# 30-day Opera Challenge - Round 3



## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Here we go! By popular demand, it's the third installment of our beloved challenge!

Thanks to mamascarlatti for coming up with the idea in the first place and for providing the first two challenges. This is my humble attempt to follow in her daunting footsteps, so please, be gentle--it's my first time!

The rules remain the same. You post answers to the following questions over the course of thirty days, preferably consecutive. New posters can join in at any time. Feel free to post pics or videos illustrating your answers.

Let's get to it!

TC THIRTY DAY OPERA CHALLENGE, ROUND THREE

1. Best opening scene.
2. Aria you think is scary.
3. Best purely instrumental moment (aside from overtures/preludes).
4. Smartest opera character.
5. Classic movie that should be made into an opera.
6. Favorite opera director.
7. Opera that best illustrates Murphy's Law (whatever can go wrong, will go wrong).
8. Best seduction scene.
9. Opera composer most likely to win in a bar fight.
10. Best suicide.
11. Opera house you've visited most.
12. Best _a cappella_ moment.
13. Superhero who would make the best subject for an opera.
14. Opera with the best music (forgetting the libretto).
15. Which opera role would you most like to play?
16. Best magical/supernatural moment.
17. Two characters from different operas who were made for each other.
18. Best unfinished opera.
19. Role you wish a favorite singer would attempt.
20. Best use of opera in pop culture.
21. Dumbest opera character.
22. Opera with the hardest stage effect to bring off successfully.
23. Which opera has been best represented in DVD productions?
24. Best moment of complete silence.
25. Italian, French, or German opera?
26. Best opera curse.
27. Current event that should be made into an opera.
28. Funniest moment in an opera.
29. Career advice you would give to one particular singer.
30. Most disappointing opera ending.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Thank you amfortas - these look like fun

*1. Best opening scene*

Don Giovanni & a rave from the grave to illustrate


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

*1. Best opening scene.*

A maybe less classic choice: *Boito's "Mefistofele"; Ave Signore.*





A classic choice: *Le nozze di Figaro*


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

I like, I like, I like. Thank you, Amfortas! 

Nr. 17 is the best


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Another classic: the stormy opening chorus and "Esultate" from Verdi's _Otello_.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

Without thinking too long about it, I pick the opening scene of Die Walkure.


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

Die Walküre


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

*1. Best opening scene.*

I go for Cavalleria Rusticana with the long "OOOOOOOO--OO--OO"-aria (best: Bergonzi) and than the big eardeafening splash of the orchestra: now that's opera!


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

TxllxT said:


> I go for Cavalleria Rusticana with the long "OOOOOOOO--OO--OO"-aria (best: Bergonzi) and than the big eardeafening splash of the orchestra: now that's opera!


When I saw it this summer, the opening aria coming from behind us, from the top of a castle wall, was quite somethin'


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

I'm gonna go with Die Zauberflote. Tough to top a fight vs. a dragon.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Best Opening(s) : 

Der Freischuetz, Opening village scene 

Rigoletto, The ball in Duke's palace after that deep and tragic prelude 

Carmen, Opening of the act 4

The Bartered Bride , Opening of the first act 

Boris Godunov, The Coronation scene

Fair at sorochyntsi, Market scene 

Cavalleria rusticana, when people enter the scene after bell sounds and a little prelude 

Falstaff, Opening of act 2, when Madam Quickly enters ! 

and many more ... !


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

_Die Meistersinger_, at the magical moment when the prelude ends and the curtain rises to the inside of the church. The congregation sings a superb chorale, _Da zu dir der Heiland kam_ that could have been composed by Bach 150 years earlier, interspersed with some of the key motifs of the opera that could only have been written by Wagner.

This is the only YouTube that I could find of it, with a very old recording and no images. Can anyone find me the Prelude and the chorale from an operatic production?


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Thanks for doing this, amfortas.

Three opening scenes that I love, among many:

Rossini's Ermione - the chorus participates of the overture, and it melts into a very musically beautiful first scene
Verdi's Otello - I think there is no other opera with such an untactful beginning
Wagner's Tannhäuser - certainly all that orgy in Venus' palace is an interesting way to start an opera

To pick just one, I'll stick with Ermione, one of my very favorite operas, and one that I think is clearly under-rated and under-diffused. It hasn't even made out top 200 list! Oh boy, you guys don't know what you're missing!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I love Die Walküre. It really gets your heart racing, and you can be in no doubt that serious stuff is going down.

"Esultate" from Otello comes a close second, preferably belted out by Plácido Domingo.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> To pick just one, I'll stick with Ermione, one of my very favorite operas, and one that I think is clearly under-rated and under-diffused. It hasn't even made out top 200 list! Oh boy, you guys don't know what you're missing!


Just watching it at the moment, Alma.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Just watching it at the moment, Alma.


 Great. I look forward to your review. Is it the Antonacci version?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> Great. I look forward to your review. Is it the Antonacci version?


