# First toe-step into opera recommendations



## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

In an attempt at personal growth, and overcoming a lifelong aversion to opera, I am looking for advice on what might be my best entry point for a DVD version. 

Parsifal was recommended by someone so is there a best performance recommendation? 

All other ideas are most welcome! :tiphat:


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Find a DVD of Garanca/Alagna doing a hotter than hot "Carmen".
You'll be hooked.


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

nina foresti said:


> Find a DVD of Garanca/Alagna doing a hotter than hot "Carmen".
> You'll be hooked.


OK. Will do! Thanks.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

This would do quite well to step into opera. And it is available used for a nice low price on Amazon ($2.75 plus shipping).


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## gellio (Nov 7, 2013)

JJF said:


> In an attempt at personal growth, and overcoming a lifelong aversion to opera, I am looking for advice on what might be my best entry point for a DVD version.
> 
> Parsifal was recommended by someone so is there a best performance recommendation?
> 
> All other ideas are most welcome! :tiphat:


Parsifal? Gosh, if you start with that one you may never listen to opera again. I love Wagner, but Parsifal? It is exceptionally beautiful, but is very long and slow.

I'd stick with Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Rossini. Carmen, of course, is a great recommendation, too.


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## Faustian (Feb 8, 2015)

Honestly, as much as I would love to help because opera is one of my greatest passions, I find it to be an incredibly difficult proposition to offer general recommendations in a genre as wide and varied as opera. I think it was mountmccabe who made the point in another thread recently, but is worth repeating, that when you're dealing with an art form that is centuries old and contains works that are stylistically and aesthetically worlds apart, and basically fall under the umbrella term "opera" simply to make things more convenient, one can find much to love while ignoring huge swaths of it.

There are operas that are essentially a string of self-contained musical numbers, each embodying a particular mood or emotion, loosely connected with one another by recitative or spoken dialogue, and there are operas that are massive and symphonic tapestries mixing orchestra and voice. There are operas whose main attribute is the beauty of the melodies, the shape and flow of the music, and operas that are visceral and dramatic. There are operas that are act out ancient mythology, there are fantasies, there are tragedies, there comedies full of sight gags and mistaken identities, there are operas full of romance and intrigue, there are operas intended to shock or thrill, and everything in between.

Therefore when recommending opera, I believe people usually take two courses: they recommend their own personal favorites, or they recommend works that are generally accepted as "accessible": melodic, full of catchy tunes, straightforward dramatic conceptions that are exciting and entertaining. That works for many, and I'm sure you'll get lots of recommendations of Carmens and Rigolettos and Toscas. Though I actually came to opera through Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov of all works, and then through Wagner. Others access it through works like Berg's Wozzeck or Strauss' Elektra.

Parsifal is a wonderful opera, and one of my favorites, based on the legends of the holy grail, and filled with slowly unfolding, otherworldly music. There is not a lot of _exterior_ action however, as the drama mostly deals with the inner workings of the characters and their personal striving for a purpose and meaning. If that sounds like the kind of opera that might interest you, I'm sure there are other members who are much better qualified to recommend DVDS because I usually do not find operas in video format to be very stimulating, and much prefer listening to cds where I feel my imagination is liberated.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

As you are a film fan, might I recommend Ingmar Bergman's glorious "The Magic Flute."


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

JJF said:


> In an attempt at personal growth, and overcoming a lifelong aversion to opera, I am looking for advice on what might be my best entry point for a DVD version.
> Parsifal was recommended by someone so is there a best performance recommendation?
> All other ideas are most welcome! :tiphat:


There's a huge amount of opera on YouTube, complete ones and excerpts. Not sure why you'd need a DVD at this stage.

For me opera is about great scenes with great tunes and great singing. When these things come together it's a wonderful feeling and that's why opera has such enduring appeal.

Start with Puccini.


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

Florestan said:


> This would do quite well to step into opera. And it is available used for a nice low price on Amazon ($2.75 plus shipping).


