# Quirky Operatic Favorites



## 1846 (Sep 1, 2021)

Name five operas that are NOT among your top favorites, but for what ever reason, they are still ones that you like a great deal. Maybe it's a flawed masterpiece, maybe it's just something quirky that makes you smile or breaks your heart, but operas that you love in spite of their faults.

I'll start.

Samuel Barber's _Vanessa._ Odd story, but the music is absolutely ravishing. Get the recent Glyndebourne DVD,you'll look at this opera in a whole new, interesting light.

Poulenc's _Dialogues of the Carmelites_. What can I say, best operatic ending ever. I wish the whole opera was as good as its best parts, but I really love this one.

Strauss's _Die Frau Ohne Schatten_. Again, a very quirky story but incredible music.

My favorite Puccini opera, _La Fanciulla del West_. I won't call it a flawed masterpiece, though, I think it's his best opera.

Scott Joplin's _Treemonisha_. VERY quirky; strange, simplistic story; but the music is oh, so delicious and listenable.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

_Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur _comes quickly to mind. I am simply charmed by the music but the storyline is somewhat lacking in strength and reality.

_The Saint of Bleecker Street_ by Menotti is a particular favorite of mine despite its lack of popularity everywhere else. It also featured the handsome and appealing David Poleri, a tenor that really had the goods but unfortunately died young in a plane crash.

Montemezzi's _L'amore dei tre re_ always appealed to me. I think it would work perfectly well today if only they'd bring it back.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

While the bulk of my opera listening is fairly conventional, there are few that I consider "quirky" favorites:

*Piazzolla*: _Maria de Buenas Aires_
*Golijov*: _Ainadamar_
*Bernstein*: _Trouble in Tahiti_ (also revised as _A Quiet Plac_e)
*Stravinsky*: _The Rake's Progress_

And I also join the OP with -

*Joplin*: _Treemonisha_

I also consider *Sondheim*'s _Sweeney Todd_ and _Passion_ verging on, if not becoming, operatic music dramas.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

SanAntone said:


> While the bulk of my opera listening is fairly conventional, there are few that I consider "quirky" favorites:
> 
> *Piazzolla*: _Maria de Buenas Aires_
> *Golijov*: _Ainadamar_
> ...


I'll second your Piazzolla and Golijov and add Previn's *A Streetcar Named Desire*, if only because I was part of its UK premiere under Previn himself, with Fleming repeating the role she created in the US.

I'll also add
Enescu: *Oedipe*
Szymanowski: *King Roger*
Delius: *A Village Romeo and Juliet*

I like most of Britten's and Janacek's operas too, but I wouldn't call them quirky (mind you I wouldn't call *The Rake's Progress* quirky either). Also a big fan of Sonhdeim, but think his musicals work best when performned by musical theatre performers, even *Sweeney Todd*. Did you know, by the way, that *A Little Night Music* is all written in waltz or compound time. It's supposed to be Sondheim's tribute to operetta.

Is Shostakovich's *Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk* considered quirky?

I've just bought Rutland Boughton's *The Immortal Hour*, but I haven't heard it yet.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Also a big fan of Sonhdeim, but think his musicals work nest when performned by musical theatre performers, even *Sweeney Todd*. Did you know, but the way, that *A Little Night Music* is all written in waltz or compound time. It's supposed to be Sondheim's tribute to operetta.


Yes - I am also a big Sondheim fan. Did you know he studied with Milton Babbitt who always dreamed of writing a Broadway show?


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## 1846 (Sep 1, 2021)

nina foresti said:


> _Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur _comes quickly to mind. I am simply charmed by the music but the storyline is somewhat lacking in strength and reality.
> 
> _The Saint of Bleecker Street_ by Menotti is a particular favorite of mine despite its lack of popularity everywhere else. It also featured the handsome and appealing David Poleri, a tenor that really had the goods but unfortunately died young in a plane crash.
> 
> Montemezzi's _L'amore dei tre re_ always appealed to me. I think it would work perfectly well today if only they'd bring it back.


