# New to Opera



## JANK (Dec 20, 2005)

Lately I've been taking interest in or at least curiousity in Opera though I have yet to actually see or a hear an Opera as a whole. I kinda don't know where to start, and I'm afraid that I will be bored listening to or watching an entire Opera. My musical taste is always changing so style may or may not be relevant (I am a composer myself). I'm not a huge fan of theatre or acting but I may take interest in Opera from the standpoint of appreciating the composition. Can someone suggest where to start and why? Thanks.


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## Edward Elgar (Mar 22, 2006)

You want "The Magic Flute" by Mozart. It's opera at it's best - theatrical and musically exelent. Some parts are absolutely hillarious - like Papagena! Papagena! Papagena!, wheras other parts - like Der Holle Rache are some of the most holy and awe-inspiring works ever. Yes - listen to "The Magic Flute" and hear the voice of God - Two thumbs up!


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## Mr Salek (Apr 11, 2006)

Definately the Magic Flute, but some of Mozart's other operas are good, too such as Don Giovanni, Cossi Fan Tutte, Marriage of Figrao, The Abduction From Serailia (sp) and Idomeneo. The Rossini and Verdi operas are great, too, but there's too much to name there, go take a look yourself!


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## Papageno (May 22, 2006)

Edward Elgar said:


> You want "The Magic Flute" by Mozart. It's opera at it's best - theatrical and musically exelent. Some parts are absolutely hillarious - like Papagena! Papagena! Papagena!, wheras other parts - like Der Holle Rache are some of the most holy and awe-inspiring works ever. Yes - listen to "The Magic Flute" and hear the voice of God - Two thumbs up!


Yes, _Die Zauberflöte_ fantastic opera, one of my favourites.
_Don Giovanni_ is another good opera, you might like that...


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## rojo (May 26, 2006)

Great suggestions so far. Maybe Rossini`s 'Barber of Seville'?

I don`t think a person could get bored listening to Puccini`s 'Tosca'; at least, I don`t. Plenty of drama there.


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## vivaciouswagnerian (Jul 21, 2005)

I think your best bet, especially if your new to opera, is not to listen to one opera fully. Get one of the "opera great" cd's and listen to some of the famous arias, duets, trios, ect so you can fall in the love with the highlights, then take your own inspriations from the music that inspires you the most. Get one of the good ones though. You can usually tell if its bad if it has titiles like, "Best Opera music to listen to before sleeping" "Opera music for people who dont like opera" "Opera for the proffessional on the go", ect. (those arn't actual titles, but you know what I mean). Good luck!


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## Del Hudson (May 20, 2006)

I would suggest trying Madame Butterfly (Puccini) and /or Don Giovanni (Mozart). one Romantic and one classical. Also, if you like a rather antique style, try Rameau's music. I think you should think what styles you like best now and find an opera to maatch that style, more or less! THe Avant-Garde operas are just cute technical aberrations, such as minimalism,etc. probably not very rewarding. Actually, Wagner's Rheingold begins with a minimal idea, the E Flat Chord which goes on and on for many pages in the opening! But what wonders he does with it, since he is a great, not cute, composer. Bye, Del Hudson


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## vivaciouswagnerian (Jul 21, 2005)

I'm sorry but I have to disagree.

"THe Avant-Garde operas are just cute technical aberrations, such as minimalism,etc."

modern operas, in my opinion, are anything BUT cute technical abberations. Opera, and music in general, has been rooted in expressing the world around us. I think we all agree that Puccini's time, Mozart's time, etc. are not the same as ours. Therefore we can not express ourselves the same way. New styles of music, minimalism, atonality, hyperinstrumentaion, are just composers using new words to express the world. We can learn so much about ourselves through modern opera, as well as the classics. But they are quite rewarding, you just have to take the time to appreciate them.


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

You might want to start with Puccini's La Boheme. It's not terribly long (about 2 hours, short for an opera) and it's quite easy to follow(except in Act II, where all the citizens sing). Best of all, the music is fantastic. In fact, La Boheme is what got me in love with opera. I was sitting in a person's car one night, and I heard it in the CD player...I've never been the same since.


