# The Way You Listen To Opera



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I'm assuming most of you opera fanatics wouldn't think of listening to a work without libretto in hand. But how many of you just put on the CDs and enjoy the music and singing without reading the story?

I have to admit that I do the later quite a bit. And with a lot of the budget priced re-issues, the libretto isn't included. Several times I've purchased used copies of earlier editions that include the libretto. But recently I was debating whether to take advantage of a great price on a no frills box set, or spend more money on the deluxe editions. I'm considering the Britten Decca box, so at least I have the native tongue on my side. What to you think?


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## The nose (Jan 14, 2014)

Personally i like to see opera rather to simply listen at it, in that case i really appreciate subtitles, but if i "only" listen at it and concentrate on the music i make it without libretto.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I read the brief synopsis prior to listening to a given opera so that I have some idea of the over-all gist of the thing. My first hearings are generally played without looking at the libretto. I want to focus upon the music. Often this is true of a second hearing. Only after that will I listen while reading with the libretto... or preferably... if a good filmed version exists... I will watch that. From then on I tend to listen sans libretto or watch filmed versions.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I never listen with libretto in hand, but need to watch the opera on DVD with English subtitles enough to where I can listen on CD and have a good feel for where I am in the opera. The one exception is my copy of Flotow's Martha which does not have subtitles. I did read the libretto and so I know the story in general as I watch the DVD.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I usually listen a few times, in a 'backgroundy' way, without the libretto, just to get the feel of the work, and, then, once I feel prepped enough, I sit down with the libretto in hand and studiously follow along so that I can get a feeling for the storyline and its relationship to the music. Subsequent listens, I might refresh my recollection of the story with a glance at the synopsis before listening. I might go back to the libretto listen every couple of years, if the work is difficult to understand and I have not fully committed the story to memory (there's a lot more that happens than just what is brushed over in the synopsis).

I have found librettos online, when buying less expensive reissues, and, considering how rarely I do use one, it is possible to borrow an album from the library for the few nights I might need one.

While I recognize that opera should be seen, and it is an experience that one ought to indulge in at least once for each of the operas one has collected, I find that watching ties up too many of my senses and prevents me from going about my life. Were my experience and enjoyment of music tied to my visual sense, I would have very little time for music.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

I read through the synopsis and then do have the libretto in hand the first time I'm hearing an opera just to give myself a sense of the plot. After that, I'll listen without the libretto.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

starthrower said:


> I'm assuming most of you opera fanatics wouldn't think of listening to a work without libretto in hand. But how many of you just put on the CDs and enjoy the music and singing without reading the story?
> 
> I have to admit that I do the later quite a bit. And with a lot of the budget priced re-issues, the libretto isn't included. Several times I've purchased used copies of earlier editions that include the libretto. But recently I was debating whether to take advantage of a great price on a no frills box set, or spend more money on the deluxe editions. I'm considering the Britten Decca box, so at least I have the native tongue on my side. What to you think?


I often have the no frills/deluxe edition dilemma and have bought very poor quality used copies just to get the libretto.

When I get a new opera I usually read the synopsis then listen without the libretto on ear-phones during my daily walk to and from work. I don't always have time at home to sit and listen with libretto in hand but do so whenever I'm travelling by train or plane.

I'll watch a DVD once I know the opera well and really enjoy watching with subtitles of the language in which it's being sung.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> I read the brief synopsis prior to listening to a given opera so that I have some idea of the over-all gist of the thing. My first hearings are generally played without looking at the libretto. I want to focus upon the music. Often this is true of a second hearing. Only after that will I listen while reading with the libretto... or preferably... if a good filmed version exists... I will watch that. From then on I tend to listen sans libretto or watch filmed versions.


I used to do that. . . and then about a year ago, a TC member getting me into Divina changed all that.

Once I heard Callas' '52 _Armida_, '53 Florence and '58 Dallas _Medeas_, and her '55 Karajan_ Lucia_-- I scrupulously attended the libretto of any opera I was listening to.