I love your choices. I saw The Saint of Bleecker Street many years ago and it played very well and the audiences loved it. I'm not a huge Menotti fan but I really enjoyed the opera. And I can't think of any other musical composition which musically portrays a passing subway train - very effectively, too.


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## 1846 (Sep 1, 2021)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I'll second your Piazzolla and Golijov and add Previn's *A Streetcar Named Desire*, if only because I was part of its UK premiere under Previn himself, with Fleming repeating the role she created in the US.
> 
> I'll also add
> Enescu: *Oedipe*
> ...


I'd call Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk quirky, definitely.

I've never heard _A Village Romeo and Juliet_,it's on my list of operas I want to latch onto. I've heard it's really good.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

> Is Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk considered quirky?


I'd say The Nose is pretty quirky!


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## John Zito (Sep 11, 2021)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I'll second your Piazzolla and Golijov and add Previn's *A Streetcar Named Desire*, if only because I was part of its UK premiere under Previn himself, with Fleming repeating the role she created in the US.
> 
> I'll also add
> Enescu: *Oedipe*
> ...


I third the Piazzolla and Sondheim love that's going around. I think _Sweeney Todd_ and _A Little Night Music _ belong in the discussion about great 20th century music, regardless the genre. Terry Teachout wrote a recommendable essay on this topic:

https://www.commentary.org/articles/terry-teachout/sondheims-operas/

I appreciate when opera singers evangelize for this music, and in an opera house you have the advantage of a full orchestra, but I totally agree that musical theater performers are preferred.

I look forward to checking out your Enescu, Szymanowski, and Delius picks!


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

There is quirky, Quirky and...


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Becca said:


> There is quirky, Quirky and...


I don't know this, but I do know Holst's *Savitri*, which is even shorter (around 30 minutes) and I've even seen it staged. There is a wonderful recording with Janet Baker.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Montemezzi's _L'amore dei tre re_ always appealed to me. I think it would work perfectly well today if only they'd bring it back.


I really like this opera and used to have the recording with Anna Moffo and Domingo on LP. I wish someone would reissue it on CD. I think it was once briefly available but it's impossible to find a copy now.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I really like this opera and used to have the recording with Anna Moffo and Domingo on LP. I wish someone would reissue it on CD. I think it was once briefly available but it's impossible to find a copy now.


Montemezzi L'AMORE DEI TRE RE, Moffo Domingo Elvira Siepi, 2 CDs MINT
1 product rating
Condition:Like New
"CD surface appears mint, jewel case is very good with light scratches and light residual in corner " ... Read more
Price:
US $14.00

Try Ebay


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Montemezzi L'AMORE DEI TRE RE, Moffo Domingo Elvira Siepi, 2 CDs MINT
> 1 product rating
> Condition:Like New
> "CD surface appears mint, jewel case is very good with light scratches and light residual in corner " ... Read more
> ...


I found one copy on ebay UK at £47 (around $65)! It's a bit outside my price range.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I found one copy on ebay UK at £47 (around $65)! It's a bit outside my price range.


The $14.00 one is still there. However, I don't know if it becomes $65 in UK.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> The $14.00 one is still there. However, I don't know if it becomes $65 in UK.


I only found one at around £23 + £37 or even £50 postage. Much too expensive.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

I love Rimsky-Korsakov's _May Night_.


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## Bruckner Anton (Mar 10, 2016)

1. Cimarosa: Il matrimonio segreto. I find the music quite pleasing and entertaining. Sadly, it is overshadowed by the masterpieces of Mozart.
2. Pergolesi: La serva padrona. A very brief piece which sounds OK to my ears. However, it marks the begining of a new era and it worth to be mentioned here.
3. Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice, what I consider a unique masterpiece that needs more attention (it is quite well-known compared with others on the list).
4. Weber: Oberon. Despite the purplexing plot, it contains a lot of beautiful music. 
5. Marschner: Der Vampyr. A rarely performed good work, bridging masterpieces of Weber and Wagner.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

1) Puccini - *La Fanciulla del West*.
Probably my all-time Puccini favorite. A strange choice? Not for me. Love every minute of it.