Of course. I LOVE that woman.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Day 2 - Iago's Credo


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

amfortas said:


> 1. Best opening scene.


Well, depends on what "best" means. I quite like the _staging_ of the underwater scene in The Met's/James Levine's _Das Rheingold_ on DVD. Nice effects.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

2. Aria you think is scary.

Der Holle Rache


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Aria you think is scary :

Hmmm ... all Tsar Ivan's monologues in The Maid of Pskov are terribly scary, but of course needs a Chaliapin or Christoff to be such effective ...


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

Day 1: Best opening scene

I really love the opening of Rheingold, as well as that magical moment of the chorus entering in the beginning of Meistersinger. I also have a soft spot for the opening of Cosí.

Day 2: Aria you think is scary

Just about anything Lady Macbeth sings. Truly blood-curdling stuff.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

*2. Aria you think is scary.*

Wotan's monologue in _Die Walküre_: such a loooooooooooong preaching!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

*2. Aria you think is scary.
*
Scarpia's Te Deum. He is SUCH a *******.

Also Claggart's aria in Billy Budd.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

It scares me when I hear it... _Di quella pira_ from Il Trovatore. When the trumpets and chorus come in near the end of the aria, it changes to a more triumphant mode, but considering what is happening at the opera at the time, it's hard to be triumphant.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

Der Holle Rache


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

2. Aria you think is scary

The Turn of the Screw: Peter Quint's aria


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

*I second that!!!*



rgz said:


> 2. Aria you think is scary.
> 
> Der Holle Rache


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Hagen's Watch from _Götterdämmerung_. Slow, restrained, but powerfully menacing--especially as performed by Matti Salminen.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

*2. Aria you think is scary*

_No, Pagliaccio non son _ Because anything to do with clowns I find scary


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

Actually, this is f-ing scary as well...! Del Monaco would probably scare me reciting the phone book :lol:


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## MarieTherese (Aug 31, 2011)

There is nothing like the opening bars of _Le nozze di Figaro_ to put a smile on your face! A close runner up for me would be the overture and opening of _Der Rosenkavalier_- the overture says everything you need to know for the next few hours... But for the absolute showiest of opening moments it would have to be the beginning of Act 2 of _Rosenkav_, where Octavian stands atop the staircase with the rose in his outstretched hand while the arpeggio chords sweep through the orchestra! Bliss.....


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

amfortas said:


> Hagen's Watch from _Götterdämmerung_. Slow, restrained, but powerfully menacing--especially as performed by Matti Salminen.


You picked a very good one. I could have picked it too, had I thought of it.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

MarieTherese said:


> There is nothing like the opening bars of _Le nozze di Figaro_ to put a smile on your face! A close runner up for me would be the overture and opening of _Der Rosenkavalier_- the overture says everything you need to know for the next few hours... But for the absolute showiest of opening moments it would have to be the beginning of Act 2 of _Rosenkav_, where Octavian stands atop the staircase with the rose in his outstretched hand while the arpeggio chords sweep through the orchestra! Bliss.....


Oh wow, this is a nice first post!
Welcome to the forum, MarieTherese.
It looks like we've just acquired another quality member for our small but growing community.
Please stick around and have fun; we do!


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

MarieTherese said:


> . . . _Der Rosenkavalier_ . . .


Marieeeee Thereeeeeeees'! . . . Octaaaaaaavian! . . . Bicheeette! . . . Quinnnnnquinnnnnn! . . . Mein Schaaaaaaaaaaaatz! . . . Meeeeeeeeeeein Bub'!

Welcome to the forum!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

amfortas said:


> Marieeeee Thereeeeeeees'! . . . Octaaaaaaavian! . . . Bicheeette! . . . Quinnnnnquinnnnnn! . . . Mein Schaaaaaaaaaaaatz! . . . Meeeeeeeeeeein Bub'!
> 
> Welcome to the forum!


Don't mind mad uncle Amfortas, MarieTherese, he's a bit excitable. You just have to humour him, he's mostly harmless.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Don't mind mad uncle Amfortas, MarieTherese, he's a bit excitable. You just have to humour him, he's mostly harmless.


 Harmless? He's not harmless! He's bat crazy, and rabid!
MarieTherese, beware of amfortas!
He's one of our nastiest posters, and he's got no sense of humor whatsoever!:devil:


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Alma is a bit excitable too.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

3. Best purely instrumental moment (aside from overtures/preludes).

The wedding march in _Nozze _is very pretty, although the staging is usually less than inspired in my experience. But the definite winner is the descent into Nibelheim in _Das Rheingold_. First time I saw it, in the 1990 Levine Ring, I was simply dumbstruck. That version isn't on YT, but this version is interesting:


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Alma is a bit excitable too.


 You know what kind of - cough, cough - assets get me all excited, don't you?


