# What is the most recent opera that you love?



## Don Magnifico X (Jan 27, 2014)

Here's a topic I haven't seen specifically addressed before but might be fun to discuss. 

When you look over your list of favorite operas, what is the most recent one (chronologically composed) that you love?

When I say "love", I really mean an opera that you adore from start to finish, and can just turn on in any act and just sit mesmerized. You know, the ones you consistently get chills all the way through from. 

For me, I'd have to say its "Turandot", which of course places it in 1926 (or, 1924 if you only count Puccini's composition.)

When I think about it, it's kinda scary to realize that, although I have liked more recent operas, I haven't been blown away by an opera written in the last 90 something years. 

What say you?


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

This obsolete art form can't go on without big wig ladies, the reason why there are no new masterpieces is that modern composer fails already when he chooses to waste his time one this genre. Instead, they should venture into contemporary, still developing concept of electronic theatre which could result in a modern equivalent of opera, freed from physical opera houses that look like museums anyway, Lehermann already set this new patch for the future with his electronic opera, _Psychomorphosis X_, which rejects all old-fashioned ideas on music and theatre. It might lead to people getting thrilled by fusion of classical music and theatre again.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

The most recent one for me should be "Written on Skin", a commission of the Festival of Aix-en-Provence to George Benjamin, premiered in 2012. 




Two other relatively recent operas that are in my list of all-time favorites are Saariaho's "L'amour de loin' and Sciarrinos's "Luci mie traditrici'.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I got this CD last Thursday and have listened to it 10 times and can't leave it alone:









Have ordered the Abbado DVD (different performance with Fredrica von Stade as Cinderella) and ordered the English Opera Guide with libretto.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

_The Lighthouse_ by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies which was written in 1979. It's a chamber opera but I'll choose it anyway. It's the first opera I've really liked where the composer is still alive. I went to see it at Royal Opera House (Linbury Studio) and while I was waiting to go in I spotted Sir Peter so I was able to tell him how much I loved it and he signed my programme.

Wiki


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

schigolch said:


> The most recent one for me should be "Written on Skin", a commission of the Festival of Aix-en-Provence to George Benjamin, premiered in 2012.


Yeees me too!

and the other is Birtwistle's the Minotaur. although the subject matter is so harrowing that I have to make myself watch it again.

One of my favourite "top 5" composers comes from the mid-20th century, Benjamin Britten.


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## Don Magnifico X (Jan 27, 2014)

schigolch said:


> The most recent one for me should be "Written on Skin", a commission of the Festival of Aix-en-Provence to George Benjamin, premiered in 2012.
> 
> 
> 
> .


Written on Skin has been recommended many, many times on this site....I'm really going to have to bear down and give it a good listen. I tried listening to it awhile back and it didn't do anything for me, but that's the way it is with nearly every opera I have come to love.

OperaPhiladelphia put on a new opera called Silent Night last year. I didn't get a chance to go, but the clips I saw on YouTube really intrigued me. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a place to hear any more of the music.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

_Bliss_ by Brett Dean from 2010. The next most recent would be Carter's _What Next?_ from 1998. I would like to get to know some of Glass's more recent works...and also Benjamin's _Written on Skin_.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2014)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> _Bliss_ by Brett Dean from 2010. The next most recent would be Carter's _What Next?_ from 1998.


I only just heard of the Carter opera about 24 hours ago! Will want to listen soon.

Also, I see Brett Dean's name pop up more, recently (partially because of you, of course). Would you be able to draw any parallels to describe his style?

I also intend to get around to that George Benjamin work sooner or later.

Currently, I would have to answer this with a safe L'Amour De Loin, and possibly Harvey's Wagner Dream - though I'm not sure of it's composition date (premiered in 2007, though).


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Both of these are about 10yrs old.
Glass' Waiting for the Barabarians and Adès' The Tempest


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Couac Addict said:


> Both of these are about 10yrs old.
> Glass' Waiting for the Barabarians and Adès' The Tempest


The Tempest is great. That stratospheric Ariel music!