I wanted to see and hear and understand for myself, just how much genius, insight, and artistry this woman brought to the table _vis-a-vis _any other singer out there.

Needless to say, I was stunned, overwhelmed, and long since afflicted with the Callas flu: other singers by way of comparison, beautiful though they may sound, are just leaden and earthbound in terms of expressivity, psychological insight, and drama.

The first operatic performance where I_ intensely followed every word of the libretto_ was the Callas '58 Covent Garden_ Traviata_--- and her attending to every conceivable chance to add color to every syllable of text just absolutely leveled me into incoherent, deeply-sighing, blubbering rubble. . .

So yeah, I always listen to opera with the libretto directly in front of me. I want to be enveloped in the maximum psychological impact of the artistry. In so doing, you can really weigh and assay a truly magnificent artist (like Callas) from merely a very accomplished singer with a gorgeous technique and timbre (most everyone else).


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Marschallin Blair said:


> I used to do that. . . and then about a year ago, a TC member getting me into Divina changed all that.
> 
> Once I heard Callas' '52 _Armida_, '53 Florence and '58 Dallas _Medeas_, and her '55 Karajan_ Lucia_-- I scrupulously attended the libretto of any opera I was listening to.
> 
> ...


To my mind it is of paramount importance to listen while following the libretto (unless of course you know it very well). From when I first got into opera, I would always listen, at least the first time round, with libretto in hand. Opera is not just music and vocalise, it is music _drama_, and how on earth can you be giving it its due worth if you haven't a clue what's going on?


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

I read the libretto at first. Then I just listen, occasionally checking back.
But I've been listening for years. I know the story.
The less you do, the more you can concentrate on the music.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> To my mind it is of paramount importance to listen while following the libretto (unless of course you know it very well). From when I first got into opera, I would always listen, at least the first time round, with libretto in hand. Opera is not just music and vocalise, it is music _drama_, and how on earth can you be giving it its due worth if you haven't a clue what's going on?


Its not enough to hear just beautiful singing-- but rather 'beautifully-expressed' singing, dramatically conveyed.

-- Thanks for ruining so much for so many in so few recordings, Divina.

I will never look at singing the same way again.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

I've loved Callas for many years.
But sometimes I like to just listen to a beautiful voice.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Itullian said:


> I've loved Callas for many years.
> But sometimes I like to just listen to a beautiful voice.


There's lots of goddesses in the Pantheon. _;D_


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

starthrower said:


> I'm assuming most of you opera fanatics wouldn't think of listening to a work without libretto in hand.


But I do. It's how I started enjoying opera, and I still love to only listen. I also enjoy concert opera performances.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

it varies, but in general:
- as Brotagonist (post #5 para 1)

but I also agree with Marschallin and Greg as to the importance of connecting the drama to the music. Unfortunately, 'beautiful singing' on its own sometimes doesn't deliver sufficient satisfaction


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Never, ever, ever do I sit and listen to operas with a libretto at hand. No more than I would take a script to a movie theater and sit there following it. Why would I want to? I know them by heart now and it would only become an exercise on a conscious level rather than through depth of feeling.
I prefer to be touched by a work rather than simply follow logically like reading a book. It takes all the emotion out of it for me.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Never, ever, ever do I sit and listen to operas with a libretto at hand. No more than I would take a script to a movie theater and sit there following it. Why would I want to? I know them by heart now and it would only become an exercise on a conscious level rather than through depth of feeling.
> I prefer to be touched by a work rather than simply follow logically like reading a book. It takes all the emotion out of it for me.


Well, cheers to your polygloticity and to your photographic memory in remembering and understanding every word that is sung-- in arias, duets, trios, quartets, and quintets; and when they are additionally mixed with choruses and multiple people singing simultaneously.

I need the blonde-crutch of the libretto, myself. _;D_


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Well, cheers to your polygloticity and to your photographic memory in remembering and understanding every word that is sung-- in arias, duets, trios, quartets, and quintets; and when they are additionally mixed with choruses and multiple people singing simultaneously.
> 
> I need the blonde-crutch of the libretto, myself. _;D_


Not sure why you're using a sarcastic bent in your post but to answer you as sincerely as I can, that's the whole point! I don't WANT to be reading, remembering, and understanding every word that is sung. Quite the opposite.
I want the operas to wash over me without any outside influences. 
To each his/her own, don't you think?