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

1. Best opening scene.
I have to agree with (in no particular order) Otello, Mefistofele & Meistersinger


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

*3. Best purely instrumental moment (aside from overtures/preludes).*






Oh I love those ballets in Pique Dame, and the sudden changes of mood overall, all foretold by Tchaikovsky in instrumental moments!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

*3. Best purely instrumental moment *

Literally gives me goosebumps every time.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I agree with Natalie, and it's my pick too.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)




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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I thought that "aside from overtures/preludes" excluded intermezzi as well, otherwise I'd have picked Méditation from Thaïs. Over-exposed but always beautiful, especially in this cello version:


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

I obviously had to pick the Waldweben (Forest murmurs) from Siegfried. The purely orchestral part lasts for just over a minute, but I don't think anybody will mind the guy singing Siegfried here.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Since Siegfried's Funeral March has already been taken (twice), I'll go with two very different moments.

First, the majestic Transformation music from Act I of _Parsifal_, as the forest scene magically dissolves into the Grail temple (the instrumental section starts at 2:13 in this clip).






Second, the quiet closing seconds from Act I of _Der Rosenkavalier_, as the Marschallin sadly reflects on her own mortality (starts at 1:52)


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

3. Best purely instrumental moment (aside from overtures/preludes)



Very short piece - from about .45 seconds


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

3. Best purely instrumental moment 

Long, able to be used as a concert piece:
Siegfried's Funeral March--agreeing with everyone else!

Shorter, and unable to be disassociated from the action of the opera: (which was my first understanding of the question)
The 4th act music that brings Othello onstage to murder Desdemona.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Smartest opera character:
I think the various operas that have Mephistopheles as a character always depict him as cunning, scheming, and with an evil intelligence. Iago would be another one. Hans Sachs is smart and empathetic. Susanna as well. Despina has street smarts.
The dumbest one would be Platée. Ernani and Azucena are close seconds and worthy winners of the Darwin Award. Don Pasquale is not that sharp either. Dorabella and Fiordiligi are equally a little slow in the uptake.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

*4. Smartest opera character.*

Well, Figaro is a legend in his own mind, but the women really run circles around him, so Susanna is a good choice.

However, uh, I haven't seen it, but I'm assuming that _Einstein on the Beach_ actually features Einstein?


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

AnaMendoza said:


> *4. Smartest opera character.*
> 
> Well, Figaro is a legend in his own mind, but the women really run circles around him, so Susanna is a good choice.
> 
> However, uh, I haven't seen it, but I'm assuming that _Einstein on the Beach_ actually features Einstein?


 Indeed, it does. Good call!
And Doctor Atomic could be another one, with Dr. Openheimer.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Some great ideas above.

Odysseus in Il Ritorno d'ULisse in Patria is pretty clever, deceiving the suitors and eventually slaying them. 

Loge gets Alberich to turn into a toad so he can capture him.


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

3. Best purely instrumental moment

just to mention two of them:


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Let me see, you're the most powerful of all the gods. You pretty well run everything on Earth as well as in Valhalla. And when things go wrong, who do you desperately need for advice - Erda, that's who. She tells Wotan what's going to happen, and why he has to co-operate whether he likes it or not.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Oh boy, another 30-day challenge! (Thanks, Amfortas!). And I have some catching up to do:

*Day 1 - Best opening scene*
_Il Trovatore_, with Ferrando's spooky narration. Very atmospheric!

*Day 2 - Aria you think is scary*
_Il Trovatore _again, and Azucena's "Stride la vampa"

*Day 3 - Best purely instrumental moment*
The flute solos that are part of the trials of fire and water in Act II of _Die Zauberflöte_

*Day 4 - Smartest opera character*
I'll have to agree on Susanna.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

4. Smartest opera character

I like Mistress Quickly in Falstaff as she's the brains behind the dupe


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

3. Best purely instrumental moment :

Introduction to Filippo's Recitative and Aria from Verdi's Don Carlos, Act 4. 
Never heard such a strong beginning elsewhere :






(3a. Best purely instrumental piece : Dance of the Persian slaves from Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina)

4. Smartest opera character :

Die Kluge (Orff's Die Kluge ! )


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

sospiro said:


> 4. Smartest opera character
> 
> I like Mistress Quickly in Falstaff as she's the brains behind the dupe


Me too :tiphat:

I love her repeating "Reverenza" in Act 2 !


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 5 - Classic movie that should be made into an opera*

The old 1930s Errol Flynn version of "_The Adventures of Robin Hood_." It has all of the ingredients for an opera -- a hero (Robin), heroine (Marian), the villain (Sir Guy), and a little comic relief (Friar Tuck). And probably very little of it is historically accurate, which also seems to be characteristic of a number of well-known operas (Don Carlos, Donizetti's Tudor queens).


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

*Day 5 - Classic movie that should be made into an opera*

How about _Stagecoach_? I bet Puccini would have loved it.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

_Casablanca_ would make an excellent opera. Almost all of the film is set in Rick's Casino. The airport scene at the end could be done with fog, just like it was in the movie.