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

There's lots of good ones, but in the operatic tradition I'd probably go for Peter Eotvos' Three Sisters from 1998. The Benjamin is good too, as is some Glanert and Birtwistle but I don't love them

Recent non-traditional operas with elements of multimedia and monodrama have also blown me away and the top picks are:
Beat Furrer Fama 2006
Fausto Romitelli An Index of Metals 2003
Enno Poppe Interzone 2005


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Don Magnifico X said:


> OperaPhiladelphia put on a new opera called Silent Night last year. I didn't get a chance to go, but the clips I saw on YouTube really intrigued me. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a place to hear any more of the music.


I think you can probably hear the full opera here:

http://www.npr.org/event/music/151211677/hear-the-opera-that-won-the-pulitzer


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Oh goodness gracious! I didn't mention Adès's _The Tempest_ and I do love that opera!


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Two come quickly to mind:
_The Consul_
and (if you call it an opera) _Sweeney Todd_


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2014)

Aramis said:


> This obsolete art form


I really should have skipped to the next post here.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

arcaneholocaust said:


> I really should have skipped to the next post here.


Haters gonna hate forward-looking ideas. Enjoy your conservative views.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2014)

Isn't the notion that opera is obsolete without some flambuoyant tenors and some fat ladies...the exact opposite of forward-looking?


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

The most recently composed opera I love is probably _Billy Budd_.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

*Just one??*

I hate questions like this because I can not pick just one. Why do people ask for only one? Sorry you are going to get more than one. Off the top of my head:

Jake Heggie: _Moby Dick_. Last season attended the Washington Opera Production. Awesome.

Steven Stucky: _The Classical Style_. Libretto by Jeremy Denk. Attended the world premier at Ojai. It is a satire making fun of the "classical music is dead crowd". One aria is the spirit of Mozart singing about an editorial in the New York Time about the decline of classical music. :lol:

Menotti: _The Last Savage._ Saw a production staged by the Santa Fe Opera a few years ago. Great _Opera Buffo_.

John Adams: _Dr. Atomic_.

Carlisle Floyd: _Suzanne_.

Kaija Saariaho: _L'amour de loin_.

Give my some time and I could come up with a bunch more.


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## Rhythm (Nov 2, 2013)

From Netflix, I viewed The Love for Three Oranges, and it was hilarious! The production from Lyon Opera performed on a large sound stage was elaborate, and that’s an understatement. I might not’ve gotten through it without English subtitles. 

Dark humor accentuated by high physicalness by most on-camera would’ve been too much to bear with a straight face.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Rhythm said:


> From Netflix, I viewed The Love for Three Oranges, and it was hilarious! The production from Lyon Opera performed on a large sound stage was elaborate, and that's an understatement. I might not've gotten through it without English subtitles.
> 
> Dark humor accentuated by high physicalness by most on-camera would've been too much to bear with a straight face.


That's a fabulous opera! I saw this production in Amsterdam last year and can recommend the DVD.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Bellinilover said:


> The most recently composed opera I love is probably _Billy Budd_.


That is possibly my favourite opera in the world. Right now.


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## Rhythm (Nov 2, 2013)

sospiro said:


> That's a fabulous opera! I saw this production in Amsterdam last year and can recommend the DVD.


Thanks! It's now on my wish list.


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

Aside from those already mentioned:

Saint Francois D'Assise

The Devils of Loudun

Le Grand Macabre

Lohengrin (Sciarrino)


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

I have been thinking of how to write an answer since this thread was started.

I don´t know an opera I get chills from all the way through.
The latest opera that makes me mesmerized all the way through is Giulio Cesare by Gian Francesco Malipieros from 1935 based on the play with the same name by William Shakespeare.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

Rigoletto! I watched the DVD movie version with Pavarotti and loved it. Now I'm beginning to listen to Macbeth by Verdi.


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## Bruce (Jan 2, 2013)

"Love" might be a little strong to describe my reaction to Balada's Cristobal Colon, but it does come close. I found this a truly fascinating opera. Göran Forsling, in a review on musicweb-international.com considers it "an engrossing experience; it is . . . the tension and intensity that never lets the concentration slacken." The full review can be read at http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Nov09/Balada_colon_866023738.htm That sums up my reaction to it much better than I can myself.


