# Most Recently Composed 'Masterpiece' Opera



## bz3 (Oct 15, 2015)

In your opinion, what opera is it? I don't just mean an opera you consider good, but a true masterpiece. I don't know very many 20th century operas so I'm interested in the responses here. 

Bluebeard's Castle is my vote, for what it's worth, but I've probably only listened to 3 or 4 20th century or later operas.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

_Bluebeard's Castle_ dates from 1911 so it would be trivial to find many that are more recent than that ... A few by Puccini such as _Turandot_ (1924), _Gershwin's Porgy and Bess_ (1935), and then there is Leos Janacek and Benjamin Britten, etc. Certainly Britten's _Peter Grimes_ (1945) is a masterpiece. While I don't have an opinion on them, how about John Adam's various operas? And then there is George Benjamin's _Written On Skin_.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Saariaho´s _L´Amour de Loin_ (2000) is worth knowing and not really that much more 'difficult" musically than Bartok´s.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Even though I'm not an opera connoisseur, I would say that Death in Venice (1973) by Britten definitely is a masterpiece.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

1983: Akhnaten, by Philip Glass. Hauntingly beautiful, and "Attack and Fall" is EXCITING!


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Thomas Ades The Exterminating Angel.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

"Written on Skin" (2012), by George Benjamin. You can watch the opera in youtube:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

*Previn:* A Streetcar named Desire (World Premiere Performance San Francisco Opera 1998)






https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susannah
By Flloyd for starters.


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## bz3 (Oct 15, 2015)

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll start with Britten since he seems to be one of the heavyweights I've not to. Any suggestions on the Adams operas? I listened to a couple of Janacek operas a while ago, I didn't feel much connection either way (especially compared to his other works) but then I've never been a big opera listener.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

bz3 said:


> Thanks for the replies. I think I'll start with Britten since he seems to be one of the heavyweights I've not to. Any suggestions on the Adams operas? I listened to a couple of Janacek operas a while ago, I didn't feel much connection either way (especially compared to his other works) but then I've never been a big opera listener.


Perhaps you should try master-works from the past first then?


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

bz3 said:


> Thanks for the replies. I think I'll start with Britten since he seems to be one of the heavyweights I've not to. Any suggestions on the Adams operas? I listened to a couple of Janacek operas a while ago, I didn't feel much connection either way (especially compared to his other works) but then I've never been a big opera listener.


I think there are two Adams operas that are really very nice, and probably good candidates to be included in your list.

"Nixon in China", the first one, written in 1987. You can watch complete in youtube:






"Doctor Atomic", written in 2005. This is the beautiful aria 'Batter My Heart':






While I'm a big fan of almost all Janacek's operas, maybe you didn't like them, or felt a connection to them, a while ago. This can change in the future, or not. But in any case, this doesn't preclude that you will enjoy operas from other composers.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Menotti's "The Consul" with Patricia Neway


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## alan davis (Oct 16, 2013)

I think Jake Heggie's operas are destined to become a permanent part of the repertoire.


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

Ligeti's "Le Grand Macabre"


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