2) Mercadante - *Orazi e Curiazi*.
I believe this opera has lots of show-stopping music and high drama. Exciting listening experience!

3) Balfe - *Falstaff*.
Quirky, fun, light-hearted, it deserves being performed.

4) Massenet - *Le Roi de Lahore*.
Probably overshadowed by much more popular Massenet works but still a very tuneful exciting score.

5) Rimsky-Korsakov. *Sadko*.
Unique style, reflecting its origins in the old (ancient even) tales.

6) Melartin - *Aino*.
A hidden gem, well worth researching. Finnish opera, Kalevala-based, Wagner-influenced but still deeply rooted in traditional music.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Azol:
Not at all a strange choice. A very perceptive one. In fact, I would venture to say that it may have well been his best composing of all his operas, even if I happen to have put 3 before it. Just listen to the music alone without any singing in the Poker Scene. It was absolutely riveting.


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## 1846 (Sep 1, 2021)

nina foresti said:


> Azol:
> Not at all a strange choice. A very perceptive one. In fact, I would venture to say that it may have well been his best composing of all his operas, even if I happen to have put 3 before it. Just listen to the music alone without any singing in the Poker Scene. It was absolutely riveting.


I agree completely. I love that opera and the poker scene, while being just slightly campy, is beautifully written with minimal music that still says everything it needs to.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I agree with all people are saying about *La Fanciulla del West*. I'm just not sure I'd label a liking for it as quirky. The opera is now quite regularly performed and I think most people would count it one of Puccini's greatest works.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I agree with all people are saying about *La Fanciulla del West*. I'm just not sure I'd label a liking for it as quirky. The opera is now quite regularly performed and I think most people would count it one of Puccini's greatest works.


Agreed. It would probably make one quirky 30 years ago. But interestingly (and I think tellingly) Puccini's later works are becoming more and more popular over time. _Turandot_ only became really popular after the mid century, and now _Il trittico and La fanciulla del west are becoming ever more popular. Even Rondine gets more love than it used to. Fanciulla is my favorite as well, and Puccini's late works generally speaking are all high on my list. I think it speaks to Puccini's greatness that his late works seem more relevant now than they did when they were written. I don't know of any minor artists (as many critics regard Puccini though again, happily and tellingly, fewer and fewer) of whom one can say that._


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

vivalagentenuova said:


> Agreed. It would probably make one quirky 30 years ago. But interestingly (and I think tellingly) Puccini's later works are becoming more and more popular over time. _Turandot_ only became really popular after the mid century, and now _Il trittico and La fanciulla del west are becoming ever more popular. Even Rondine gets more love than it used to. Fanciulla is my favorite as well, and Puccini's late works generally speaking are all high on my list. I think it speaks to Puccini's greatness that his late works seem more relevant now than they did when they were written. I don't know of any minor artists (as many critics regard Puccini though again, happily and tellingly, fewer and fewer) of whom one can say that._


_

My respect for Puccini and my liking for his operas continues to grow. I still prefer Verdi in general (and specifically almost all his operas from *Rigoletto* onwards), but I rank Puccini far higher than any of his contemporaries. In fact I'm not a big lover of verismo in general, but I always place Puccini to one side, as it were. His operas are musically much finer._


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Well, since we're talking "quirky" here, I can probable amend my list by replacing Fanciulla with *La Rondine*. Count me as a fan, I think I have at least 4 different versions in my collection and I'm open for more. This waltzing little gem of an oper(a/etta) never fails to put me in a cheerful mood, especially Act 2!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

vivalagentenuova said:


> Agreed. It would probably make one quirky 30 years ago. But interestingly (and I think tellingly) Puccini's later works are becoming more and more popular over time. _Turandot_ only became really popular after the mid century, and now _Il trittico and La fanciulla del west are becoming ever more popular. Even Rondine gets more love than it used to. Fanciulla is my favorite as well, and Puccini's late works generally speaking are all high on my list. I think it speaks to Puccini's greatness that his late works seem more relevant now than they did when they were written. I don't know of any minor artists (as many critics regard Puccini though again, happily and tellingly, fewer and fewer) of whom one can say that._


