Yeah, they'd have to add an extra line to the catalogue song: "Ed una in Nuova Zelanda"


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

guythegreg said:


> OMG - you know, Puccini NEVER FINISHED the opera. Wouldn't it be the perfect ending for Calaf to realize what a titanic size putz he's been and convert to the worship of Liu?


That would almost redeem him (I said almost. He's still a major douche). But what Puccini had sketched for the ending was a 20 minute Tristan & Isolde type love duet. Uch.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Aksel said:


> That would almost redeem him (I said almost. He's still a major douche). But what Puccini had sketched for the ending was a 20 minute Tristan & Isolde type love duet. Uch.


Yes, if I'd been Puccini I'd have died rather than face writing that too.


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## Belmonte (Aug 4, 2012)

Tamino or, as my name suggests, Belmonte. I've listened to those roles pretty much since I was a toddler and know the libretto by heart. In fact I *do* sing along with it every now and then.:lol:


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Belmonte said:


> Tamino or, as my name suggests, Belmonte. I've listened to those roles pretty much since I was a toddler and know the libretto by heart. In fact I *do* sing along with it every now and then.:lol:


Huh. Well, I wikipedia'ed Belmonte and didn't come up with anything. What opera is Belmonte in?


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

_Die Entführung aus dem Serail _(Abduction From the Seraglio). Belmonte is the hero.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Ah gosh, another Mozart opera I just haven't been able to appreciate ... all the weird sexual goings on just screw up the drama for me, and without the drama the music is kind of meaningless ...


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

MAuer said:


> _Die Entführung aus dem Serail _(Abduction From the Seraglio). Belmonte is the hero.


Pasha Selim is the hero. Unfortunately he doesn't sing anything!


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

mamascarlatti said:


> Pasha Selim is the hero. Unfortunately he doesn't sing anything!


Pasha Selim is a sort of villain -- he is keeping Constanze a prisoner against her will -- but rises to heroic stature at the opera's end through his magnanimity. I think Belmonte is intended to be the opera's hero.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

MAuer said:


> Pasha Selim is a sort of villain -- he is keeping Constanze a prisoner against her will -- but rises to heroic stature at the opera's end through his magnanimity. I think Belmonte is intended to be the opera's hero.


Yeah, I was just kidding you. I'm influenced by the last verson I saw where Belmonte was brilliantly played by Piotr Beczala as a sort of upper-class priviledged entitled twit. I've still always fancied the Pashas more - must be the turbans:lol:.


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

guythegreg said:


> OMG - you know, Puccini NEVER FINISHED the opera. Wouldn't it be the perfect ending for Calaf to realize what a titanic size putz he's been and convert to the worship of Liu?


If we start to analyse the logic in Opera, most of them (in the regular repertoire) are nonsense.

Maybe we disagree with the libretto or the music. But if we get mad with Calaf, what can we say about other main operatic roles? The more i think about them, the more i see their flaws. Perhaps Otello is the only to stay unharmed.

Calaf (and the opera itself) remained (and it's better to deal with it) the last sucessfull great role in italian opera. It was Puccini's attempt to write an opera which he tought i'd never do. The plot may be absurd in present times but if we deal with The magic flute or Il trovatore or the Ring or a typical opera seria with deus ex machina finale, Turandot is the least of our problems.

Nevertheless, Calaf is out for a quest and he is secure about his achivement. There are no great debate/inner toughts/doubts or complete ignorance (as for Siegfried) about what he wants. He would be, by his determination, a role model as any role model we have today because put all of his effort in his job/purpose in order to win. I wish i had his strenght when i'm at work.

Therefore and because it is a fairy-tale libretto, Calaf should be acknowledge as an ideal character. He's a character far from reality but with a personality to wish for (or not to wish at all). Therefore i've considered Calaf in the (only) super-ego path.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

dionisio said:


> If we start to analyse the logic in Opera, most of them (in the regular repertoire) are nonsense.


OK, that's a given ...



> But if we get mad with Calaf, what can we say about other main operatic roles?


To me, there are so many more likable male characters. I'm not mad at Calaf - but doesn't Gustav (Ballo in Maschera) strike you as a lot more fun? Hoffmann is more thoughtful. Rodolfo is more romantic and easygoing. Cavaradossi had the good sense to fall in love with someone who loved being loved, and can paint too! Pollione screwed up, but admitted it at the end.