There's no second female lead, unless you'd want to turn Ugarte or Ferrari into a woman's role. It would work, especially in Ugarte's case. There's some built-in music (Sam at the piano) and the opportunity to write some exotic music suited for the locale. There's also the magical moment when the Nazi hymn gets drowned out by La Marseillaise.

The movie features a love triangle, political intrigue, and an exotic location - Verdi would have seized the libretto and made a masterpiece.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Day 5 - Classic movie that should be made into an opera

Gone With The Wind

Anna Netrebko as Scarlett O'Hara, Jonas Kaufmann as Rhett Butler, Simon Keenlyside as Ashley Wilkes & Natalie Dessay as Melanie Wilkes.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

sospiro said:


> Day 5 - Classic movie that should be made into an opera
> 
> Gone With The Wind
> 
> Anna Netrebko as Scarlett O'Hara, Jonas Kaufmann as Rhett Butler, Simon Keenlyside as Ashley Wilkes & Natalie Dessay as Melanie Wilkes.


I like it, but don't you think Rhett should be a deep, sexy baritone and Ashley a quavery lyric tenor?


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

amfortas said:


> I like it, but don't you think Rhett should be a deep, sexy baritone


Yes but JK looks the part & he's a baritenor anyway



amfortas said:


> and Ashley a quavery lyric tenor?


I thought that at first but Simon does do 'angst' very well


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Drat! I've fallen behind in my own callenge!

*Day 4 - Smartest opera character.*

I don't know if Sarastro from _Die Zauberflote_ is really all that smart (yeah, let's leave Pamina in the trustworthy care of Monostatos), but he *sounds* so damn wise when he sings that all of my reservations are swept away.

*Day 5 - Classic movie that should be made into an opera*

I'll go with one of my all-time favorite films, Hitchcock's _Vertigo_. Not a lot of action, but it's a gripping story off twisted obsession (it would probably make for a theatre piece a little like Britten's _Death in Venice_). And the movie already has perhaps the greatest film score ever written, by Bernard Herrmann. It would be wonderful to hear this music (which many have likened to _Tristan_) elaborated into an opera.


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

*Day 4 - Smartest opera character.*
Swan from Lohengrin. He knows exactly when's the right time to appear.

*Day 5 - Classic movie that should be made into an opera*
Stanley Kubrick's Lolita. Or The Shining. Horror opera


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Day 5 - Wong Kar-Wai's _In the Mood for Love_. It would make a great romantic opera.
Now, for something completely different, a contemporary opera based on _2001 - A Space Odissey _would be something!


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> Now, for something completely different, a contemporary opera based on _2001 - A Space Odissey _would be something!


What, this wasn't enough for you?


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

amfortas said:


> What, this wasn't enough for you?


I reviewed this performance (see the Berlioz thread) and gave it a 7/10.
Not that good.

You know, there's an operatic aria in The Fifth Element. Opera and Sci-Fi need to interact more. Not considering Klingon opera, of course.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

*Day 5 - Classic movie that should be made into an opera*

Agree with Almaviva that In The Mood For Love would be great, as would the quasi-sequel 2046. But my choice would be between the two of the most romantic movies of all time -- Before Sunrise, which is the perfect cinematic expression of how I felt in my early 20s, and Roman Holiday, with the almost too-lovely Audrey Hepburn (see, I've got a thing for short, thin brunettes  ).

Before Sunrise would never work, since 99% of the movie is just two people talking, but it would allow for the sequel, Before Sunset, to be follow a few years later. Most romantic and real movies of all time.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 6: Favorite opera director*

David McVicar. His stagings aren't what I'd consider strictly traditional, but they are always interesting.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Day 6: Favourite opera director

Laurent Pelly

His _La fille du régiment_ is a classic


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Favourite opera director - waiting for the flying vegetables - is Robert LePage.

I've seen about six of his productions, and the two most impressive ones in my opinion were Stravinsky's _Oedipus Rex/Symphony of Psalms_ and Stravinsky's _Le Rossignol and other tales_. In each of these, he provided a powerful vision to the one-act opera, then dramatized other pieces of Stravinsky to make a stylistic union with the longer opera.

His _Damnation of Faust_ provided a framework for a piece that wouldn't get performed by symphony orchestras due to length and cost. It was almost as if a new opera by Berlioz was discovered in somebody's old papers.

I await a trip to NYC sometime in the next few years to see his Ring.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Day 6: Favourite opera director
> 
> Laurent Pelly
> 
> His _La fille du régiment_ is a classic


Ditto. Everything he does is interesting.


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

* Day 6: Favorite opera director*

Peter Konwitschny


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 6: Favorite opera director*

By the way, if anyone is having trouble coming up with an answer to this question (since the director is the invisible man or woman of any production), you can check out the "Favorite Director on DVD" thread in the "Opera on DVD and Blu-ray" forum. Quite a few directors and their productions on DVD are mentioned there.