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Not sure why you're using a sarcastic bent in your post but to answer you as sincerely as I can, that's the whole point! I don't WANT to be reading, remembering, and understanding every word that is sung. Quite the opposite.
> I want the operas to wash over me without any outside influences.
> To each his/her own, don't you think?


But isn't it doing both the librettist and the composer a disservice if you just let the music wash over you? Strauss went to great pains to make sure most of the libretto in *Der Rosenkavalier* is heard, ditto Debussy in *Pelleas et Melisande*.

Admittedly, once I know a work well, I might not always listen to the opera libretto in hand, but sometimes I will go back to it and it is always to get increased pleasure from hearing something I may not have noticed before. I don't see that following a libretto is some outside influence, It is intrinsic to the music.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Not sure why you're using a sarcastic bent in your post but to answer you as sincerely as I can, that's the whole point! I don't WANT to be reading, remembering, and understanding every word that is sung. Quite the opposite.
> I want the operas to wash over me without any outside influences.
> To each his/her own, don't you think?


Nina, my sarcastic button was (mostly) turned off on that response. I was serious about how much the libretto helps me.

I get an order-of-magnitude more understanding by following the libretto. . .

To each her/his own, _certainly._ But I only think one is short-changing_ oneself _by not following along with the libretto.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

I certainly don't read the libretto when I'm attending a performance of an opera -- though there is probably a reason most houses of any size now have some form of supertitle translations available -- but I will definitely make use of it when listening for the first couple of times to a recording of an opera with which I'm unfamiliar. I'm afraid I also don't view the libretto as an "outside influence," but as much of a part of the opera as the music. That's especially true in the case of composers like Wagner who also wrote their own libretti.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

nina foresti said:


> Never, ever, ever do I sit and listen to operas with a libretto at hand. No more than I would take a script to a movie theater and sit there following it. Why would I want to? I know them by heart now and it would only become an exercise on a conscious level rather than through depth of feeling.
> I prefer to be touched by a work rather than simply follow logically like reading a book. It takes all the emotion out of it for me.


I'm really envious that you know them by heart. There are lots of even standard rep operas which I still don't know and it will take me years to become as knowledgeable as you.

I don't seem to be able to organise my leisure time very well and getting to know a new opera on earphones is a compromise. One of the great 'joys' of travelling is all the hanging about because this enforced leisure time gives me the opportunity to sit and listen with libretto in hand. Even when I know an opera well, I thoroughly enjoy this experience and get so engrossed. sometimes I've nearly missed my flight.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Sospiro:
You said: "I'm really envious that you know them by heart. There are lots of even standard rep operas which I still don't know and it will take me years to become as knowledgeable as you."

My goodness! I certainly seem to have very innocently stirred up a hornet's nest.
I simply meant that I know the synopses of the operas I enjoy listening to by heart after all these years. Where does that show you that I am so "knowledgeable" about the art of opera?
Why is it bothering you and others that I prefer not holding something in my hands when I listen to an opera to really enjoy it to the fullest? 
And Mr. Mitchell, I am sorry if you feel the librettist and the composer would think less of me for not wanting to follow the score and libretto as I enjoy my operas but it certainly won't impede my mode of pleasure.

I am not exactly sure where I have gone wrong in my statement of preferences here but it surely looks like from the quality of the posts so far that I am not respected for enjoying opera my way at all.
Sorry if I have offended any of you with my preferences but I do stand by them anyway.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

By all means, enjoy listening to opera in any manner you choose. The same is true for the rest of us. But please take a look at your original post again.

"Never, ever, ever do I sit and listen to operas with a libretto at hand. No more than I would take a script to a movie theater and sit there following it. Why would I want to?"

