# Which trio of opera composers do you prefer?



## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Which trio of opera composers is your favourite?

Inspired by : http://www.talkclassical.com/50598-trio-composers-do-you.html

Cheers, Florestan!


----------



## Johnnie Burgess (Aug 30, 2015)

First vote for Janacek, Shostakovich, Prokofiev with Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov a close second.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Weber/Wagner/Strauss has 2 of my 3 favourite opera composers, so that was easy.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

For me, the Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini selection packs in a lot of favorites!


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Florestan said:


> For me, the Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini selection packs in a lot of favorites!


That goes for me also but then I have to let go of Verdi which I cant, never.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Pugg said:


> That goes for me also but then I have to let go of Verdi which I cant, never.


You are okay because this is not the desert island scenario where you can ONLY take those three. You still get to keep all your other favorites but this choice is the grouping that has the most of your favorites. Else, what would I do without Handel Baroque opera, Russian opera, and Fidelio?


----------



## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

I was tempted by Other-Other-Other, but finally settled with Rossini-Donizetti-Bellini.


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

_Glass, Adams, Stockhausen_


----------



## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Meyerbeer, Berlioz, and Offenbach.


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Much as it pains me to have to leave Joe Green off my list when he should be #1, closest to it would be:
G. Puccini, P. Mascagni, R. Leoncavallo


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

I am shocked that no one voted the Verdi, Mercadante, Ponchielli, are you sure these ballot is not tempered with .


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Wasn't me honest I had no involvement.................


----------



## Rossiniano (Jul 28, 2017)

Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, and in that order. That's where the action has always been for me. Plus so many ethereal melodies there as well!


----------



## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov
Other(s): 

Merikanto (Juha), Madetoja (Ostrobothnians), Melartin (Aino)
Schreker (The Stigmatized, Der Ferne Klang), Zemlinsky (The Dwarf), Berg (Lulu)


----------



## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Art Rock said:


> Weber/Wagner/Strauss has 2 of my 3 favourite opera composers, so that was easy.


Maybe 2 of my 4 favorite, but pretty much the same idea.

We could also add Boito (_Mefistofele_), Giordano (_Andrea Chénier_) and Cilea (_Adriana Lecouvreur_).


----------



## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

Verdi is my favorite composer BUT he's followed closely by the "Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini" trio so I chose the latter because the "sum" of those composers is just too great.
However, if I could add my own trio it would be Verdi/Bellini/Donizetti.


----------



## Jemarchesurtousleschemins (Apr 3, 2017)

I picked Verdi/Mercadante/Ponchielli even though I have never heard a Mercadante opera in my entire life solely because I cannot possibly pass up Verdi.
But before that, a very long crisis about whether to pick this one or Gounod/Bizet/Massenet, which comes in a very close second.


----------



## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I went with *Weber, Wagner, and Strauss* which has two of my favorite opera composers (and two of my favorite composers in general) and a good number of my favorite operas. This choice would have been closely followed by Gluck, Mozart, and Beethoven... if only for Mozart alone... but I also am quite fond of several of Gluck's operas) and then Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Gounod, Bizet, Massenet, and Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov. Come to think of it... the Handel grouping is quite strong as well... and I might have gone for that in 2nd place if Lully were replaced by Vivaldi.


----------



## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I may be abstaining from voting in this one  difficult to actively vote against Verdi. I could see--just for the sake of discussion--that of those trios, the Bel Canto Three could give me the most bang for my listening buck. Donizetti and early to middle Verdi certainly have stylistic similarities so that would provide some satisfaction. And Rossini....he's Rossini! Never hurts to pick him near the top of opera composers. it doesn't hurt to have Bellini thrown into that mix.

On the other hand, the trio of Gluck, Mozart + Fidelio.... I think Fidelio is a great opera, though I don't listen to it enough. I think the storyline is wonderful! Gluck's reform operas are among my favorite in French opera, and Mozart reaches the utter height of sublime music. on the other hand, when I'm not in the mood for Mozart, I'm REALLY not in the mood for Mozart, and there's no telling when that switch flips on or off.

So if I WERE to vote it would probably be between one of these to selections. On the other hand while Ponchielli has never really garnered any interest, Mercadante has been fun to discover recently.....maybe that selection wouldn't be out of the running after all!

*Up Date*
Wait??? What?? NOBODY has voted for Mozart/Gluck/Beethoven yet? They are too good to go vote-less! Alright, I AM voting.


----------



## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> I went with *Weber, Wagner, and Strauss* which has two of my favorite opera composers (and two of my favorite composers in general) and a good number of my favorite operas. This choice would have been closely followed by Gluck, Mozart, and Beethoven... if only for Mozart alone... but I also am quite fond of several of Gluck's operas) and then Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Gounod, Bizet, Massenet, and Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov. Come to think of it... the Handel grouping is quite strong as well... and *I might have gone for that in 2nd place if Lully were replaced by Vivaldi.*


I like the idea of throwing Vivaldi into that trio of composers, however for me I'd give Handel the boot instead of Lully


----------



## Amara (Jan 12, 2012)

It was between Rossini/Donizetti/Bellini and Gounod/Bizet/Massenet for me. Maybe normally I'd pick bel canto but I've been listening to a lot of Bizet lately and when I saw that group had no votes...


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Amara said:


> It was between Rossini/Donizetti/Bellini and Gounod/Bizet/Massenet for me. Maybe normally I'd pick bel canto but I've been listening to a lot of Bizet lately and when I saw that group had no votes...


But so doesn't have: Britten, Menotti, Stravinsky/ Debussy, Poulenc, Milhaud .
I like their music but no reason to vote


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Florestan said:


> For me, the Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini selection packs in a lot of favorites!


I couldn't resist the Bel Canto triumvirate either. It's a shame that Verdi and Wagner are in different sections as that would be my second choice. There's a case for putting them together and Puccini and Strauss together in a separate group.

N.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I went Other / Other / Other

Mozart / Verdi / Bizet (Carmen)


----------



## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

The Conte said:


> I couldn't resist the Bel Canto triumvirate either. It's a shame that Verdi and Wagner are in different sections as that would be my second choice. There's a case for putting them together and Puccini and Strauss together in a separate group.
> 
> N.


Too easy. Having Verdi, Wagner or Puccini together would unbalance the poll. Drawback, though, is that Verdi's with minor composers.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> Too easy. Having Verdi, Wagner or Puccini together would unbalance the poll. Drawback, though, is that Verdi's with minor composers.


Unbalance? There is no way to balance this poll.


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

DavidA said:


> I went Other / Other / Other
> 
> Mozart / Verdi / Bizet (Carmen)


Although a bit cheating, I like your thinking.


----------



## ma7730 (Jun 8, 2015)

I see you made the Verdi option particularly weak...
I went for the one with Strauss and Wagner, because those two guys are fantastic.
If there had been Schoenberg, Berg, Poulenc that might have been a close third.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Pugg said:


> Although a bit cheating, I like your thinking.


Why cheating? It was an option


----------



## Taplow (Aug 13, 2017)

Tough poll. Like many others, I went with Weber/Wagner/Strauss only because it contains two absolute powerhouses. Strauss is perhaps my favourite opera composer. Nonetheless, I don't think there is a single 3-composer combo there that doesn't contain at least one who has done something absolutely awesome. I'm a huge Handelian, but not so much into Lully and Rameau, for example. It does make me sad that there are no votes for Britten/Stravinsky.


----------