_

I find Fanciulla holding up better for me than Turandot. The latter is more overtly spectacular, but the colorful exoticism can't conceal what I find to be a difficulty in the work's fundamental idea and in the corresponding inhumanity of its protagonists. Puccini wanted to show the transformation and humanization of Calaf and Turandot through their confrontation with the self-sacrificing love of the hapless Liu, but in the opera as it stands I don't think he succeeded in finding the music to make that rather high-flown and perhaps unrealistic concept credible, and I doubt that his projected final duet would have done the trick. Puccini venerated Wagner, and he seems to have wanted Turandot to move on that composer's plane of mythic symbolism, but really he's much more at home, much more his essential self, in Fanciulla, where he can bring irresistible poignancy to the emotions of recognizable people.

For years I was a bit contemptuous of Puccini for what struck me as morbid sentimentality, even while acknowledging his brilliant musical/theatrical skill. I've thought better of him in later years, but I was always fascinated by Fanciulla, and Il Tabarro has joined it as one of my two favorite Puccini operas. In both of them he avoids milking to the limit the pathos of victimized femaleness which - let's face it - nobody does better, but which I don't care to wallow in for recreation._


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> For years I was a bit contemptuous of Puccini for what struck me as morbid sentimentality, even while acknowledging his brilliant musical/theatrical skill. I've thought better of him in later years, but I was always fascinated by _Fanciulla,_ and _Il Tabarro_ has joined it as one of my two favorite Puccini operas. In both of them he avoids milking to the limit the pathos of victimized femaleness which - let's face it - nobody does better, but which I don't care to wallow in for recreation.


I like *Il Tabarro* too. It's a shame that it's followed by (or supposed to be anyway) by an opera (*Suor Angelica*) that glories in what you call his morbid sentimentality. One of the reasons I like the Scotto recording, and the staged performance (from the Met?) I've seen is that it eschews quasi religious sentimentality and turns the opera into a mini psychodrama about the effects of sexual repression, almost making it akin to Powell and Pressburger's darkly intense movie _Black Narcissus_. Angelica's vision then becomes more of a drug fueled halucination and her suicide less cloyingly sentimental.

The cruel humour of *Gianni Schicchi* is then the perfect antidote. In fact, when you think of it, all three operas are pretty dark.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I like *Il Tabarro* too. It's a shame that it's followed by (or supposed to be anyway) by an opera (*Suor Angelica*) that glories in what you call his morbid sentimentality. One of the reasons I like the Scotto recording, and the staged performance (from te Met?) I've seen is that it eschews quasi religious sentimentality and turns the opera into a mini psychodrama about the effects of sexual repression, almost making it akin to Powell and Pressburger's darkly intense movie _Black Narcissus_. Angelica's vision then becomes more of a drug fueled halucination and her suicide less cloyingly sentimental.
> 
> The cruel humour of *Gianni Schicchi* is then the perfect antidote. In fact, when you think of it, all three operas are pretty dark.


Maybe that _Suor Angelica_ would make the opera a little more interesting to me. _Schicchi_ is fun to watch, but I'm not very interested in listening to it again. I find most operatic comedies better seen than merely heard.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> One of the reasons I like the Scotto recording, and the staged performance (from te Met?) I've seen is that it eschews quasi religious sentimentality


It's indeed from The Met and it was available as a 2DVD-package from their website. Scotto is featured in all three operas and it has been a highly enjoyable evening at The Met. Bacquier is (quite unexpectedly) amusing Schicchi and MacNeil is sufficiently powerful as Michele. Very much recommended!


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Tsaraslondon said:


> It's a shame that it's followed by (or supposed to be anyway) by an opera (Suor Angelica) that glories in what you call his morbid sentimentality. One of the reasons I like the Scotto recording, and the staged performance (from the Met?) I've seen is that it eschews quasi religious sentimentality and turns the opera into a mini psychodrama about the effects of sexual repression, almost making it akin to Powell and Pressburger's darkly intense movie Black Narcissus. Angelica's vision then becomes more of a drug fueled halucination and her suicide less cloyingly sentimental.


