# Favorite operas, strictly from a musical perspective



## hiroica (Aug 31, 2015)

Obviously, a huge part of the enjoyment of opera related to the interaction of the music and the storyline. But, if you had to ignore the storyline and libretto from opera and were just judging them based on the music (including the singing- melody wise at least), what would you say are your favorite operas. Imagine if you had to leave out all of the recitatives (I've never heard a recitative that I'd want to re listen to strictly from a musical standpoint), and just had all of the preludes, choruses, arias, duets, etc.... What would be your picks? Btw, just to reiterate, I'm not talking about the orchestral (non singing) parts of operas, I'm talking about the parts with singing as well, but just from a "sonic" standpoint if you will.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

For sure Mascagni's L'amico Fritz is musically very beautiful. It was written for that specific purpose as I recall reading somewhere.

Here is the whole opera:


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Rossini: Guillaume Tell (William Tell)
Rossini: Elisabetta Regina d'Inghilterra


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Flotow's Martha is another very beautiful opera full of memorable tunes and delightful singing.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Donizetti: Rosmonda d'lnghilterra / Rossini: Elisabetta regina d'Inghilterra


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

hiroica said:


> Obviously, a huge part of the enjoyment of opera related to the interaction of the music and the storyline. But, if you had to ignore the storyline and libretto from opera and were just judging them based on the music (including the singing- melody wise at least), what would you say are your favorite operas... * Btw, just to reiterate, I'm not talking about the orchestral (non singing) parts of operas, I'm talking about the parts with singing *as well, but just from a "sonic" standpoint if you will.


The question as posed - no orchestra-only parts - indicates a strange bias against Wagner, who wrote all my favorite operas "strictly from a musical perspective." His preludes, postludes, interludes and numerous non-singing moments include some of the most extraordinary music ever written. But even with the restriction I would choose _Tristan und Isolde._


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

The title is a non sequitur. 'Favorite operas, strictly from a musical perspective'. An opera is something where words and music are blended skilfully (we hope) by a composer. Of course there are orchestral parts but it is that blending of words and music that makes opera what it is. for example, one of the very greatest opera, Falstaff. Without the words?


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

DavidA said:


> The title is a non sequitur. 'Favorite operas, strictly from a musical perspective'. *An opera is something where words and music are blended skilfully *(we hope) by a composer. Of course there are orchestral parts but it is that blending of words and music that makes opera what it is. for example, one of the very greatest opera, Falstaff. Without the words?


It can be confusing and needs to be clearly stated. I consider the voice musical as the greatest musical instrument ever invented. I was actually thinking of a similar thread when I found this one. My question arises from the fact that I cannot know many operas intimately enough to have a picture of the action in my head as I listen, so for most operas I listen to must stand on the music alone. A few where I can have pictures in my head as I listen and pretty much know where I am at in the opera are Fidelio, Martha(Flotow), and Barber of Seville. I was like that for Boris Godunov, but have been away from it a while so may need another video watch to get back up to speed.


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

DavidA said:


> The title is a non sequitur. 'Favorite operas, strictly from a musical perspective'*. An opera is something where words and music are blended skilfully (we hope) by a composer*. Of course there are orchestral parts but it is that blending of words and music that makes opera what it is. for example, one of the very greatest opera, Falstaff. Without the words?


Yeah, exactly, but right now we're talking just about the music :lol:

For me, Dido and Aeneas.


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## Faustian (Feb 8, 2015)

I think, by and large, most of my favorite operas from a purely musical perspective are also my favorite operas from a musico-dramatic standpoint as well. I suppose that two operas I would might rate more highly if I only considered the music would be Mozart's Così fan tutte, whose story I find mean-spirited, and Berlioz's Les Troyens, which is a little ponderous and stagnant dramatically.


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## David Phillips (Jun 26, 2017)

The two Ravel operas: one funny, the other moving. Perfect gems.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Florestan said:


> I consider the voice musical as the greatest musical instrument ever invented.


This is generally offered as a real truism which I hear a lot, but I disagree with it. String instruments equal or outclass the voice, but I don't want to go down that path. The development of instruments suggests to me at least that people were never quite satisfied with the human voice as an instrument. The human voice can't sing harmonies on its own, so a keyboard or string instrument has added possibilities and attractions.