There are male characters I like less than Calaf. Rigoletto and the Duke come to mind. It's interesting you mention Otello - not a character I can love either, but I saw the Jon Vickers production recently and it's like watching a train wreck. You can't look away. There's a horrible fascination to it, that haunts you after it's over.

I mean, go ahead, feel free to love Calaf. God knows you don't need MY permission! I understand, for you he's a model type A personality, sees a goal and charges forward. Nothing wrong with that. I'm sure you and I will agree on many things even if we disagree about Calaf.


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

guythegreg said:


> To me, there are so many more likable male characters. I'm not mad at Calaf - but doesn't Gustav (Ballo in Maschera) strike you as a lot more fun? Hoffmann is more thoughtful. Rodolfo is more romantic and easygoing. Cavaradossi had the good sense to fall in love with someone who loved being loved, and can paint too! Pollione screwed up, but admitted it at the end.


Unfortunately i haven't heard Ballo (sorry, i can't reach'em all hehehe)

The rest i agree. And it is funny, since you mentioned about Hoffmann (altough i don't know much about the writer's personal life), he has the life when i were in college loved to have: the cursed romantic man drinking in the bar trying to forget life as it is and enjoying pleasures of life and singing.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

dionisio said:


> And it is funny, since you mentioned about Hoffmann (altough i don't know much about the writer's personal life), he has the life when i were in college loved to have: the cursed romantic man drinking in the bar trying to forget life as it is and enjoying pleasures of life and singing.


Exactly! How do I live? I live! Oops, wrong opera. Hoffmann has the life Rodolfo thought he had.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Some male characters I like:

Billy Budd, good through and through, cheerful, friendly, loyal and energetic
Captain Vere, perceptive and erudite although trapped in a rigid system by which he eventually fails to save the innocent 
Albert Herring - throws off the shackles of an overbearing mother and gets his own way
Owen Wingrave - a steadfast pacifist in the face of overwhelming odds
Papageno, just a sweetie, the perfect Everyman
Monteverdi's Ulisse - resourceful and strong, manages to regain his kingdom and family through righteous cunning
Tonio (La fille du regiment) and Nemorino (L'Elisir d'amore) - young lovers who do what it takes to get their girls; no one gets harmed or tortured to death in the process
Giulio Cesare - conquers the world, faces off the petty tyrant and gets the girl
The Pasha in die Entfuhrung and Tito iin La clemenza - both forgive a grievous wrong and give up their loves
Simon Bocccanegra - deeply flawed in many ways but redeems himself as well, a sympathetic character
Stiffelio - forgives his errant wife
Hans Sachs - puts his own feelings aside to help another win his girl
Rodrigo in Don Carlos - an idealist with a mission
Don Giovanni - I just put him in there because he's gorgeous, even though he's a very naughty boy.


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Papageno, just a sweetie, the perfect Everyman


Is also generally adorable in mallard hats.


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> Don Giovanni - I just put him in there because he's gorgeous, even though he's a very naughty boy.


It would be worth being Don Giovanni until the beginning of Act 1. After the Dona Anna scene, Don Giovanni never had if-you-know-what-i-mean again! Not even with her (?)

But like Beethoven thought, Don Giovanni (the character) is too despicable to deserve such music. He is, lets face it, one of the lowest forms of the human race. He's a rapist and that's something not to be glorified.

Nevertheless, Don Giovanni belongs to my conception of trinity in Opera (together with Tristan and Otello).


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Aksel said:


> Is also generally adorable in mallard hats.


Aah, you know me too well, yes this is the Papageno I was thinking of when I wrote this:


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

I want one of those hats.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Aksel said:


> I want one of those hats.


I'll knit you one.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> Some male characters I like:
> 
> Billy Budd, good through and through, cheerful, friendly, loyal and energetic
> Captain Vere, perceptive and erudite although trapped in a rigid system by which he eventually fails to save the innocent
> ...


Don't forget Fiesco - the very civilized enemy, who admits when he's been wrong! I suppose I shouldn't be astonished at how many good guys there are in opera, but you know, when you list them out like that, it makes a pretty impressive roster ...


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> I'll knit you one.


