# Survey: Popular Operas on stage around the world



## kyf (Feb 1, 2017)

Can you do and post a count of what is popular at the large opera houses that you may be familiar with? I’ll start with a count of the New York Met because I get their catalogues.

For example, what is popular at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam? In London, there are the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden and the English National Opera at London Coliseum. Wow, in Milan, they have the Teatro alla Scala (La Scala), Teatro Lirico, and Teatro degli Arcimboldi. Why are there six (6) opera houses in Vienna?


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## kyf (Feb 1, 2017)

*Popular Operas on stage at the NY Met*

At the New York Metropolitan Opera, La Bohème and the Magic Flute (shortened English version for families) get performed every year.

Every year: many different rotations of Bellini, Donizetti, & Rossini; holiday stuffing like the Merry Widow, Hansel & Gretel, Die Fledermaus in December.

Almost every year: Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Turandot, Aida, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Cosi Fan Tutte, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, Barber of Seville;

Almost every other year: Don Giovanni, Il Trovatore, Otello, Macbeth

Frequently: Cavaleria Rusticana/Pagliacci, Der Rosenkavalier, Manon Lescaut, other Richard Strauss & Mozart; occasional Alban Berg etc ...

One Wagner opera a year; two a year not often.

In the 2017-2018 season, there will be 26 different operas at the NY Met. There are 26 in the 2016-17 season; and 24 in 2015-16.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

http://operabase.com/index.cgi?lang=en


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

I think the same operas are popular everywhere. Then there are some operas that are only popular in one country or part of the world but almost unhesrd of everywhere else Lortzing operas seems to be popular only in German speaking countries. And for operettas Germans prefer Lehar and Strauss while people in English speaking countries prefer Gilbert and Sullivan.


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## kyf (Feb 1, 2017)

Sloe said:


> I think the same operas are popular everywhere. Then there are some operas that are only popular in one country or part of the world but almost unhesrd of everywhere else Lortzing operas seems to be popular only in German speaking countries. And for operettas Germans prefer Lehar and Strauss while people in English speaking countries prefer Gilbert and Sullivan.


Then the same operas are _not equally popular_ everywhere. There are differences. Just looking at the operabase statistics (which seem to be more suitable for robot than for human consumption), it seems that Verdi & La Traviata is the most popular. But La Bohème seems to play that role at the NY Met.

Also, Lehar, Strauss, and Humperdinck more often than Gilbert and Sullivan at the Met; & that's when they do have operettas. Perhaps more Gilbert and Sullivan in the UK?

Please do a count of specific opera houses that you are familiar with and actually check your answers (may be using the operabase statistics if necessary). If it's very similar to the NY Met, please just say that; but please be specific about the differences.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Operabase is not complete especially for performances outside Europe while it have a good coverage for Germany that is for example why Das Land des Lächelns is so highly ranked so it is best to be a bit sceptical to the rankings on operabase especially when it comes to high rankings of German operas.


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## kyf (Feb 1, 2017)

Sloe said:


> Operabase is not complete especially for performances outside Europe while it have a good coverage for Germany that is for example why Das Land des Lächelns is so highly ranked so it is best to be a bit sceptical to the rankings on operabase especially when it comes to high rankings of German operas.


OK, that's more reason why we'd want to put in some effort to do this survey. I see that they have listings by season for specific opera houses. So what I mean is that if you don't have the catalogues, then you can go there_ if necessary_ to check using the specific opera house's performance listings there.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Opera Australia's repertoire for several years has consisted of _Madama Butterfly_, _La bohème_, _Tosca_, _Carmen_, _Traviata _and the Mozart comedies - with the occasional rarity: _Don Carlos_, _Simon Boccanegra _and _Luisa Miller_.

This season has (I believe) three operas they've never performed before: Szymanowski's _King Roger_, Massenet's _Thaïs _... and Wagner's _Parsifal_. The last two are concert performances.

They haven't staged _Lohengrin_ for 15 years, or _Meistersinger_ for nearly that long; _Boris Godunov _since the 1980s; and I don't think they've performed _Troyens_.

Never mind, at least the punters get to see Mimi and Ciocio-San snuff it every year.

Part of the problem is that the Sydney Opera House is a tourist destination, so they put on operas for tourists to see. (Even if they come in 15 minutes late, rustle sweet packets, take selfies, and talk in Chinese throughout the performance.)


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

So how many years do you want us to go back? Why only the large Opera houses?

Also Consider La Traviata. For the ROH Richard Eyre made fantastic production for Angela Georgiou's break thought.

So fabulous that it remains their cornerstone production with two outings this season alone. Now Over 150 performances across 25 years which is (almost) unheard of. Unless you knew this, you might think all of London is as in love with Violetta as I am!