As for me, it's hard to pick a single favorite, but for right now I'll go with Robert Carsen. There are no doubt more daring, and perhaps more consistent, directors, but his simple, elegant, sometimes elemental approach (he's been known to have large bodies of water onstage) has often produced excellent results. He's done beautiful stagings of _Eugene Onegin_, _L'incoronazione di Poppea_, _Katia Kabanova_, _Les Boreades_, and a Salzburg _Rosenkavalier_, set in the 1911 period of the opera's premiere, that has not receieved much attention on this site:






As I mentioned in another thread, I'm still waiting eagerly in the hope that his Munich _Ariadne of Naxos_ will come out on DVD as well.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I have to agree with amfortas. Carsen is pretty good.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Oh wow, I just thought of something, I must go back to day 5.
One of the movies with the most operatic potential is Lars von Trier's _Dancer in the Dark_.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> Oh wow, I just thought of something, I must go back to day 5.
> One of the movies with the most operatic potential is Lars von Trier's _Dancer in the Dark_.


Great minds: here it is on Presto Classical


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> Oh wow, I just thought of something, I must go back to day 5.
> One of the movies with the most operatic potential is Lars von Trier's _Dancer in the Dark_.


Apparently, you're not the only one to think so! 










EDIT: Yeah . . . what Nat said!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I didn't know that it had been set to music already! Is the opera good?


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

*Day 6: Favorite opera director*

Okay, based on _Genoveva_, which, I know, is not enough evidence, I'm going to say: Anyone but Kusej.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Carsen....


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

*7. Opera that best illustrates Murphy's Law (whatever can go wrong, will go wrong).*

Don Alvaro's unfortunate attempt to disarm and surrender, in _La Forza del Destino_.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Whatever can go wrong....

How about Herodias' desire for some after-dinner entertainment in _Salome_?


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Day 8 - It's hard to beat Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District on things that go wrong.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 7: Opera that best illustrates Murphy's Law (whatever can go wrong, will go wrong)*

The Conti di Luna in _Il Trovatore _seems to be a poster child for Murphy's Law. He fails to kill his rival in a duel, though he believes otherwise -- which encourages him to attempt the abduction of Leonora from the convent, which is foiled by the sudden reappearance of that supposedly dead rival. Even when he's finally managed to capture and imprison said rival, Leonora offers him her favors in exchange for the rival's freedom and then takes poison before she can deliver the goods. Ticked off no end by this turn of events, the Conte decides to even the score with both the rival and his gypsy mother, who supposedly killed the nobleman's brother, by ordering the rival's execution. And then that d*mned gypsy informs him that the rival was, in fact, his long-lost brother.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

*Day 6: Favorite opera director*

Carsen for me too, He doesn't always get it right (Rusalka) but it's usually interesting. Lve his Eugene Onegin and Boreades. Pelly is great for Franch comedy

*Day 7: Opera that best illustrates Murphy's Law (whatever can go wrong, will go wrong)*

I reckon the Ring is a massive cock-up from beginning to end, especialy if you happen to be Wotan


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 7: Opera that best illustrates Murphy's Law (whatever can go wrong, will go wrong)*

I'll go with Gounod's _Roméo et Juliette_, since it retains the tribulations of Shakespeare's original "star-crossed" lovers. We all know the story: Romeo and Juliet fall in love, but are kept apart because of the feud between their families. They marry in secret, only to have Romeo kill Juliet's cousin Tybalt in a street fight and find himself banished from the city. With the help of a well-intentioned but meddlesome friar, Juliet attempts to escape and join Romeo by taking a potion that makes her appear dead. Romeo, failing to receive the crucial message, believes that she really *is* dead and poisons himself by her tomb. Juliet awakes, only to find her husband expiring by her side, and stabs herself to join him in death.

Yeah . . . I'd say that didn't go very well.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

*8. Best seduction scene.*

La ci darem la mano...vorrei e non vorrei...


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

AnaMendoza beat me to the #1 choice, so I'll give my regards to the Duke in "Bella Figlia del'amore" from Rigoletto. Too bad there's those other two people trying to spoil all his fun...


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 8: Best seduction scene*

Carmen flinging that flower at Don José, followed by the sexy Seguidilla.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 8: Best seduction scene*

Maybe not the best *seduction* (it's pretty much a failure), but a hell of a *scene*: Kundry's attempt to corrupt the innocent Parsifal. The dynamics are complicated by Kundry's hysterical dilemma--her only real hope of redemption lies in the young man *refusing* her advances.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

AnaMendoza said:


> *8. Best seduction scene.*
> 
> La ci darem la mano...vorrei e non vorrei...