Perhaps you didn't intend it to come across this way, but I think the reason some of us were bothered by it was what appeared to be the implication that there is somehow something "wrong" with wanting to follow along in the libretto while listening to an opera. Of course, there is absolutely nothing "wrong" with the way in which you prefer to listen, but neither is there anything "wrong" with those who have other preferences.


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## wagner4evr (Jul 10, 2010)

For me it depends on what stage of learning I'm in with the opera. With initial listens, the libretto is a major distraction. I'm a terrible multitasker but can access and memorize music very quickly. Once I know the music to my satisfaction, then I can add the libretto to gain a better understanding of how the themes/motifs are being used to match what's happening dramatically and lyrically. That's where the real payoff begins


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

I read the libretto first if I have the opportunity or try to find out as much as I can about the opera.
The reason I listen to an opera instead of seeing it is because I want to do something else at the same time for example reading posts on talkclassical.com.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

MAuer said:


> By all means, enjoy listening to opera in any manner you choose. The same is true for the rest of us. But please take a look at your original post again.
> 
> "Never, ever, ever do I sit and listen to operas with a libretto at hand. No more than I would take a script to a movie theater and sit there following it. Why would I want to?"
> 
> Perhaps you didn't intend it to come across this way, but I think the reason some of us were bothered by it was what appeared to be the implication that there is somehow something "wrong" with wanting to follow along in the libretto while listening to an opera. Of course, there is absolutely nothing "wrong" with the way in which you prefer to listen, but neither is there anything "wrong" with those who have other preferences.


Mauer: You make a very good point. I keep forgetting that I am not face to face with someone and also that I am not familiar with any posters here on a personal level like in some other opera forums I frequent where they know me and would not have taken my "never evers" as a brash statement.
So I need to first apologize for what seemed like a pompous statement and second, I must learn to watch how I phrase things in the future with persons I do not know, especially when they cannot see my facial expressions that go along with the statement.
Thanks for the tip.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I won't get to know an opera without knowledge of the libretto. I can't fully appreciate something sung in a foreign language without following a text with translation, or evaluate a performance by a singer unless I know what she's doing with the words. But with operas I know well, I can often do without the book. Missing a word or a line here and there isn't critical. I have dishes to wash and bills to pay.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Mauer: You make a very good point.


Well done! Its easy on a blog to inadvertently wind up others but it is very rare that someone admits to it. I very much admire this reply :tiphat:


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Whilst I have some digitised opera for travelling (a 'complete Wagner') most of my listening is in my home-office from LP sets. The 'booklets' (24in x 12in, opened) often entice me to read the articles, look at the pictures and libretto. For the language learner, there's also the benefit of trilingual texts, even if the words may be archaic, poetic or loosely translated.


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## Speranza (Nov 22, 2014)

My opera experience has always been via the TV until going on this forum I didn't know CD's came with a libretto, I thought the CDs were for people who were more into the music and didn't mind about the story so much or really really knowledgeable people. I always watch my operas on TV with subtitles, it would drive me nuts not knowing what everyone was singing. When I do listen to opera on the radio its more of a in the background while doing something else on the computer sort of thing.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Itullian said:


> I've loved Callas for many years.
> But sometimes I like to just listen to a beautiful voice.


Gasp! You go slumming 

The thing about a beautiful voice without much else, well it can cut both ways, like the duplicity inherent within the Chinese saying, "Money is money."

I find Dawn Upshaw far too often 'just sings nicely with her pretty voice.' I.e. from one role, lied, etc. to another, it sounds to me like she is paying attention to the notes, the phrasing, the line, while rendering 0 percent of the coloring which brings the text to life or into the music at all.

Her recorded performance of Barber's _Knoville, Summer of 1915,_ is for me as flat as Kansas... a masterpiece which should be sung very differently and with other intent than for 'just a lovely line.'

"Just a lovely voice."


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

I'm music first; whatever the work is, the text comes last.

But for me the music and the quality of the acting-singing conveys a lot, non-specific though that really is it is quite enough, and that approach, no more than several listens in... if the sound and dramatic intent has come through enough (for me) that then impels me to know more specifically 'what is going on,' in detail... time for the text of that song, cantata, oratorio, the libretto of that opera (ditto story ballet libretti.)