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## Bardamu (Dec 12, 2011)

The most recent operas I deeply love are Don Perlimplin (RAI 1961) by Maderna and I Shardana (Naples 1959) by Porrino.
The first one isn't exactly a traditional opera but the mix between Garcia Lorca original text and Maderna composition technique really struck a note with my soul.
Just an advise though listen only to the original RAI tape cause Don Perlimplin is an un-reproducible and un-stageable work.
I recommend I Shardana for those who like the more "italianate" operas (whatever that means).
At first sight it could be mistaken for an Aida retreat but it's really a celebration of the sardinian myth.



Sloe said:


> I have been thinking of how to write an answer since this thread was started.
> 
> I don´t know an opera I get chills from all the way through.
> The latest opera that makes me mesmerized all the way through is Giulio Cesare by Gian Francesco Malipieros from 1935 based on the play with the same name by William Shakespeare.


Giulio Cesare was a big disappointment to me.
On the other hand I really enjoyed L'Orfeide, La bottega del caffe, Filomena e l'infatuato, Il finto arlecchino and Torneo Notturno.



Jobis said:


> Saint Francois D'Assise


Good one.


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## Norse (May 10, 2010)

I'm not terribly well-versed in opera, but I think Peter Grimes is the most recent that I've enjoyed. Come to think of it, it probably is the most recent opera I've seen in its entirety..


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Bardamu said:


> Giulio Cesare was a big disappointment to me.
> On the other hand I really enjoyed L'Orfeide, La bottega del caffe, Filomena e l'infatuato, Il finto arlecchino and Torneo Notturno.


Not everyone can like the same music and there is no reason to argue about that it is like arguing what food people should like. For me the music affects me from start to finnish in a way that few other operas does. I really don´t know how to explain why. I like the fanfares the dramatic outbreak from the music the grandiloquent singing the hypnotic feeling I get from the calmer parts. I know it is not an opera that is highly regarded so I am probably rather alone but I like what I like.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Dustin said:


> Rigoletto! I watched the DVD movie version with Pavarotti and loved it. Now I'm beginning to listen to Macbeth by Verdi.


Step by step...gradually come more and more recent....from Verdi try Wagner then Puccini...then on to Berg and Schoenberg, Britten, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and then to Penderecki and Ligeti...and before you know it you will be the next Licht fan!


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

*The Ghosts of Versailles* by John Corigliano (1991). Sadly I don't currently have a recording of it, but played the version I taped from the radio many times. It seemed a lot of fun, and the composer was happy to combine modern with classical pastiche.


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## msegers (Oct 17, 2008)

I was amazed the first time I heard Jake Heggie's _Moby-Dick_, composed in 2010. Every time since then, it continues to amaze me. The video is online - http://video.pbs.org/video/2365112413


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## Rackon (Apr 9, 2013)

Most recent? Count me as another fan of Written On Skin. But I like a lot of 20th-21st century opera: Moby Dick, Ghosts of Versailles, Nixon In China, most of Britten, Rake's Progress etc. My earliest opera I get passionate over is a Monteverdi's L'Orfeo. There's tons of things in between ;-)


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

Finally got around to watching The Minotaur ; really very good, and so dark!


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Not a recent composed opera, but listening to Auber's La muette de Portici is very enjoyable. Actually before trying to play Liszt's Tarantelle di bravura (after various themes of the opera), I had little acquaintance of this work, the first well known grand opera in the repertory. (shame on me! )


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Any Japanese or pacific Asia good opera recommendation?


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Il_Penseroso said:


> Any Japanese or pacific Asia good opera recommendation?


I've never heard any Japanese operas in full, only excerpts. Takemitsu was considering writing one near the end of his life (in English or Japanese, I don't know), but his failing health prevented him from going through with it. A shame, I'm sure.

There are a whole bunch of recordings available on specialty Japanese classical labels, but I doubt these will have English translations in the booklets.

I have been interested in hearing Teizo Matsumura's Silence (based on Shusaku Endo's novel about early Japanese Christianity), and I listened to a presentation on it on Youtube (in Japanese), so I've heard small excepts, and I admit I wasn't all that impressed, but I'd still like to hear the work in full at some point. Shelling out $45 or so for the set always seems like a lot, though...