Please do! I will... play the trombone for you in return.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

one for each: 

Orphee/Orfeo (both Monteverdi and Gluck) - he's so refreshingly idealistic and heroic in an understated way. Plus the music is gorgeous.

Vitellia - I don't know if I like her as a character all that much but I LOVE the music Mozart wrote for her. People say it's ugly but I find it spot on for whatever it has to express (anguish, confusion, seduction, ruthlessness, even remorse - there's a lot to explore).


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## Zabirilog (Mar 10, 2013)

Siegfried
Pedrillo
Papageno
Tristan
Parsifal
Tannhäuser
Cavaradossi
Loge


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

deggial said:


> one for each:
> 
> Orphee/Orfeo (both Monteverdi and Gluck) - he's so refreshingly idealistic and heroic in an understated way. Plus the music is gorgeous.
> 
> Vitellia - I don't know if I like her as a character all that much but I LOVE the music Mozart wrote for her. People say it's ugly but I find it spot on for whatever it has to express (anguish, confusion, seduction, ruthlessness, even remorse - there's a lot to explore).


Vitellia - that's from Clemenza, right? I really have to get a CD of that. As for me, how I'd love to be able to sing Prince Gremin! or Raimbaud, from Comte Ory. Italian is wonderful for singing, but French is the most beautiful language, I think.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

guythegreg said:


> Vitellia - that's from Clemenza, right? I really have to get a CD of that.


yea, you should  Try the Gardiner with Varady and Von Otter or the vintage Davis with Baker and Minton for CDs (although neither of these Vitellias impress me much, they are highly rated). There's also a bunch of DVDs out there. It depends on what you're looking for. I'm looking for a riveting Vitellia and Sesto (but not too OTT, like in the Ponnelle film, which to me looks too much like it's taking the **** out of the whole thing, although Troyanos' singing is lovely). A Servillia who does justice to S'altro che lacrime and a Tito who can manage the runs in Se all'impero = bonus. MAuer is going to tell you to get the Kaufmann DVD but Mei is a lame Vitellia in my book  and there's too much of Vitellia to put up with an underpar one - although my fave Sesto is Kasarova (mannered or not, to me the woman sounds perfect in this role), and since my fave Vitellia is Roschmann (eeeevil!), you know which DVD _I_ would suggest.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Good topic! My role would be Papageno, absolutely.


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## AClockworkOrange (May 24, 2012)

Staying in gender, assuming of course I granted the ability to sing my role would have to be Baron Scarpia. For some reason, I almost always find the villains more interesting. I enjoy their flaws, they are fallible. The chance to portray a character so different to myself in terms of outlook and behaviour would be interesting indeed. Admittedly, Bryn Terfel's interpretation has had a significant influence on my choice.

If one were to cross gender lines, it would be a tie between the titular Lulu from Berg's excellent opera or Brunnhilde from Der Ring des Nibelungen. Lulu is a psychologically interesting character and Brunnhilde is one of _the_ icons, a strong feminine character with a powerful arc. Lulu would probably win through because even if the abilities to sing the part were granted, the shadow of Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nilsson would prove too intimidating and the challenge of Lulu too tempting.

Overall, it would have to be Scarpia. A very human, flawed individual, a monstrous villain who meets his end most approproately would be very interesting to portray.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

deggial said:


> yea, you should  Try the Gardiner with Varady and Von Otter or the vintage Davis with Baker and Minton for CDs (although neither of these Vitellias impress me much, they are highly rated). There's also a bunch of DVDs out there. It depends on what you're looking for. I'm looking for a riveting Vitellia and Sesto (but not too OTT, like in the Ponnelle film, which to me looks too much like it's taking the **** out of the whole thing, although Troyanos' singing is lovely). A Servillia who does justice to S'altro che lacrime and a Tito who can manage the runs in Se all'impero = bonus. MAuer is going to tell you to get the Kaufmann DVD but Mei is a lame Vitellia in my book  and there's too much of Vitellia to put up with an underpar one - although my fave Sesto is Kasarova (mannered or not, to me the woman sounds perfect in this role), and since my fave Vitellia is Roschmann (eeeevil!), you know which DVD _I_ would suggest.


Hmm! Did you weigh in on the recent Met broadcast, with Frittoli as Vitellia? It was my first exposure to the opera and I didn't even NOTICE Vitellia, at least in that production. I was blown away by Lindsey as Annio and ... dang it, I've forgotten her name, the lovely British lady who played Servilia. Ah, so much opera, so little time, eh?