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## linz (Oct 5, 2006)

*pagliacci*

Leoncavallo's Pagliacci has prehaps the most famous aria in Italian opera which pretty much sums up the dissapiontment of finding out that your lover is cheating on you. The whole one act opera can be found on one cd. (But as a starting point you should stick to The Magic Flute by Mozart.)


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## DanielFullard (Dec 6, 2006)

Carmen is a nice, easy introudction to opera, even if not fully representative of what you will come to hear in time


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## IAmKing (Dec 3, 2006)

The only Opera that has ever really interested me is Wagner's Ring Cycle. 

However, I have to study Dido and Aeneas this year, so I'm going to have to enjoy it soon, or its going to be a miserable and long year.


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## Topaz (Oct 25, 2006)

Mozart is the best place to start in my view.

Take your pick of Don Giovanni, Marriage of Figaro, Magic Flute. All about as good in my view, although it's generally reckoned DG is the best. All this music is very easy to listen to, absolutely nothing heavy about it. You won't be bored.

My first ever Opera was Marriage Of Figaro at age 11. I was mesmerised, and fell in love with Susannna. They couldn't drag me away. It was "_E Susanna non vien! Dove Sono"_ that did it. One of the loveliest pieces in the whole of opera.

If you are brave and fancy trying something a bit more demanding musically try Wagner Tristan und Isolde. But it's much heavier. Excellent though. Perhaps later.

Topaz


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## Kurkikohtaus (Oct 22, 2006)

*JANK*, once you've gotten through all this Mozart, Verdi and Puccini and want to try something a little more involved, that you can appreciate from the compositional point of view, as you yourself said...

Try *Wozzeck* by *Alban Berg*.

This is certainly the most structurally unified and, well, *composed* opera ever. Each scene adheres very strictly to a structural principle, and the progression of these various structural principles create a unified whole that is unmatched by any opera.

Furthermore, the emphasis on drama an expression is staggering and almost overwhelming on first, second, third and any subsequent hearing.

All of this said, the question that remains about this opera for every listener: _*do you like this music?*_ That's a tough call, because the music is not meant to be pleasant, quite the contrary, it is meant to express the deep psychological turmoil of the protagonists that never resolves but rather leads further and further into madness and a tragic end.


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## 4/4player (Nov 17, 2006)

Have you listen to Rossini's "Barber Of Seville"? Has a great oveture piece, and some hilarious moments in the plot. Be sure to listen to that for a start=)


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## Kurkikohtaus (Oct 22, 2006)

Interesting point about Rossini... known as the consumate Italian opera composer, he wrote over 30 operas and was wildly popular (and very rich) in his day.

Today, his overtures and productions of "Barber of Seville" carry his name into eternity... but what else is played by Rossini? _Occaisionally_ one comes across one of his last 2 operas, _Othello _and _William Tell_, but that is all. Has anyone out there actually seen or even heard of a performance of an opera with the same name as one of those great overtures?

Probably not too often.

Why is this? Are those operas simply so derivative that they do not stack up to the more inventive and progressive Verdi operas? I think the market _(hi there, Topaz)_ is so used to Verdi as a standard of where Italian opera evolved to that one simply cannot listen to Rossini without comparison.


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## Saturnus (Nov 7, 2006)

If you like tragic drama I would suggest Bluebeard's Castle, by Bartók. The opera is short, only 50 minutes, and simple, with only two singers. For a beginner it is neither too atonal (like Wozzek) nor too colossal (like Salome). It is not very famous (probably because of its hungarian libretto) but still great.


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## orquesta tipica (Jan 17, 2007)

A good way to get acquainted with The Magic Flute is to watch Ingmar Bergman's filmed version of it. The only thing different is that it's sung in Swedish. But you get the best of both worlds--great cinema and great music.


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## cmb (Dec 20, 2006)

I can't believe I missed this thread!
(that whole work thing)

Good suggestions all - and I would add Britten's "Midsummer Night's Dream" to the mix.
One, the listener would know the story, so the experience then becomes about marryibng the text and the music in the listening experience.

