# Operatic Prayers



## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

Often in opera, the characters are in predicaments that lend to prayer to celestial beings , the Christian God, or other deities of choice...

Opera is littered with prayers...

Off the top of my head, I can come up with:

Hansel & Gretel in the forest
_Porgi Amor_, Countess's opening Act II aria from Mozart's Nozze di Figaro
Musetta's Prayer toward the end of La Boheme
Agathe's Cavatina in Der Freischutz
Pamira's prayer w/chorus from L'Assedio di Corinto (or Le Siege de Corinthe)
Maria Stuarda's final prayer
Ave Maria of Desdemona in Otello
Rienzi's prayer
Padre Guardiono's blessing at end of Forza
Tosca's Vissi D'Arte
much of Aida's Ritorna Vincitor is a prayer
Parsifal begins with a prayer led by Gurnemanz
Boris Gudonov Prayer and farewell
Marguerite prays in church, in Faust
Elisabeth has a prayer in Tannhaueser
Adalgisa says (sings) a brief a prayer in Norma
Friar's Wedding Prayer in Gounod's Romeo & Juliet 
Charlotte in Werther, has her prayerful moments
Leonora Forza prayer - Vergine degli Angeli
choral Prayer from Rossini's opera Mosè
Valentine, Raoul, and Marcel, pray together in Les Huegenots
Lakme says a prayer in Act I
Jenufa's Salve Regina
Norma's Casta Diva
Choral Ave Maria in Gomes' Il Guarany 
Final Choral in Fidelio is a prayer/ hymn
Cavalleria Rusticana Easter prayer/ hymn

*Help complete the list- there must be more...!*which are your favorites?


ps: I know some of these are not prayers in the "Our Father... Amen sense", but essentially they are all appeals to a god of some sort, and therefore I class them as prayers...


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## GoneBaroque (Jun 16, 2011)

Here is one of my favorites






Enjoy

Rob


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

Don Quichotte: the title character's prayer when he is about to be killed by bandits


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Meaghan said:


> Don Quichotte: the title character's prayer when he is about to be killed by bandits


You beat me to it 

I listened to Don Quichotte live from Seattle (started at 3.30 in the morning in UK but worth every yawn) with the wonderful John Relyea. I was in floods when he sang that.


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## MattExcell (Jun 15, 2011)

O Isis und Osiris in Die Zauberflote


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

There are a couple of instances of praying in "_Lohengrin_:" King Heinrich's invocation of God before the combat between Lohengrin and Telramund; Ortrud's invocation of the pagan gods ("Entweihte Götter").


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Thaïs' Meditation could be considered a wordless prayer, and there are other prayers in this opera.


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

sospiro said:


> You beat me to it
> 
> I listened to Don Quichotte live from Seattle (started at 3.30 in the morning in UK but worth every yawn) with the wonderful John Relyea. I was in floods when he sang that.


I was there for that! It was beautiful. It was only my third time at the opera. I went with friends from school and one of the guys was crying.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Meaghan said:


> I was there for that! It was beautiful.


I am so jealous!!



Meaghan said:


> It was only my third time at the opera.


Are you planning to go to any more soon?


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

How could an el Guapo fan forget Huon's prayer ("Ruler of This Awful Hour") from Weber's "_Oberon_?"

More obscure -- but apparently popular in Germany -- is the hymn of Stradella ("Jungfrau Maria") from Flotow's "_Alessandro __Stradella_."


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Szymanowski's King Roger begins with a prayer, it includes both choir and solists and is remarkable combination of XXth century choral writing combined with musical references to early sacred music (since the plot of opera takes place in middle ages).


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Great topic! I'm printing this one out for future reference.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

BalloinMaschera said:


> Rienzi's prayer


a.k.a.: the _Allmächt'ger Vater_, arguably the most famous vocal passage in the entire work.


BalloinMaschera said:


> Elisabeth has a prayer in Tannhaueser


*Tannhäuser alone is just suffused with 'em.* First, there's Tannhäuser's appeal to Venus for his freedom- certainly not a prayer in the conventional sense, but an appeal to someone with supernatural powers... yeah. Then, the Pilgrim's Chorus comfortably meets any standard of prayer, containing elements of praise (i.e.: to the Holy Virgin) and supplication ("grant that our pilgrimage may prove propitious.")

More praise comes early in the Second Act, when Tannhäuser tells Elisabeth "den Gott der Liebe sollst du preisen" and the follow together with "Gepriesen sei die Stunde/Gepriesen sei die Macht/die mir so holde Kunde/von Eurer Näh aus deinem Mund gebracht."

After Wolfram's lay (which I suspect Wagner made willfully insipid- a case of "ugg-ing up" the music for the sake of the dramaturgical point) Tannhäuser, memories of why he wandered in the first place freshly renewed, impatiently wheels in a veritable singing dithyramb to Venus. This is, after a fashion, a prayer of praise and thanskgiving... and for us in the audience, our prayers for better music (than that which was sung by Wolfram) have been answered.

Elisabeth has bookend prayers- at the end of Act II, and shortly after the beginning of Act III. That latter one (essentially "let me perish if it means Heinrich will be forgiven") is, in the context of the opera, the prayer most dramtatically answered. A little later in the Act, Wolfram (thankfully in better voice) has his own supplication to a force from above ("O du mein holder Abendstern") where he prays for Elisabeth's ascension to the stratum of the angels. In the meantime, we (in the audience) are left to reflect on the fact that he's just appealed to the planet Venus.