I don't think I can answer the OP honestly because I an biased against opera, which I find intensely boring and tiring. On the whole I would take the purely orchestral suites from any opera. However I am a lightweight and I like ballet music: Giselle, Margarethe, Les Sylphides... no wailing to disrupt me.


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## Agamemnon (May 1, 2017)

I think I can relate to the OP, because I have always wondered why opera enthusiastics always talk about the story and the dramatic plot turns but never about the music. Is opera about the music or about the story? I guess opera is similar to the singer-songwriter's genre: it is primarily about telling a story and music is an element of the medium by which the story is told.

Now I am used to just listen to the music instead of the words because pop songs are sung in English and opera in Italian or German which are not my mother languages and surely as a child I could not understand one word what was sung. So even when I listen to Bob Dylan I listen to the music and not to what Bob is trying to tell me... and the same thing applies to opera. So like the OP I have always been looking for opera which has great music: who cares about the story? Nowadays I listen to operas which have undertitles so I can follow the story which adds to the music but for me the music still comes first...


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Agamemnon said:


> I think I can relate to the OP, because I have always wondered why opera enthusiastics always talk about the story and the dramatic plot turns but never about the music. Is opera about the music or about the story? I guess opera is similar to the singer-songwriter's genre: it is primarily about telling a story and music is an element of the medium by which the story is told.
> 
> Now I am used to just listen to the music instead of the words because pop songs are sung in English and opera in Italian or German which are not my mother languages and surely as a child I could not understand one word what was sung. So even when I listen to Bob Dylan I listen to the music and not to what Bob is trying to tell me... and the same thing applies to opera. So like the OP I have always been looking for opera which has great music: who cares about the story? Nowadays I listen to operas which have undertitles so I can follow the story which adds to the music but for me the music still comes first...


I suspect that the music comes first for almost everyone, and that the reason people talk more about other aspects of opera is simply that music as such is hard to talk about. How many meaningful conversations about music do you have in a day - or a year?

I'd say the commonest topic among opera lovers is neither music nor drama but singers. Some devotees of opera, especially fans of singers, confine their contributions on TC to the opera forum where they will have the company of others of similar bent. As a singer, pianist and occasional composer, I'm interested in all aspects of opera, but even so don't often find a suitable place for discussing operatic music as such.

Opera since 1597 has been an evolving and tremendously diverse art form drawing on all the techniques of music, and sometimes - as with the Florentine Camerata and Wagner - in the forefront of musical developments. It would be nice if there were less segregation between opera fans and others - if more opera lovers were musically knowledgeable and could talk about opera from that standpoint, and if more music lovers took an interest in opera.


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

Favorite opera strictly from musical perspective is "*Carmen" by G. Bizet.* By the way it was favorite opera of Tchaikovsky.
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned it yet on this thread.


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

hiroica said:


> (I've never heard a recitative that I'd want to re listen to strictly from a musical standpoint)


Monteverdi, Rameau and Berlioz say hello.


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

Gershwin's Porgy and Bess & and Barber's Vanessa are two of my favorites from a musical point of view.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

helenora said:


> Favorite opera strictly from musical perspective is "*Carmen" by G. Bizet.* By the way it was favorite opera of Tchaikovsky.
> I'm surprised that no one has mentioned it yet on this thread.


I do agree with you, however I wanted to stay out of the obvious.


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

Pugg said:


> I do agree with you, however I wanted to stay out of the obvious.


yes, I understand and with your knowledge of vocal music you could get a PhD in all that.:tiphat:


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

For a consistently high level of musical inspiration: Meyerbeer's _Huguenots_, _Prophète_, _Pardon de Ploërmel_, _Vasco_; Berlioz's _Cellini_; Moniuszko's _Straszny dwór_ (Possibly also _Boris_ and _Igor_) Gluck's _Paride ed Elena_ is wonderful, too.

Many of Rossini's operas are vehicles for music; the best are dramatic (e.g. _Ermione_, _Semiramide_, _Maometto II_), but the chief interest of _Zelmira_ and _Ricciardo e Zoraide_ is musical rather than dramatic. (The same could be said of _Matilde di Shabran_ and _Il viaggio a Reims_.)

Finally, I suppose, operas that I love the music, but only have a general idea of what's going on in the score: _A Life for the Tsar_ and Theodorakis's operas


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Mascagni's Iris and Alfano's La legenda di Sakuntala are the operas with the music I like the most.


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