Very good. Thank you!


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

Don Fatale said:


> There's a huge amount of opera on YouTube, complete ones and excerpts. Not sure why you'd need a DVD at this stage.
> 
> For me opera is about great scenes with great tunes and great singing. When these things come together it's a wonderful feeling and that's why opera has such enduring appeal.
> 
> Start with Puccini.


I am in a remote location that is reliant on satellite internet, for which there is a monthly cap on data downloads. Plus the speed of the service can limit enjoyment of youtube videos.


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

Faustian said:


> Honestly, as much as I would love to help because opera is one of my greatest passions, I find it to be an incredibly difficult proposition to offer general recommendations in a genre as wide and varied as opera. I think it was mountmccabe who made the point in another thread recently, but is worth repeating, that when you're dealing with an art form that is centuries old and contains works that are stylistically and aesthetically worlds apart, and basically fall under the umbrella term "opera" simply to make things more convenient, one can find much to love while ignoring huge swaths of it.
> 
> There are operas that are essentially a string of self-contained musical numbers, each embodying a particular mood or emotion, loosely connected with one another by recitative or spoken dialogue, and there are operas that are massive and symphonic tapestries mixing orchestra and voice. There are operas whose main attribute is the beauty of the melodies, the shape and flow of the music, and operas that are visceral and dramatic. There are operas that are act out ancient mythology, there are fantasies, there are tragedies, there comedies full of sight gags and mistaken identities, there are operas full of romance and intrigue, there are operas intended to shock or thrill, and everything in between.
> 
> ...


I think the appeal for me is with those that are tugging on the string of ancient mythologies. And thus the reason Wagner was recommended, even with their being hard to approach.


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## Faustian (Feb 8, 2015)

JJF said:


> I think the appeal for me is with those that are tugging on the string of ancient mythologies. And thus the reason Wagner was recommended, even with their being hard to approach.


Well don't let others scare you off! Like I said, I happened to take Wagner immediately and was my main entry point into opera. However, if you explore his works and don't find them to be your cup of tea, either musically or dramatically, don't be discouraged. You could also explore earlier operas based on Greek drama and mythology that are going to offer you vastly different experiences...Monteverdi's Orfeo based on the tale of Orpheus in the underworld, Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride based on a play by Euripides, or Berlioz's Les Troyens inspired by Virgil's epic all come immediately to mind.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

JJF said:


> In an attempt at personal growth, and overcoming a lifelong aversion to opera, I am looking for advice on what might be my best entry point for a DVD version.
> 
> Parsifal was recommended by someone so is there a best performance recommendation?
> 
> All other ideas are most welcome! :tiphat:


It might be helpful to know a little bit about your musical preferences generally. Not that the suggestions people have made are bad, but if for instance you spend all your time listening to Penderecki, the opera you might like would be different than if you spend all your time listening to Haydn.


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

howlingfantods said:


> It might be helpful to know a little bit about your musical preferences generally. Not that the suggestions people have made are bad, but if for instance you spend all your time listening to Penderecki, the opera you might like would be different than if you spend all your time listening to Haydn.


Bach, Vivaldi, film scores are my go-to's of the moment.


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

Faustian said:


> Well don't let others scare you off! Like I said, I happened to take Wagner immediately and was my main entry point into opera. However, if you explore his works and don't find them to be your cup of tea, either musically or dramatically, don't be discouraged. You could also explore earlier operas based on Greek drama and mythology that are going to offer you vastly different experiences...Monteverdi's Orfeo based on the tale of Orpheus in the underworld, Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride based on a play by Euripides, or Berlioz's Les Troyens inspired by Virgil's epic all come immediately to mind.


Thank you! More to explore!


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

First of all, why do you have a "lifetime aversion" to opera? Do you like romance, murder, suicide? Do you like choruses? 
What other music do you listen to?


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Try this one, you will be hooked forever.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Faustian suggested Gluck and Berlioz. I'd second both of these suggestions.