Upon his return from the pilgrimage, Tannhäuser, apparently unsuccessful in his quest for absolution, again importunes for the supernatural intervention of (the goddess) Venus, to return to her hedonistic realm. Set opposite that, Wolfram, now fully at his most sympathetic, agitatedly prays for that power to be stayed. After calling directly to God, the crisis passes only after the mention of the recently deceased, intercessionary Elisabeth. The final ensemble piece, starting with "hail" and ending with "halleluia" is the concluding chorus of laud.

*A comprehension of the aspects of prayer is a virtual pre-condition to attaining a comprehension of Tannhäuser*.


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Are you planning to go to any more soon?


I hope so! Small groups occasionally get together at school and drive to Seattle and get student rush tickets, but now my opera enthusiast friends have graduated.  I hope can find people to go with me next year.


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

Ethel Smyth's _The Wreckers_ features congregation scenes which have very beautiful music but are kind of creepy (deliberately) because the people believe that God condones their luring ships onto the rocks and plundering them. In fact, the first words of the opera, which are sung by the chorus, are "God's chosen people shall not pay the price of sin."


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

*thanks *for the conrtributions!

to add to my original list:

Tu sul labbro de' veggenti ; Zaccaria's prayer from _Nabucco_Selig sind, die Verfolgung leiden ; Mathias' sermon from Kienzl's _Der Evangelimann_Parishioners pray in Verdi's _Aroldo_, as does Mina
Giselda's Act I prayer in Verdi's _I Lombardi alla prima crociata_
Giacomo prays in Verdi's _Giovanna d'Arco_
La Cieca's famous _Voce di Donna o d'Angelo_ from Ponchielli's _La Gioconda_ is a Rosary Prayer
Seid and his men express their feelings that Allah will protect them in Verdi's _Il Corsaro_
O Re dei cieli from _Agnese di Hohenstaufen _by Spontini
Elena's Viens à nous, Dieu tutélaire, from Verdi's _Les vêpres siciliennes_ or _I vespri siciliani_
Suzuki genuflects in prayer in _Madama Butterfly_

*any more? *


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

Puccini: Sour Angelica poisons herself then realises that she has risked damnation so she prays to the Virgin just before dying. The Virgin appears with the nun's dead child and they both go 'upstairs'.

Poulenc: in the final scene the Carmelite nuns sing the Salve Regina as they are all sent to the guillotine.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

elgars ghost said:


> Puccini: Sour Angelica poisons herself then realises that she has has risked damnation so she prays to the Virgin just before dying. The Virgin appears with the nun's dead child and they both go 'upstairs'.
> 
> Poulenc: in the final scene the Carmelite nuns sing the Salve Regina as they are all sent to the guillotine.


yes, ofcourse!


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## FragendeFrau (May 30, 2011)

While watching _Werther_ last night for the first time--I think Werther himself has a prayer or two.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

how could we collectively forget to mention Micaela's big Act III prayer/aria from Carmen?!...I just remembered myself...

Lordy...


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Halévy - La Juive - Prière: "Dieu que ma voix tremblante..." There are probably others, but I've only just started listening to it.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Here's another in the category of "How did we miss this one?"
Valentin's prayer from "_Faust_" ("Avant de quitter ces lieux")


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## jgrv (Jun 8, 2011)

Did anyone mention the end of Amelia's "Ecco l'orrrido campo" from _Un Ballo in Maschera_?


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

Boris Godunov is full of laments (the holy fool) and calls of prayer "My God!" by Boris himself.
Porgy and Bess, the people pray during the storm.
Leporello prays (or pretends to, you never know) when Don Giovanni is being cast down in hell.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

the hymn to of praise to the virgin mary is what saves Alessandro Stradella (twice!) in von Flotow's opera...


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

From the beautiful opera _Cecilia_, by Licinio Refice, we can listen to Renata Tebaldi singing two harrowing prayers:

Grazie Sorelle

Per amor di Gesù


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## AIA (Aug 22, 2011)

*a few more operatic prayers*

Four others come to mind:

1. "Deh tu reggi in tal momento" from _La Gazza Ladra _ (Rossini)(



)
2. "No word from Tom ... I go to him" from _Rake's Progress _ (Stravinsky)
- well, a bit of the recitative is a prayer ("O God, protect dear Tom ...")
3. Merry's "Prayer" from _The Mighty Casey_ (William Schuman)
4. "Se pieta" from _Giulio Cesare_ (Handel)

Also, I seem to recall hearing the women (or, perhaps the fake pilgrims) praying at least once in _Le comte Ory_ (Rossini)

What is the chorus singing in the background during the church scene in _Peter Grimes_? (I should know this, since I've been in that chorus, but I can't remember if it is an actual prayer or something more broadly liturgical.)

I'm guessing there must be a prayer somewhere in Floyd's _Susannah_. (I don't know the opera in its entirety.)

Wonderful list you all have compiled so far! Funny how I remembered several more obscure operatic prayers more readily than ones in better-known operas (e.g., _Carmen, Porgy and Bess_).


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

AIA said:


> Also, I seem to recall hearing the women (or, perhaps the fake pilgrims) praying at least once in _Le comte Ory_ (Rossini)


I also remember that and I think it was the fake pilgrims. They prayed every time someone passed their room, and when no one passed, they partied wild, if I remember correctly.

And welcome to TC! Really, the opera buffs are just piling on, aren't they?


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