I find new listeners to opera spend a lot of time wondering "whats going on?" especially if the opera is in a language foreign to their own.

An opera based on Shakespeare works well also, because even if English is not their language, the story is known.

Also, Thomas Smillie has put out a series of CDs, "An Introduction to Boheme" "An Introduction to Carmen" etc. 

These do a scene-by-scene breakdown of the action, and explain how the musical themes fit the action. Highly recommended.

My first opera was Der Fliegende Hollander at age 12.

 Crazy

~cmb~


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## Guest (Apr 12, 2007)

I wouldn't recommend starting with a particular opera; I'd recommend starting with an opera by someone whose symphonies or concerti or tone poems or chamber music you already like.

If you really like somebody, and you go through their non-operatic stuff, you'll probably end up going after their operas, anyway. That's how I did it, and it was painless. Take Janacek. Once you've listened to a handful of tone poems, a couple of chamber works, and a few choral pieces, you really have to listen to opera if you're going to hear any more Janacek. Fortunately, they're stunners.

Same with Dvorak, though it will take longer to get to the operas with him. Beethoven, Berlioz, Vivaldi--they all wrote opera. Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Martinu. Ligeti, Feldman, Norgard. Lots of people you already like are likely to have also written an opera or two.


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## LFcatface (Nov 21, 2007)

Dear Topaz,
It is the Countess who sings "Dove Sono" to not Susanna.She is addressingher maid, Susanna, in the recit.


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## Astus (Dec 28, 2007)

Perosnally, I found it easy to get into opera by a few approaches...

Firstly, I started off with the most famous singers, particularly Callas and Pavarotti. Having a familiar name to go by encouraged me to listen to pieces I had never heard of, and expanded my knowledge in that way. I moved onto the work of other singer quickly, though I still love the big names!

I also started with famous operas/composers. I, like the rest of the world, love pretty much anything by Mozart, so his operas seemed like a good place to start. Die Zauberflote and Le Nozze di Figaro are both excellent choices and very accessible! Don Giovanni is a great opera to delve into when one has time to sit and just listen. It is my favourite opera, and listening to it was a revelation when I was discovering opera  One you find an opera/composer you like, maybe try some of their other works, or works from the same period. Maybe you will like Baroque opera, but not Romantic. Classical opera may be your thing, and not modern works - it's hard to know where your tastes will lie.

I also like the suggestion of a few posters about "Best Of" cds. Like someone else said, do beware of crappy compilations! However, there are some great collections out there to start off with. 

So there you go


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## Mtl (Mar 8, 2009)

I agree: Barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini is the most gentle way to be introduced to opera. Get your hands on the Teatro Real Madrid's DVD featuring Bayo and Juan Diego Florez. It is a stunning production with a plot that you'll understand ans some great music. 

You certainly won't be dissapointed by that production. It has great pace and it is truly funny with great music and surprisingly no one dies!


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## Gneiss (Feb 3, 2009)

JANK said:


> Lately I've been taking interest in or at least curiousity in Opera though I have yet to actually see or a hear an Opera as a whole. I kinda don't know where to start, and I'm afraid that I will be bored listening to or watching an entire Opera. My musical taste is always changing so style may or may not be relevant (I am a composer myself). I'm not a huge fan of theatre or acting but I may take interest in Opera from the standpoint of appreciating the composition. Can someone suggest where to start and why? Thanks.


To be honest I enjoy listening to individual arias and duets plucked at random from various operas every bit as much as listening to an entire opera. Most of them are no longer than a pop song.

Ok, so you hear them out of context, but that's never been a problem for me and the point is that I rarely have time to sit down and listen/watch an entire opera anyway, let alone go and see one live.

A good starting point I would say is to simply search on YouTube for popular arias and go from there... As with anything else some you will enjoy, some you probably won't. There's no rule that says you have to enjoy all opera  Personally I'm not so keen out the bits with lots of angry sounding men in


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