Obvious #1 choice, since it's already been spoken for I'll go with:






Even in the non-Natalie version it's great!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Wow, who is this gorgeous creature with the beautiful voice? And I don't mean the fly...
Her name - Dorothée Lorthiois. I had never heard of her. I fell in love! Again! (Anna... Kristine Opolais... now Dorothée)

OK, but the best seduction scene in my opinion is one a lot more obscure than these. It's in Le Coq d'Or when the Queen of Shemakan is trying to seduce King Dodon, and says:

Quand j'ai fait tomber ces robes
Dont l'étoffe te dérobe
La splendeur de mes attraits,
Quand mon corps d'argent parait...
Au milieu de cette tente
Je me vois, resplendissante...
Je dénoue mes longs cheveux,
Dont le flot tumultueux,
Comme un noir torrent, s'éplanche
Sur le marbre de mes hanches, 
Et me fait un lourd manteau
Pour rafraichir la peau
Je m'asperge de rosée,
Dont les perles irisées
Se répandent sur mes seins.
Que n'en vois-tu pur dessin!
Ils sont frais comme la rose,
Fermes, tendres, blancs et roses,
Si doux, si clairs si transparents...


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

*Day 9: Opera composer most likely to win in a bar fight:*

Operas have been written *about* Carlo Gesualdo, but he never actually wrote any operas. But he is classical music's most famous murderer - making a murderous artists' quartet with Francois Villon, Caravaggio, and Benvenuto Cellini.

And, unfortunately, Marc Blitzstein was a murder victim, although the assault took place in a back alley.

So I'm going to have to pick someone who, at least, spent a lot of time in bars. I'll take Modest Mussorgsky.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

I'm going to go with John Adams; as an American in the 21st century he has ready access to cheap, reliable semi-automatic handguns.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

I second Waldvogel--Modest Mussorgsky.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Yes, I agree, that famous picture of Mussorgsky with the red nose makes of him the ideal candidate for this question.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 9: Opera composer most likely to win in a bar fight*

I don't know about winning fights, but I can well imagine Beethoven with his temper provoking fights. Not sure that he spent much time in bars, though.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 9: Opera composer most likely to win in a bar fight*

It's not the obvious choice, but I'm going with the Master Tactician: Igor Stravinsky.

He would change his style so often, his opponent would be totally confused!


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 10: Best suicide*

It's hard to beat Brünnhilde's exit at the close of _Götterdämmerung_.


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

*Day 10: Best suicide*

Tosca


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

The closing scene of _Luisa Miller_ is lovely.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Best suicide, or at least the most inventive: Selika in L'Africaine. She commits suicide by poisonous tree.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

Operafocus said:


> *Day 10: Best suicide*
> 
> Tosca


Specially in the (apocryphal?) story of the performance where the stagehands put in a trampoline.....

But, getting back to the question, Samson's death.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

AnaMendoza said:


> Specially in the (apocryphal?) story of the performance where the stagehands put in a trampoline.....


Please tell me it's not apocryphal... I love that story, having first encountered it at an early age in Gerald Durrell's "My family and other animals", in that case about a Greek opera house.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> ... Gerald Durrell's "My family and other animals", in that case about a Greek opera house.


Sorry to go OT for a minute but that is one of my favourite books. Entrails trailing across the verandah, Bootle-Bumtrinket & the "maggenpies"


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

7. Opera that best illustrates Murphy's Law (whatever can go wrong, will go wrong).
Otello (poor Desdemona)

8. Best seduction scene.





Is it Vogliatemi bene a seduction?

9. Opera composer most likely to win in a bar fight.
Ruggero Leoncavallo. Knockout with one blow!










10. Best suicide.
Werther. You know that in the original Goethe's story Werther shoot himself in the head? 
Luckily in the opera he did it in chest ... and we have chance to hear that beautiful ending scene while he's dying.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

mamascarlatti said:


> Please tell me it's not apocryphal... I love that story, having first encountered it at an early age in Gerald Durrell's "My family and other animals", in that case about a Greek opera house.


That's where _I_ read it first, too! But I was just a little kid and didn't know anything about opera, so it didn't mean much to me then. I don't know if it's apocryphal or not. Tosca, maybe because of its intense melodramatic nature, seems to collect comic-relief stories. Tosca and the Trampoline. Tosca and the Unrehearsed Firing Squad.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 10: Best suicide*

_Suor Angelica_

"Here, I'll drink this poison so I can join my dead baby in heaven. Glug glug glug. Oh wait, I've just committed a mortal sin! (Somehow I didn't know that, even though I've been a *nun* for seven freakin' years.) Now I'm really screwed! Help me, Virgin Mary! Oh, there you are, with my dead baby, inviting me to join you in heaven! I'm saved! Yay! Now I can die! Oooooohhhh . . ."

Phew! . . . *That* was a close call!


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

10. Best suicide

Otello 

Tosca 

both deeply tragic !


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 11: Opera house you've visited most*

Cincinnati's Music Hall, simply because it's been my local opera company for almost 15 years.
Outside of the local area, it would have to be the Met.