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

The more famous Japanese's operas are "Kurofune" by Yamada, "Shuzenji monogatari" by Shimizu and "Yuzuru", by Ikuma Dan. They are not easy to come by, though. I got them in bootleg copies, and I don't think there have been released commercially, at least by Western companies.

I like also "Silence" (this one is available on regular CD), but even more the three operas by Toshio Hosokawa (again, bootleg is the only choice), especially the last one, "Matsukaze".

Other AsiaPac works are also available. On youtube, you can hear complete this "Cô Sao", by the Vietnamese composer Đỗ Nhuận: 



. Tôn Thât Tiet is also Vietnamese, but he wrote his opera "L'Arbalète Magique" (I like it) in France, and as a French citizen. This one is available:










I know also an opera by S. P. Somtow, from Thailand, though written in the US: _Mae Naak_. (bootleg again, I fear).

Not sure if you include China and Korea, because there you can find also some material, even with very famous composers like Tan Dun.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

schigolch said:


> The more famous Japanese's operas are "Kurofune" by Yamada, "Shuzenji monogatari" by Shimizu and "Yuzuru", by Ikuma Dan. They are not easy to come by, though. I got them in bootleg copies, and I don't think there have been released commercially, at least by Western companies.


All of these are available from Japanese label Camerata, although they run between 3,000 and 4,000 yen apiece.

Hosokawa's operas don't look like they've been released, though. I'm intrigued.

I did forget to mention that I have heard Tan Dun's _Tea: A Mirror of Soul_.


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## Rameau (Jul 21, 2014)

Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. The first time I listened to it I cried, not from the tragic ending but from the music purely itself. I do not think I will be able to love any other opera as much as this one again. From the Prelude to the Intermezzo to all the dramatic duos. P.S. Maria Callas as Santuzza is the best recording out there!


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## Actor (Jul 23, 2014)

Carmen, by George Bizet


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## Actor (Jul 23, 2014)

And Madame Butterfly


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Rameau said:


> Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. The first time I listened to it I cried, not from the tragic ending but from the music purely itself. I do not think I will be able to love any other opera as much as this one again. From the Prelude to the Intermezzo to all the dramatic duos. P.S. Maria Callas as Santuzza is the best recording out there!


I think Mascagnis best opera is Iris from 1898. That opera gives me chills.
Then Mascagnis operas are all good.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Mahlerian said:


> All of these are available from Japanese label Camerata, although they run between 3,000 and 4,000 yen apiece.
> 
> Hosokawa's operas don't look like they've been released, though. I'm intrigued.
> 
> I did forget to mention that I have heard Tan Dun's _Tea: A Mirror of Soul_.


Great, this is not a lot of money, so maybe it's a good option if our member Penseroso is interested.

The opera by Tan Dun that interests me more is "Marco Polo", there is a DVD available.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

If anyone's interested, I can provide links to specific item pages on Amazon.co.jp, which does international orders and has an option for English language interface. The products aren't easily searchable in English, though, as many of them don't have translations/transcriptions indexed.

Another one I forgot to mention yesterday is Yasushi Akutagawa's _Hiroshima no Orfee_, which dates from his "non-tonal" phase. Once again, perhaps interested in hearing it, but haven't yet.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

​Rossini: Ricciardo e Zoraide
I am in a Rossini mood.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Pugg said:


> ​Rossini: Ricciardo e Zoraide
> I am in a Rossini mood.


So this is your favourite recent opera? Nothing after 1840 grabs you at all?


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

La Fanciulla del West took me by storm. I bought all the commercial DVDs that were available (9 IIRC) and watched them all in a month's time. I only have a few CD sets, but my favorite is the DVD and CD of same performance:


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Bartok's _Bluebeard's Castle._


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Don Fatale said:


> So this is your favourite recent opera? Nothing after 1840 grabs you at all?




Of cause they do, this one especial for you.


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## Taplow (Aug 13, 2017)

Probably Britten's _The Turn of the Screw_ (1954). However, I am totally blown away by Gerald Finley's performance of _Batter My Heart_ from Adams's Doctor Atomic. I really want to listen to this entire opera now, though I have a suspicion that the rest won't quite measure up.

Such a shame Finley wasn't on the same form when I saw him sing the title role in Guillaume Tell recently.


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