So far, I don't recall any disappointments coming from this music first approach, i.e. if the sans libretto approach drew me in that far, I've usually found the text very fitting to what I've already heard, and that adds the other layer.

Being so music first, if that does not tell me enough, draw me in, the libretto could be one of the best and most engaging of dramas, but it will not improve what I found lacking in the music.


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## Levanda (Feb 3, 2014)

Most of I got from library DVDs, I do like to listening on BBC radio 3 operas is good choice nothing to complain about BBC radio 3


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

I usually read the synopsis before the performance. Sometimes I listen to a CD later.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Unless it's a world premiere (for instance, next month I will attend one: _El Público_, by Mauricio Sotelo, based on Lorca) I always prefer to get as much information as possible, preferably the libretto, before attending the performance, watching the tv/dvd or listening to radio/cd/bootleg.

Of course, many operas are very familiar by now, and I don't need any additional tool, just listening/watching them.

For me, it's also music first. But in order to fully experience the music, I always need to understand the drama, so I can focus my attention better.


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## DonAlfonso (Oct 4, 2014)

If the opera is in a language I speak I don't need a libretto. When the operas were first performed the audiences were not given librettos - the assumption was they understood the words being sung.
My French is good enough to understand Carmen and other French operas and why would I need a libretto to listen to Midsummer Night's Dream? My Italian is not so good (and German, Russian etc non-existent) so I use librettos for those until I'm very familiar with them.
I sometimes hear arias or excerpts from operas on the radio or in recitals that interest me by the sound alone but I can't imagine listening to or attending the full opera without having read the libretto first to know what's going on.


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## Donata (Dec 28, 2013)

Usually when I'm watching an opera I get off YouTube, I try to find a copy of the libretto. Especially if it's one I'm not familiar with. Often the videos don't include subtitles or have subtitles in another language. A copy is nice if I’m just listening, but I like to just listen to the music most of the time.


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

I usually read the whole synopsis plus a chunk of the libretto before listening, say one whole act or a cd's worth if there's no convenient entr'acte - and then I have an 'intermission' while I read the next chunk. I'm initially more concerned with getting the general gist of the plot in advance rather than hanging on every word while trying to listen to the music. It works for me, anyway.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Donata said:


> Usually when I'm watching an opera I get off YouTube, I try to find a copy of the libretto. Especially if it's one I'm not familiar with. Often the videos don't include subtitles or have subtitles in another language. A copy is nice if I'm just listening, but I like to just listen to the music most of the time.


Sometimes I go online to read the libretto through google translate.


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## AC Douglas (Jan 29, 2015)

Hello, everyone. My first post on this forum (i.e., Talk Classical).

Given that all opera - from the most profound Wagner music-drama to the silliest, most singer-centric bel canto soap opera - is first and foremost _dramma per musica_, it's essential one know what's going on dramatically before one can assess fully what one is hearing. One may begin with nothing more than a simple scene-by-scene synopsis of the work _before_ listening just to give one one's bearings but one cannot truly understand what one is hearing absent a knowledge of what's being said (sung) by the opera's principals (and chorus if there's one) and for that nothing short of the full libretto will do which I always study _before_ sitting down to listen, either scene-by-scene or act-by-act. With certain operas it's necessary only to understand the gist of what's being said (sung), but with others it's essential one understands all that's being said (sung) word-for-word and so I carry out my before-listening study of the libretto accordingly.

I could say more, of course, but the above is sufficient I think for my debut post here.

--
ACD
http://www.soundsandfury.com/


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

AC Douglas said:


> Hello, everyone. My first post on this forum (i.e., Talk Classical).
> 
> Given that all opera - from the most profound Wagner music-drama to the silliest, most singer-centric bel canto soap opera - is first and foremost _dramma per musica_, it's essential one know what's going on dramatically before one can assess fully what one is hearing. One may begin with nothing more than a simple scene-by-scene synopsis of the work _before_ listening just to give one one's bearings but one cannot truly understand what one is hearing absent a knowledge of what's being said (sung) by the opera's principals (and chorus if there's one) and for that nothing short of the full libretto will do which I always study _before_ sitting down to listen, either scene-by-scene or act-by-act. With certain operas it's necessary only to understand the gist of what's being said (sung), but with others it's essential one understands all that's being said (sung) word-for-word and so I carry out my before-listening study of the libretto accordingly.
> 
> ...