BTW: that story of Tosca and the trampoline supposedly originated at the New Orleans Opera when Carol Neblett was singing the role. Apparently, she could be "difficult," and antagonized the stage crew to the point that they went looking for a bit of revenge. (Now, of course, I'll need to check the web to see if there's any mention of this story.)


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Teatro Real (Madrid) / Teatro de la Zarzuela (Madrid) / Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona)

Outside Spain, Metropolitan Opera House (New York) and Teatro alla Scala (Milan).


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Metropolitan Opera House, back in the days when I was living in and around New York City.

Unfortunately, that was many years ago, and I don't have the same opportunities where I am now. But that's OK . . . I couldn't afford it anyway!


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## FragendeFrau (May 30, 2011)

Sorry, I've been very busy this week and unable to participate. But I will jump in here...

Covent Garden (the old one) and English National Opera during the 1970s when I lived in London; Bayerische Staatsoper during the 1980s when I lived in Munich.

I have only been to the Met once, but hope to remedy that this fall!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Royal Opera House. 

Also been to Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich & Deutsche Oper, Berlin & going back to Munich next July for the Festival.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

*Day 11: Opera house you've visited most*

San Diego Civic Theater


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

I'll do it again in one post because I tend to forget to come back every day, and I love doing memes in one shot.

1. Best opening scene - Die Walküre. The storm, the music, the handsome hero who is in danger, the immediate attraction between the twins - just perfect.
2. Aria you think is scary. - Claggart's "O beauty, o handsomeness, goodness". Especially when the conductor takes slow tempi, like on the Hickox recording. It's so bone-chillingly evil and yet so passionate.
3. Best purely instrumental moment (aside from overtures/preludes). Siegfried's funeral marsch. Although it can be overdone, but when done right, it's that real "epic fantasy" music.
4. Smartest opera character. - Loge, by far. He's great Manipulative *******.
5. Classic movie that should be made into an opera. - The Princess Bride. Westley is a tenor, Buttercup is a lyric soprano, Inigo is the barihunk role, the six-fingered man is the Samuel Ramey role, Prince Humperdinck is a buffo tenor (I really want to see a Graham Clark type singing him), Fezzik is a bass (Stephen Milling, he's a giant), Miracle Max is another buffo tenor, Valerie is a contralto, the Impressive Clergyman is a buffo bass, Vizzini is a countertenor (inconceivable!). It would be a dramma giacoso.
6. Favorite opera director. - No one in particular. Opera shouldn't be about the directors.
7. Opera that best illustrates Murphy's Law (whatever can go wrong, will go wrong). Tosca. Oh ye gods, Tosca.
8. Best seduction scene. - The Sequidilla. Poor, poor Don José, he never had a chance to withstand!
9. Opera composer most likely to win in a bar fight. - Probably Rossini, he was a big man, wasn't he?
10. Best suicide. - Brünnhilde. It's PURE AWESOME. (If only she came out of the pyre unharmed with three baby dragons - wait, wrong show.)
11. Opera house you've visited most. - The Hungarian State Opera.
12. Best a cappella moment. - At the end of Billy Budd's epilogue, when the orchestra finishes playing befire Vere would finish singing. It's the best musical depiction of solitude I can think of.
13. Superhero who would make the best subject for an opera. - Batman maybe? He could have all these awesome "duets in that old Verdi fashion" (=tenor/baritone Ho Yay) with the Joker.
14. Opera with the best music (forgetting the libretto). Can't choose just one, too many awesome operas around. Don Giovanni, Zauberflöte, Ring, Trovatore, Don Carlo, Tosca, Turandot... all stuff made for gods.
15. Which opera role would you most like to play? Tosca or Sieglinde.
16. Best magical/supernatural moment. - Peter Quint appears on the other side of the window. Bonus point if there's rain. Chiiiills.
17. Two characters from different operas who were made for each other. - Amneris and Count di Luna.
18. Best unfinished opera. - Turandot. Is there any other unfinished opera in the basic repertoire?
19. Role you wish a favorite singer would attempt. - Michael Schade. You're wonderful. You made even Ottavio interesting. PLEASE SING VERE.
20. Best use of opera in pop culture. - Cavalleria Rusticana in Godfather III, even if they switched the order of songs here and there. The music fit that scene perfectly.
21. Dumbest opera character. - There are many candidates but: Ernani, I choose you. "BASS MAD AT YOU BECAUSE HIS BRIDE LOVES YOU, NOT HIM? - LOL GIVE HIM YOUR HORN AND TELL HIM YOU KILL YOURSELF WHEN HE BLOWS IT." *facepalm*
22. Opera with the hardest stage effect to bring off successfully. - The Ring. I've seen awesome fires and collapsing Gibichung Hall, but I've yet to see a convincing effect when the Rhine overflows the stage. Also, never seen Hagen's death (when they didn't change the method) done convincingly.
23. Which opera has been best represented in DVD productions? Don Giovanni. It has many versions available, most of them good, and some really great. The only one I hate with a passion is Losey's boring movie.
24. Best moment of complete silence. - Again, at the end of Billy Budd. If the performance had been good enough, there's about 15-20 seconds of shocked silence before the audience reembers they're in a theater.
25. Italian, French, or German opera? Love ALL the operas!
26. Best opera curse. - Most effective: Alberich's. 
27. Current event that should be made into an opera. - **** them all, I hate modern-themed operas. Nixon? Mao? What's next, Qaddafi? 
28. Funniest moment in an opera. - "Ah taci, ingiusto core" - Leporello acting as Don G while the Don directs him around and poor Elvira notices nothing - PRICELESS.
29. Career advice you would give to one particular singer. - Dear Rod Gilfry, if you HAVE to sing musical roles, go and sing Inspector Javert. But I'd rather have you singing Wotan.
30. Most disappointing opera ending. - Can't think of any - I love downer endings, the higher body count the better!


