# Enjoyed Lady Macbeth....what next for more "modern" opera?



## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I really surprised myself and took to Lady Macbeth. Of course Shostakovich continues to surprising and more accessible to me than I ever would have expected.

I particularly enjoyed the through-composed aspect of the opera (thanks Wagner, :tiphat and the fact that Shostakovich was able to convey great dramatic tension without sacrificing melody.

Where next? I must say that while the other elements are important, beauty in the music is very important to me, I do need a melody. Any suggestions?


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Well, "Lady Macbeth" is from the 1930s. You can try to move forward a couple of decades and try this one:


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Sonata said:


> I really surprised myself and took to Lady Macbeth. Of course Shostakovich continues to surprising and more accessible to me than I ever would have expected.
> 
> I particularly enjoyed the through-composed aspect of the opera (thanks Wagner, :tiphat and the fact that Shostakovich was able to convey great dramatic tension without sacrificing melody.
> 
> Where next? I must say that while the other elements are important, beauty in the music is very important to me, I do need a melody. Any suggestions?


---
A 'melodic' Lady Macbeth, huh?-- well how about the_ gris eminence _of La Scala one and not the Mtsensk one? Ha. Ha. Ha. . . I love _this _performance (if not the recording quality) of the opera-- which I've been listening to as of late. I like De Sabata's contours and just have the open mouth of ignorant wonder over Callas' unrivaled psychological grasp of the role.


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

Sonata said:


> I really surprised myself and took to Lady Macbeth. Of course Shostakovich continues to surprising and more accessible to me than I ever would have expected.
> 
> I particularly enjoyed the through-composed aspect of the opera (thanks Wagner, :tiphat and the fact that Shostakovich was able to convey great dramatic tension without sacrificing melody.
> 
> Where next? I must say that while the other elements are important, beauty in the music is very important to me, I do need a melody. Any suggestions?


You may enjoy Britten's operas for the music. The subject matter can be somewhat unpalatable though.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

It just so happens that the most recent modern opera I really enjoyed was also based on Macbeth: Salvatore Sciarrino's "Macbeth: Three nameless acts." Fabulous uses of Mozart and Verdi in the 2nd act. 

I'll be giving it another listen before too long.

*p.s.* Just saw the "melody" requirement, so I'm not sure this counts--though Sciarrino borrows some great ones!


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## SilenceIsGolden (May 5, 2013)

By modern I take it to mean works contemporaneous with _Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk_ and newer, so I wonder if you've ever listened to any Britten? _Peter Grimes_ perhaps? Though Britten is often criticized for not being a great melodist, he is a supreme tone painter and creates beautiful orchestral textures. Not to say an opera like _Peter Grimes_ doesn't have tunes, it most certainly does, and some good ones.

Then there's _Porgy and Bess_ by Gershwin, which if you want melodies will assuredly be a winner. Oh, and maybe Prokofiev's _War and Peace_?


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

Another vote for Poulenc's Les Dialogues Des Carmelites
Also I wholehearted second the guy who recommended Peter Grimes.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Prokofiev's _The Love for Three Oranges_. It's performed in both French and Russian and has a tune you may know.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I just finished watching an utterly brilliant, harrowing, compelling, fantastically sung and inspiringly staged version of Dialogues des Carmélites from Paris. It is available free on Arte TV: click here










Here is the cast:

Sophie Koch, Patricia Petibon, Véronique Gens, Sandrine Piau, Rosalind Plowright, Topi Lehtipuu, Philippe Rouillon, Annie Vavrille, Sophie Pondjiclis, François Piolino, Jérémy Duffau, Yuri Kissin, Matthieu Lécroart,

Conductor: Jérémie Rhorer, Philharmonia Orchestra, Chœur du Théâtre des Champs-Elysées 
Director : Olivier Py 
Sets : Pierre-André Weitz, Bertrand Killy

I feel like becoming world dictator so I can pass an edict forcing people to watch it, it's so good.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Difficult question to answer without knowing what you've already heard, but (partly) inspired by Lady Mc of Mt, I'd suggest the following:

Richard Strauss - Elektra

Britten - Peter Grimes

Berg - Wozzek

Debussy - Peleas et Melissande (yes, I know its nothing like the others here)


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## msegers (Oct 17, 2008)

I would agree with all the recommendations here, especially _Wozzeck_, _Peleas et Melissande_, and _War and Peace_, most of all, _War and Peace_. One that seems more along the lines of _Lady Macbeth_ is the harrowing, but strangely beautiful _Fiery Angel_.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Speaking of _Macbeth_, Ernest Bloch wrote one that I once heard on radio. I had no libretto but the music was arresting. Is anyone familiar with this?


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

I have this recording:










I know there are others available, but don't feel very motivated to listen to them, beyond some fragments by Inge Borkh. In fact, the orchestral parts were the most appealing for me in this piece.


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## Bardamu (Dec 12, 2011)

Les Dialogues Des Carmelites is a good choice.



SilenceIsGolden said:


> By modern I take it to mean works contemporaneous with _Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk_ and newer,


By this definition I would suggest Respighi's La fiamma and Porrino's I Shardana.
Not exactly "modern" but with a few great melodies.
















I'd also throw in Dallapiccola's Il Prigioniero and Volo di notte but I'm not sure if you'll like the blend between "dodecaphony" and the more italian sense for melody.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

The title of Poulenc's Les Dialogues Des Carmelites sounded bland to me so I didn't give it much thought.....until it keeps popping up everywhere I look! So I checked out the synopsis today, and wow, how utterly moving! I will be getting this and soon to try. After all, I have a "habit" of enjoying operas about nuns


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Sonata said:


> The title of Poulenc's Les Dialogues Des Carmelites sounded bland to me so I didn't give it much thought.....until it keeps popping up everywhere I look! So I checked out the synopsis today, and wow, how utterly moving! I will be getting this and soon to try. After all, I have a "habit" of enjoying operas about nuns


It's a very strong opera. Not musically as gripping as Lady Macbeth but still good.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Sonata said:


> The title of Poulenc's Les Dialogues Des Carmelites sounded bland to me so I didn't give it much thought.....


I agree about the uninspired title. I was surprised how good the music was (and the libretto is interesting too).


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

The origin of the opera is a novella by Gertrude von Le Fort (de la Force ), with the title of _Die Letzte am Schafott _(The Last on the Scaffold). It was the great French writer George Bernanos who chose the name of Dialogues for the play he wrote based on the novella (the play was a much rounder piece than the novella), and Poulenc kept this title for the opera.

Personally, I like the title.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

schigolch said:


> Personally, I like the title.


it's still better than the original. That one sounds like the title of a B-movie. The second one is just too precious. I always imagined a bunch of bored nuns, chain smoking and discussing how life's disappointments have driven them into Jesus' arms.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

It looks like the beginning of a regie production...


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## alan davis (Oct 16, 2013)

Try Korngold's "Die Kathrin". Had a listen yesterday, first time in a couple of years. Wonderful stuff.


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## Signor Crescendo (May 8, 2014)

Philip Glass: _Satyagraha_ (sung in Sanskrit) and _Akhnaten _(sung in Ancient Egyptian)
Akhnaten: 



 & 



 (which is TREMENDOUS - one of the most overwhelming torrents of pure SOUND in music, alongside the Berlioz Requiem)
Satyagraha: 




I'd second Britten. _Billy Budd_ and _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ are both terrific operas. _Billy Budd_ is powerful and well characterised, and has a great ensemble ("This is our moment..."), and _Dream_ is magic.


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