(PS Rigoletto at the ENO has similar status. I bet over the last 30 years this has been performed 4x as much at the Coliseum as the ROH, despite the latter having had at least 2 different productions in that time. There is no way they imagined it would be such a huge hit over so many years.)

https://www.theguardian.com/music/m...formances-watch-two-clips-from-a-classic-cast

http://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/rigoletto-english-national-opera-0

I would just accept the Operabase stats as a good rough guide. If I understand it right, Carmen has been the most produced Opera for a Century or so. Sadly, I don't think that's about to change.


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## kyf (Feb 1, 2017)

Belowpar said:


> So how many years do you want us to go back? Why only the large Opera houses?


 Say most recent 3 to 5 years; but as many years as you'd like. By large I just mean "professional" & not your neighborhood amateur productions. So for London, just RSO & ENO; is that right? Please tell us if there are other notable opera houses in London.



Belowpar said:


> Consider La Traviata. For the ROH... PS Rigoletto at the ENO has similar status... Carmen has been the most produced...


 OK, so you see... that's why we want to check for different houses. Each city, each house may be different. That's interesting. Not sure about Carmen being still the most produced though.

Please do an actual count using catalogues (or the operabase statistics if necessary), and not just report our impressions. Our impressions may not be quite accurate, even if you are a betting person.

Also, thanks SimonTemplar, for giving us a good account of the Sydney Opera House. It's interesting to see the similarities & differences among cities.


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## WaterRat (May 19, 2015)

SimonTemplar said:


> Opera Australia's repertoire for several years has consisted of _Madama Butterfly_, _La bohème_, _Tosca_, _Carmen_, _Traviata _and the Mozart comedies - with the occasional rarity: _Don Carlos_, _Simon Boccanegra _and _Luisa Miller_.
> 
> This season has (I believe) three operas they've never performed before: Szymanowski's _King Roger_, Massenet's _Thaïs _... and Wagner's _Parsifal_. The last two are concert performances.
> 
> ...


So true about the repertoire. I'm hoping for more adventurous fare next year. At the very least give us Wagner on stage.

The most memorable production I ever saw at the Sydney Opera House was Jim Sharman's production of Stravinsky's _The Rake's Progress_.. so lavishly over-the-top. Alas, times have changed.


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## alan davis (Oct 16, 2013)

The South Australia Opera Company with a full time staff of six has managed to put on two productions of the Ring, Parsifal and the Dutchman over the last 20 years so yes, Oz Opera could be a little more adventurous. That said I'm quite excited about going to Melbourne in May to see Cav/Pag and King Roger, the one a staple, the others a rarity.


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## kyf (Feb 1, 2017)

*Opera Australia and the Sydney Opera House*

Please see SimonTemplar's post above. I'm just adding a title nearby his post & a link https://opera.org.au/ so people can use his post more easily.

To add a title to your posts, click "go advanced" to reply.

Wow, Opera Australia's production of La Traviata looks great, different than that modern production with the clock.

alan davis, can you do a fuller account of the South Australia Opera Company?


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

kyf said:


> Please see SimonTemplar's post above. I'm just adding a title nearby his post & a link https://opera.org.au/ so people can use his post more easily.
> 
> To add a title to your posts, click "go advanced" to reply.
> 
> ...


Thanks! It's an Elijah Moshinsky production.


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## kyf (Feb 1, 2017)

SimonTemplar said:


> Thanks! It's an Elijah Moshinsky production.


It may be worth it to become a tourist in Sydney just to see this production. How should one play the part? Just "come in 15 minutes late, rustle sweet packets, take selfies, and talk in Chinese throughout the performance"?

BTW, in Europe & in New York, to be an authentic tourist like that today, we'd have to talk in Russian. Would that be incorrect?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I was unaware till now that the most popular operas involve young women with questionable lifestyles who die of tuberculosis. It's a good thing antibiotics were not discovered sooner.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> I was unaware till now that the most popular operas involve young women with questionable lifestyles who die of tuberculosis. It's a good thing antibiotics were not discovered sooner.


Or a bad thing think what operas Carl Maria von Weber and Alfredo Catalani could have made if they had lived longer.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

kyf said:


> It may be worth it to become a tourist in Sydney just to see this production. How should one play the part? Just "come in 15 minutes late, rustle sweet packets, take selfies, and talk in Chinese throughout the performance"?
> 
> BTW, in Europe & in New York, to be an authentic tourist like that today, we'd have to talk in Russian. Would that be incorrect?


There are Chinese tourists in Europe too.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Sloe said:


> Or a bad thing think what operas Carl Maria von Weber and Alfredo Catalani could have made if they had lived longer.


Perhaps operas about young women with questionable lifestyles who went to rehab, got religion, and joined the Salvation Army? Or was that _Guys and Dolls?_


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Perhaps operas about young women with questionable lifestyles who went to rehab, got religion, and joined the Salvation Army? Or was that _Guys and Dolls?_


The plan sounds good, all we need is a "classic" composer.


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