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

katdad said:


> Good topic! My role would be Papageno, absolutely.


Goodness! You are not feeling well today. :lol: We normally expect three paragraphs from you as a warm-up, before getting to the topic at hand! Well, I hope you feel better soon, and I applaud your selection.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

AClockworkOrange said:


> Staying in gender, assuming of course I granted the ability to sing my role would have to be Baron Scarpia. For some reason, I almost always find the villains more interesting. I enjoy their flaws, they are fallible. The chance to portray a character so different to myself in terms of outlook and behaviour would be interesting indeed. Admittedly, Bryn Terfel's interpretation has had a significant influence on my choice.
> 
> If one were to cross gender lines, it would be a tie between the titular Lulu from Berg's excellent opera or Brunnhilde from Der Ring des Nibelungen. Lulu is a psychologically interesting character and Brunnhilde is one of _the_ icons, a strong feminine character with a powerful arc. Lulu would probably win through because even if the abilities to sing the part were granted, the shadow of Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nilsson would prove too intimidating and the challenge of Lulu too tempting.
> 
> Overall, it would have to be Scarpia. A very human, flawed individual, a monstrous villain who meets his end most approproately would be very interesting to portray.


I LOVED Terfel's Scarpia. Only saw it once, but it was memorable! As far as Lulu goes, my opera relationship is progressing to the point where I may be almost ready for that one. Are you sure you wouldn't prefer Hagen? I seem to recall he was the consensus favorite villain, a few weeks back ...


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

guythegreg said:


> Hmm! Did you weigh in on the recent Met broadcast, with Frittoli as Vitellia? It was my first exposure to the opera and I didn't even NOTICE Vitellia, at least in that production. I was blown away by Lindsey as Annio and ... dang it, I've forgotten her name, *the lovely British lady who played Servilia**. Ah, so much opera, so little time, eh?


I have not seen it, but I'm indifferent to Frittoli. To be fair, it's really hard to find a suitable Vitellia. But Kate Lindsey was the Composer in Glyndebourne's Ariadne and I loved her! I'm sure she made a great Annio, as much as that goody-two-shoes can be great 

*Lucy Crowe


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

deggial said:


> I have not seen it, but I'm indifferent to Frittoli. To be fair, it's really hard to find a suitable Vitellia. But Kate Lindsey was the Composer in Glyndebourne's Ariadne and I loved her! I'm sure she made a great Annio, as much as that goody-two-shoes can be great
> 
> *Lucy Crowe


Frittoli was great as Vitellia in the Met Clemenza - she brought out the humour of the character - first time I've ever seen that.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

mamascarlatti said:


> Frittoli was great as Vitellia in the Met Clemenza - she brought out the humour of the character - first time I've ever seen that.


blimey, _humour_? didn't you feel the Ponnelle film was also strangely humourous? I really had a hard time with that.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

deggial said:


> blimey, _humour_? didn't you feel the Ponnelle film was also strangely humourous? I really had a hard time with that.


The Ponnelle film WAS humorous but in a really weird and unsettling way. That Tito with his mad eyes ..shudders...

On the other hand Frittoli was simply having fun with the character. Usually Vitellia is played straight.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

hm, I might have to look into it...


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

deggial said:


> I have not seen it, but I'm indifferent to Frittoli. To be fair, it's really hard to find a suitable Vitellia. But Kate Lindsey was the Composer in Glyndebourne's Ariadne and I loved her! I'm sure she made a great Annio, as much as that goody-two-shoes can be great
> 
> *Lucy Crowe


Lucy Crowe! That's it! Ah, she was wonderful. A small role, but very nicely done. And Lindsey just blew me away.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

guythegreg said:


> And Lindsey just blew me away.


hey, I'm going to see Ariadne again tomorrow just because I liked her so much :tiphat:


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

I didn't realize you had her as the Composer! you DOG!!!  _green with envy!_


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

guythegreg said:


> I didn't realize you had her as the Composer! you DOG!!!  _green with envy!_


I failed to mention any names in my review [dunce!]. But, yea


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Mephisto for me and any other " baddy",these get the best parts tenors are often rather limp.