Hello AC, welcome to the forum! You will find plenty more fans of Wagner's operas here. For me personally, opera is all about the singer, but I agree with you about the importance of reading the libretto. One misses so much nuance otherwise, and focusing on the words is very good for my French and will help me learn Italian when the time comes. Sung words are so much more memorable than spoken ones IMO.


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

I never use the libretto to listen to an opera. Actually I have a lot of operas and just a few librettos. I prefer to watch it first on DVD, several times, and only after that, I may transfer it on my iPhone and listen to it through headphones. The big problem for me is when I don't have a DVD, but I have the CD. Sometimes I read a synopsis online, mostly Wikipedia, to get the story behind the music. Then if the opera is in Italian, I try to understand the words. Sometimes it's easy, but I can never say I understand all the sung words. I also understand Zarzuelas...but I have a problem with my limited knowledge of German...I can only understand bits and pieces, mostly after a lot of listening. The easier for me is Die Zauberflöte, as I think I watched/listened hundreds of times.


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## karenpat (Jan 16, 2009)

Listening to opera while reading the libretto (or at least a translation of it) makes the listening experience more intense but also more laborious, I find. I tend to do that the first time I listen to a new recording, if the libretto is available, but after that I can listen just to appreciate the music. I don't even have to listen from beginning to end, just start on any random track.
The aspect of "just appreciating the music" is even more important to me though when it comes to watching opera - either live or on DVD or online. I used to buy a lot of DVDs just to be able to get the subtitles but after youtube allowed longer video uploads I mostly watch operas there - and having subtitles is no longer that important. I can understand a little Italian, some German and some French words here and there and coupled with reading the synopsis on Wikipedia I'm able to just sit back and enjoy the music, singing and production.


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## SilenceIsGolden (May 5, 2013)

With a libretto in hand, following along line by line. Always. The dramatic element is not only being "set" to music, it is often a fundamental reference point for the music and drives it's form and structure. And on a smaller scale, individual passages and notes are often there to give a color or weight to the particular words being sung, or add a nuance to them, or depict an emotional state of mind, or whatever. So I've always very much seen the music and drama as intrinsically linked in a singular art form, not as two separate things. That's not to say I can't often appreciate it's values on a purely musical level in small doses or excerpts, but I don't have the ability to enjoy hours upon hours of it without some sort of guide.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I would like the experience of seeing an opera live....I haven't gotten there yet, though I do intend to. Tosca is playing two hours' away from me and I think it would be a great first live opera, and with the reasonable length and political plot it would be one perhaps that my husband would find of interest.

However, until that happens give me audio-opera over visual opera. One could say I shortchange myself and perhaps I won't argue that but one could also say that to devote time to the television would be shortchanging myself in other ways: decreasing my time devoted to my piano practice, exercise, and sleep. All of which are extremely important to me.

I have blocks of time available for listening that I don't for watching: half an hour commute each way to and from work, lunch hour. I always will check out the synopsis. Works I really love, I do get to know the libretto. Works that don't, well WORK as music only, I give it a chance by learning the libretto as well. Works in the middle I usually just listen to. Even when I do have "libretto in hand" while listening, I quite honestly have difficulty keeping up my place and have trouble sorting out "where the heck am I?"


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## graziesignore (Mar 13, 2015)

Coming in late on this thread...

I don't live anywhere near a big city with an opera company, and I'm not really free to travel (caregiver stuff) so I have never seen a live opera. (With my luck, if I went to the Met to see someone, they'd cancel the night I was going. This sort of luck follows me around like a wet, black cloud). So it's Youtube, DVD and radio for me.

