# How to get into opera



## tenoredigrazia (Feb 3, 2013)

Hey everybody,

I'm a singer who wants to get into opera. I've been to some performances, and I already have a lot of favorite arias and excerpts, but I'm trying to get familiar with whole works. I've taken it upon myself to listen to a new opera every day to get comfortable with the art form. Here's a list of what I've heard so far, with the conductors of the recordings:

Bellini - I puritani (Muti)
Cavalli - La Calisto (Leppard)
Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor (Bonynge)
de Falla - La vida breve (Lopez-Corbus)
Joplin - Treemonisha (Schuller)
Leoncavallo - Pagliacci (Ghione)
Mozart - Don Giovanni (Maazel)
Offenbach - Les contes d'Hoffmann (Cluytens)
Puccini - Madama Butterfly (Leinsdorf Tosca (de Sabata) 
Rossini - Il barbiere di Siviglia (Chailly)
Strauss - Elektra (Solti)
Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin (Levine)
Verdi - Don Carlo (Giulini La traviata (Bonynge Rigoletto (Bonynge)
Wagner - Tannhäuser (Solti Die Walkürie (Levine)

You can see that I try to be eclectic, and I've done my best to listen closely -- I always read along with the libretto while I listen -- but I almost always walk away unable to remember very much of the music. Mind you, I've only heard each of these one time. I just wish something would click, or a switch would flip. Am I a lost cause, or does anyone have tips that could help me get inside this art form and really understand it?

All my gratitude for any and all comments!


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## expat (Mar 17, 2013)

pick one opera and listen to the complete opera once. Ten listen to one act over and over until you get a sense of the structure and then move over to the next act.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

like expat said, don't try to do everything at once. Did you like any of the above operas more than the rest? Explore that one first. Also, try different recordings, it can make a world of difference *and* you can compare them which might bring out interesting structural and interpretative points you didn't notice at first.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

There are two keys that help:

1. Start listening to art songs (Lieder, chansons) to get used to 'operatic' singing. They typically use texts by famous poets, so you can select songs by poets you like and themes that interest you.

2. Read about the stories/plots of the operas and pick some that are interesting to you: for example, cheesy romances are not going to hold my interest, while heroic, adventurous and mythical tales more than likely would catch my interest, but, as I rarely watch a movie or read a novel more than once, I don't think I'd be interested in hearing the story more than once (in a blue moon) either, even if sung.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Like some of the others have said, listen to one opera until you to get to know it.

Very often I don't like an opera when I first hear it but as it becomes familiar, I grow to love it more and more.

And as *brotagonist* suggests, read up on the history as well.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

How about actually watching it staged. That's what it was designed for! Reading Shakespeare doesn't make much impression on me - but seeing it on stage in a good production is a whole different story. Same with opera.

Plenty of complete operas on YouTube.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

A DVD with good staging and English subtitles is the best way to get into an opera. I recommend the Abbado conducted La Cenerentola (Rossini) on DVD as a very excellent production and a very fun story.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I would recommend listening to each opera several times rather than listening to a different one every day . 
Many operas , such as those by Wagner, Richard Strauss,Berg and others are just too complex to assimilate
at one hearing . This was always true for me, at least .


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## Divasin (Aug 8, 2014)

mamascarlatti said:


> How about actually watching it staged. That's what it was designed for! Reading Shakespeare doesn't make much impression on me - but seeing it on stage in a good production is a whole different story. Same with opera.
> 
> Plenty of complete operas on YouTube.


Excellent advice...opera is not just an intellectual exercise...it's an emotional journey...so sample lots of things on youtube and then after you find something that really grabs you...buy,rent or go to see a good production live or as an HD broadcast.


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