Suor Angelica is the least successful of the three Trittico operas, imo, although the Princess-Angelica scene is fantastic. If the whole opera were on that level, it would equal Tabarro for sure. But I don't feel quite as negatively towards the ending as you. The main problem for me is that the music is not as inspired as it should be. Some critics say that's because Puccini couldn't do transformation, which I think is ridiculous because Fanciulla is transformative and utterly inspired and successful. Still, I like it much better in the context of the three than on its own. In Tabarro, Giorgetta and Michele's child dies, and both are overcome by despair and unable to save themselves from it. In Angelica, she is overcome with despair almost to the point of killing herself, but is saved because she asks to be (which Michele and Giorgetta are unwilling to do). In Schicchi, the children don't die, they get married, and it's the old guy who dies. That progression is interesting to me, and I think seen or listened to as a contrast to the other works, Angelica works much better than it does alone.



Tsaraslondon said:


> The cruel humour of Gianni Schicchi is then the perfect antidote. In fact, when you think of it, all three operas are pretty dark.


I understand where you're coming from, but I actually find Schicchi to be one of the most light filled and life affirming of all operas. That's why I took my username from it. I read it as an archetypal comedy: the proper functioning of society, the passing away of the old and the flourishing of the new, is impeded by the corruption of the old order who try to hold on to power and wealth that should flow to the new generation, and in the end that impasse is overcome and the new generation is able to take its rightful place and get married. It's the setup of many Shakespeare comedies. Gianni Schicchi acts as the chaotic element that breaks the impasse and restores the balance. At the end of the opera, the young couple gaze out over Florence, which looks like "Paradiso" (enforcing the Hell-Purgatory-Heaven associations of each opera, which, intentional or not, are very strong), and the city can continue to flourish. The opera is scathing towards the corrupt old order, and is full of Puccini's characteristic irony, but is not cynical overall, because it affirms love, life, and art.



Azol said:


> Well, since we're talking "quirky" here, I can probable amend my list by replacing Fanciulla with La Rondine. Count me as a fan, I think I have at least 4 different versions in my collection and I'm open for more. This waltzing little gem of an oper(a/etta) never fails to put me in a cheerful mood, especially Act 2!


I love La Rondine too! Moffo's recording is my favorite, and Piero de Palma is absolutely hilarious as Prunier.

Rondine is sentimental in a certain sense, but there's also something ironic about it that swings it back the other direction for me, because the opera opens with a discussion of whether "l'amor sentimentale" is a joke or something serious. The two couples play out either side of the argument, and this meta element, which is present throughout, binds the opera together structurally.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

La Rondine should probably have been named "La Boheme - the sequel" or perhaps just "Musetta".

Regarding 'quirky' ... just this week I was reading a review of Holst's The Perfect Fool ... maybe about as quirky as they come!


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Balfe's Bohemian Girl
Cherubini's Lodoiska
Marschner's Der Vampyr
Menotti's Help, Help, the Globolinks!
Rachmaninoff's The Miserly Knight

There are a few others.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

SixFootScowl said:


> Balfe's Bohemian Girl


Along with Benedict's *The Lily of Killarney* and Wallace's *Maritana*, *The Bohemian Girl* was once part of what was once known as The English Ring and then the Irish Ring, though they have absolutey no connection with each other and precious litte relation to Wagner's Cycle.

The three operas were once given in Hereford as part of the the annual Three Choirs Festival, which would take place on alternate years in Hereford, Worcester and Gloucester. I played Hardress Cregan in *The Lily of Killarney* and Thaddeus in *The Bohemian Girl*, which probably makes me one of the only people to do so since WWII.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Maritana (Wallace) and The Bohemian Girl (Balfe) are two lovely operas, Naxos and Argo are the editions I have, respectively.
But still, of all Balfe scores I've heard (add The Maid of Artois here), Falstaff is probably my favorite one.


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