Gluck's _Iphigénie_ is sober and restrained, but beautiful and dramatically effective. It has a famous scene where the Furies haunt Orestes; he says that calm enters his soul, but the music is anguished and intense - it belies his words. When this was rehearsed, the orchestra thought the pages had got mixed up, and stopped playing. "He's lying," Gluck explained; "he killed his mother." Here are some highlights from _Iphigénie_: 




_Les Troyens_ is, like all Berlioz's operas, wonderful. It's mid-19th century French grand opera (an epic historical work, with massive choruses and ensembles), but also influenced by Gluck, whom Berlioz saw as his musical father. It's an adaptation of the _Æneid_, and its theme is the conflict between fate/destiny (the historical process) and individuals. Many great pieces - the entrance of the Wooden Horse into Troy, the octet after the serpents have killed Laocoön and his sons (



), Dido and Æneas's love duet (



), an orchestral Royal Hunt and Storm (



) - and the orchestration is imaginative.

Since you're a Vivaldi fan, you might like to try one of his operas; _L'Olimpiade_, for instance: 




Other good operas based on Greek mythology: Sacchini's _Œdipe à Colone_, Salieri's _Danaïdes_, Cherubini's _Medea_ - all late 18th / early 19th century - and, from the 20th century, Fauré's _Pénélope_, Milhaud's _Oresteia_, Stravinsky's _Œdipus Rex_, and Enescu's _Œdipe_.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Oh - and, of course, Richard Strauss. Glorious music, lushly Late Romantic, often showcasing the soprano voice - a sort of cross between Wagnerian orchestration, bel canto vocal lines, and Mozartean melody. Strauss wrote five operas based on Greek mythology:

*Elektra*. Based on Sophocles. Intense, psychologically oriented. The score is famously loud and complex, but it's theatrically effective. Here's Elektra's aria lamenting her father's death, and longing for revenge: 



. A film of the opera is on YouTube, with English subtitles: 




*Ariadne auf Naxos*. A play within a play; to entertain a rich man, a serious opera (_Ariadne_) and a comedy are performed simultaneously. Ariadne's great aria "Es gibt ein Reich": 



. Zerbinetta's: 




*Die ägyptische Helena.* Based on Euripides' _Helen_. Not his best work, largely because the libretto got out of hand in the second half, but it has some lovely passages. Here's a suite: 




*Daphne*. A pastoral opera; ends with a beautiful scene for the soprano as she's turned into a laurel tree: 




*Die Liebe der Danaë*. A "cheerful mythology", in the tradition of Offenbach (see below) - Zeus's pursuit of Danae. Not as popular as it should be. Here's some orchestral music - warm and serene, as Strauss is at his best: 




Two more composers...

Offenbach's _Orphée aux enfers_ and _La belle Hélene_. French operettas spoofing Greek mythology (Orpheus; Helen of Troy). Witty and tuneful.

Rossini's _Ermione_, based on Racine's _Andromaque_ (itself reworking Euripides' _Hermione_), is one of his best - uses the voice to depict psychological and emotional states. Here's the ending: 



. That might introduce Italian bel canto, and from there, you could see if you were interested in Donizetti, Bellini and Verdi.

Lots of recommendations, but that should give you a few entries into different styles of opera!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

A bit of verismo wouldn't hurt either, stunning production from the R.O.H


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

SimonTemplar said:


> Oh - and, of course, Richard Strauss. Glorious music, lushly Late Romantic, often showcasing the soprano voice - a sort of cross between Wagnerian orchestration, bel canto vocal lines, and Mozartean melody. Strauss wrote five operas based on Greek mythology:
> 
> *Elektra*. Based on Sophocles. Intense, psychologically oriented. The score is famously loud and complex, but it's theatrically effective. Here's Elektra's aria lamenting her father's death, and longing for revenge:
> 
> ...


Wonderful. Now I've got my homework set out! Many thanks to all the brilliant minds who added their thoughts and opinions.