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## Volve (Apr 14, 2013)

Siegmund, Iago, Wotan, Sachs and Hagen!


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

moody said:


> Mephisto for me and any other " baddy",these get the best parts tenors are often rather limp.


Ah, everybody loves a good villain!


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Volve said:


> Siegmund, Iago, Wotan, Sachs and Hagen!


... sounds like multiple fach disorder to me ... shouldn't someone write an opera in which one actor can play all five of those characters? ...ah, that would be something.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

guythegreg said:


> ... sounds like multiple fach disorder to me ...


:lol: I'm sure Hvorostovsky would love to sing five characters in one opera!


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

I think you're right ... we have our star! Well, hey, maybe if we present him with something he cannot succeed at it'll modify his ego just a bit, eh? I have to suspect that nobody in his life criticizes him AT ALL. It hasn't done him the best good either.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

I heard him speak on this subject somewhere on youtube a while ago - he said that, in fact, his father criticized him so much that he had to pump his ego constantly. So maybe he's a bit of a victim. Maybe he'd like to sing Violetta sometime


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

huh ... Hvorostovsky as Violetta. You know, that RESONATES. I'd like to see it. I bet he'd give the performance of his life.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

guythegreg said:


> huh ... Hvorostovsky as Violetta. You know, that RESONATES. I'd like to see it. I bet he'd give the performance of his life.


Do you think he'll look as good in a dress as René Pape?


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

OMG!!! Doesn't he just look like he's having the time of his life? That is a CLASSIC photo. What is he playing - Krakenthorp or somebody? What an expression. Thank you.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

man, he's fetching! a bass Violetta is even better


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

guythegreg said:


> OMG!!! Doesn't he just look like he's having the time of his life? That is a CLASSIC photo. What is he playing - Krakenthorp or somebody? What an expression. Thank you.


Believe it or not he's playing Mefistopheles in Gounod's Faust. You'll have to ask the director why he's doing it in a dress.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I've always wanted to sing Desdemona. I'd probably be made to wear a blonde wig though, as I'm very dark-haired.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

I'd love to sing Paul:


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

If I could sing any role it would be Tristan (Assuming I was capable of course)


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## Lucrezia (Nov 21, 2013)

I would love to sing Violetta in La Traviata... as long as Rolando Villazon will be singing to me "Di quell'amor, quell'amor ch'è palpito. Dell'universo, Dell'universo intero, Misterioso, Misterioso altero, Croce, croce e delizia, Croce e delizia, delizia al cor." :angel:


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## gellio (Nov 7, 2013)

Wotan would be my #1 choice.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Any role that involves getting in bed with Anna Netrebko.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I said Desdemona above, but I'd also love to sing Klytaemnestra in ELEKTRA! If I were an opera singer, I'd definitely be a mezzo, as I've always had a low voice.


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## Posie (Aug 18, 2013)

bellini said:


> Tosca, maybe. I'd love to kill Scarpia.


Darn it! I wanted to say that. You snooze, you loose. :tiphat:


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## Autumn Leaves (Jan 3, 2014)

I think I would have sung Eboli in Don Carlos, had I chosen music instead of linguistics for my career… And I would have loved to sing Flosshilde and Third Lady in Das Rheingold and Die Zauberflöte respectively. I have the right voice, only practically no ear as it is…


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## Donata (Dec 28, 2013)

Staying within my gender, Tosca so I could say the line, "Muori dannato! Muori, Muori!" and for "Vissi d'arte" of course. Violetta, Norma, and Magda from La rondine so I could sing "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta." If I could sing really well, I'd sing it all the time, annoying my neighbors. Switching genders, Don Giovanni, because it’s such a great role and Scarpia.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

I'm surprised that no one mentioned _Powder Her Face_.


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## OldFashionedGirl (Jul 21, 2013)

I would love to play Tosca and Turandot.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I'd love to play Turandot because I'd get to be a bitch, wear gorgeous clothes, hopefully hit clarion B's and C's galore, and get seduced by Franco Corelli in the end ( although I'd take Pav if the money was good enough);-)


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Sampson of course. I'm into going to the gym.


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## PeachlovinBari (Dec 7, 2013)

Canio, King Philip, Hagen, Otello


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Siegmund or Lohengrin, both are winning combinations of Messiah complex and tragic failure, so they would suit me well.


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