I'm pretty comfortable with listening to stuff and not, at first, knowing exactly what's happening. If the music interests me, I'll seek out the libretto translation (yay Google - can't imagine what people did in the old days) but honestly, I've watched so much Italian and French opera at this point... I took French in school but not Italian, yet, I've basically picked up rudimentary Italian watching opera. I could have a conversation about fathers and daughters and love and death with any actual Italian person now, I'm pretty sure. (Just like, after six months of a Bollywood kick, I could converse fluently about bangles, happiness and being crazy)

Anyhow, something that's really enriched my opera listening experience has been falling in love with under-recorded voices. I don't see a lot of talk on this forum about amateur recordings, but for some singers they're the only way you can hear them in various roles. Tracking down these elusive (and often crappy) recordings is such FUN! There's a lot of it on Youtube now, of course, which makes the hunt a little easier. I've learned so much about opera history and culture this way. Love stumbling across mystery voices on old recordings and trying to figure out who they are, too. (Honestly I sometimes don't have any time to listen to those fancy things you call "CD"s... Just kidding, I do, but not lately.)


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## undifelice (Mar 11, 2015)

It's so interesting to see everyone's own way of experiencing opera! 

Of course, nothing beats live opera, but tis the curse of being the student.

I generally like to watch a live recording of the opera, and will read the synopsis before hand.

As for listening to a recording, nothing brightens my day more than devoting 2 or more round train trips to a new or oldie but goodie opera. Yes, my train trips are looong.

If I'm feeling particularly indulgent, I'll turn off the lights, lay in bed and just let the sound wash over me; I would never dream of listening to _Parsifal_ or _Pelleas et Melisande_ on a train. *Too much noise*


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

I like a libretto in hand. Not so much with the warhorses as I'm familiar with them. 
The shelf at the back is full of librettos etc.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

Couac Addict said:


> I like a libretto in hand. Not so much with the warhorses as I'm familiar with them.
> The shelf at the back is full of librettos etc.
> 
> View attachment 67049


Those speakers reminded me of something


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Couac Addict said:


> I like a libretto in hand. Not so much with the warhorses as I'm familiar with them.
> The shelf at the back is full of librettos etc.
> 
> View attachment 67049


That is such a cool crash!


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

I feel like a philistine on this site.

Mostly I buy CD's of the Operas and listen before and after going to see a live performance. 

I am envous of those who can put Opera on at home at a 'reasonable' volume. The dynamic range of most means that when you set the volume control so that you can hear all the quiet bits, the fortissimo passages annoy the mother and daughter Soprano's I share the house with. Resulting in multo shrieking and caterwauling. 

I can't sit still to watch DVD performances and for the same reason headphones indoors are a no no for me.

I listen in the car. Whilst driving. I do not read libretto's at the same time. 

Oh and I love to mix it up on Youtube, McGariggle, Armstrong, Callas...now that's a good night in.



..and with headphones on....hitting balls down the range.


(Now I've admitted it I feel better.)


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

sospiro said:


> That is such a cool crash!


The trick is finding room for other stuff...like furniture etc haha.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

Belowpar said:


> I feel like a philistine on this site.
> 
> Mostly I buy CD's of the Operas and listen before and after going to see a live performance.
> 
> ...


As I'm in confessional mode at least 1/3 of my CD's are selected highlights! IF I really, really like a piece I will then follow up with a full set featuring different artists. I'm guessing I have only a dozen or so of these duplicates on CD and when I changed from LP and cassette it was pretty much always to a new version.

Mostly though I like listening in a theatre. Lucky to live in London, means that I've averaged about 9 visits a year for over 30 years. Long may it continue.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Belowpar said:


> Mostly though I like listening in a theatre.


...still the best hi-fi in the world.


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## KRoad (Jun 1, 2012)

I first read the Synopsis Act by Act/Scene by Scene in conjunction with the relevant part of the Libretto before even attempting to listen. I may even do this twice or three times for a convaluted Baroque or Classic Libretto full of characters in disguise.

Time consuming - but definately worth the effort.


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