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

The first opera I liked to any degree was Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte. I saw the filmed version with Ivan Fischer and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. It has the bonus of being pretty funny.

If you find you like Mozart opera or Mozart music in general, you might also try La Clemenza di Tito (Colin Davis and Covent Garden version).

The first opera to knock my socks off was Rossini's William Tell (Lamberto Gardelli, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra). Yes, it's very long, but you will know quickly whether or not it is for you. My jaw was on the floor throughout its length.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

​
A must see for opera lovers.


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## AJF (Jul 17, 2017)

Tosca. I heard once that my local opera house does not really need to advertise Tosca performances. It sells as soon as people hear the name. La Traviata, The Magic Flute. Those are the three that have been big hits with new opera-goers of my acquaintance. Youtube should have plenty of versions on offer.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

We will have a production of Tosca in my home town next year and I can't find anyone who wants to go see it with me. Everybody I have asked declines after I tell them that in Tosca pretty much everybody dies.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Florestan said:


> We will have a production of Tosca in my home town next year and I can't find anyone who wants to go see it with me. Everybody I have asked declines after I tell them that in Tosca pretty much everybody dies.


Does that stop you from going?


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Pugg said:


> Does that stop you from going?


Not entirely, but it is nice to go with someone. The other problem is the same week is Monteverdi "L'orfeo and I am definitely going to that. So not sure I want to put two long evenings in so short a time.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Florestan said:


> Not entirely, but it is nice to go with someone. The other problem is the same week is Monteverdi "L'orfeo and I am definitely going to that. So not sure I want to put two long evenings in so short a time.


Going to operas on successive nights or close together is a very special thing. Puts you in a great opera frame of mind. Besides, Tosca isn't a long evening.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Florestan said:


> We will have a production of Tosca in my home town next year and I can't find anyone who wants to go see it with me. Everybody I have asked declines after I tell them that in Tosca pretty much everybody dies.


I guess "Hamlet" wouldn't be their cup of tea either.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Florestan said:


> Not entirely, but it is nice to go with someone. The other problem is the same week is Monteverdi "L'orfeo and I am definitely going to that. So not sure I want to put two long evenings in so short a time.


Come one Florestan, who knows how long it take for another opportunity.


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## AJF (Jul 17, 2017)

Tosca is quite violent and people die. Adults really let that dissuade them from going? Snowflakes!

I first saw Tosca when I was in late elementary school. Maybe 9 or 10 years old. During the Cavaradossi torture scene when he was being flogged off-stage, my grandmother got worried that I would freak out and she whispered, "Now he's going to stagger back out with ketchup all over his shirt." Which is exactly what happened.


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## Taplow (Aug 13, 2017)

I often recommend Leoncavallo's *Pagliacci* as a first to-step into opera for people. It is relatively short, packed with great tunes, and has a thrilling _verismo_ story. The two things I really love about it are: 1) the "play within a play" aspect, and the blurred lines between reality and fiction - the on-stage audience don't know what's real and what's not, and 2) the symmetry of the story-telling ... that is, as long as it's Tonio who get's the final line, "La commedia e finitá!", as the composer intended.

Check out Zefirelli's great film, here paired with the equally lovely 1-act verismo opera by Mascagni, Cavalleria Rusticana.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

JJF , do you need more recommendations?


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Pugg said:


> JJF , do you need more recommendations?


I think he is away from the site with eyes glued to an opera video. But when he gets back...


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## Amara (Jan 12, 2012)

Since you like mythology and film scores, I recommend Wagner's Das Rheingold. Wagner's use of leitmotifs greatly influenced modern film scores.

On the other hand, if you would like to hear an opera full of catchy tunes you will recognize, I'll echo the rec for Carmen starring Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna.














I also recommend watching clips or trailers from any DVD before you buy it to make sure you get something that you might like.


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

Pugg said:


> JJF , do you need more recommendations?


No, I am full for now. Anyone have an idea on inventing an 8th day for the week to add more viewing time?


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