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Don't forget Day 31: Web ad that looks most like a recent opera production:


















(Bieito's Munich _Fidelio_]


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Like FF, Covent Garden (the old one) and English National Opera, during the 1980s when I lived in London.

Also la Scala (once), Sydney Opera house (once) and our local theatre here in Auckland which is all purpose, not just opera.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Building where I've seen the most operas - the unlamented O'Keefe/Hummingbird/Sony Centre in Toronto. The place where sounds went to die.

Actual opera house where I've seen the most operas - Four Seasons Centre in Toronto.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

11. Opera house you've visited most

No one, never have been in an opera house.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Il_Penseroso said:


> 11. Opera house you've visited most
> 
> No one, never have been in an opera house.


Come to London. I'll take you to ROH. 

Looking rather beautiful in the May sunshine


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

*11. Opera house you've visited most*

I've lost count, but it's between ROH Covent Garden and the Oslo opera house. Probably about 50/50.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Come to London. I'll take you to ROH.
> 
> Looking rather beautiful in the May sunshine


A very isolated man ! Prefer to know operas and orchestral works through medias. I know this is not fair. 
My friend, a very big fan of opera for more than 50 years (she's 80 now) has invited me several times to Wiener Staatsoper as well as Bayreuther Festspiele, but I don't think if I could ever go (actually) to an opera ...


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Well, it takes all sorts. But I reckon that just purely from an aural point of view, even with the best hi-fi in the world, you miss out by not hearing live music. The quality of the sound in real life is just wonderful.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Il_Penseroso said:


> A very isolated man ! Prefer to know operas and orchestral works through medias. I know this is not fair.
> My friend, a very big fan of opera for more than 50 years (she's 80 now) has invited me several times to Wiener Staatsoper as well as Bayreuther Festspiele, but I don't think if I could ever go (actually) to an opera ...


Actually in a way I'm quite relieved.  Attending opera is a spine tingling, mind blowing experience & one of the greatest 'highs' & can be addictive.

I would hate to be the cause of your financial ruin.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

amfortas said:


> 11. Opera house you've visited most.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

@HC

I am so jealous! I want to go one day.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 12: Best a cappella moment*

I can't remember whether or not the forest bird in _Siegfried_ sings without accompaniment. If not, that would be my choice.
Otherwise, I'll go for the shepherd's song at the beginning of Act III of _Tosca_.


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

*Day 12: Best a cappella moment*

I know it's not an opera moment in the traditional sense, but I loved when Mario Lanza did "Mattinata" in "The Great Caruso" outside on the carriage to the people who couldn't get in


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Best a cappella moment:

The Helmsman at the beginning of Act I of _Tristan und Isolde_. It wanders all over the place tonally, and leaves you with a real sense of dread as to what is going to follow.

Westwärts
schweift der Blick;
ostwärts
streicht das Schiff.
Frisch weht der Wind
der Heimat zu:
mein irisch Kind,
wo weilest du?
Sind's deiner Seufzer Wehen,
die mir die Segel blähen?
Wehe, wehe, du Wind! -
Weh, ach wehe, mein Kind! -
Irische Maid,
du wilde, minnige Maid!

[video]Westwärts schweift der Blick; ostwärts streicht das Schiff. Frisch weht der Wind der Heimat zu: mein irisch Kind, wo weilest du? Sind's deiner Seufzer Wehen, die mir die Segel blähen? Wehe, wehe, du Wind! - Weh, ach wehe, mein Kind! - Irische Maid, du wilde, minnige Maid! [/video]


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Best suicide, or at least the most inventive: Selika in L'Africaine. She commits suicide by poisonous tree.


 I was about to say the same. And the interesting thing is that the poisonous tree is real, does exist in nature, and can indeed kill.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

AnaMendoza said:


> That's where _I_ read it first, too! But I was just a little kid and didn't know anything about opera, so it didn't mean much to me then. I don't know if it's apocryphal or not. Tosca, maybe because of its intense melodramatic nature, seems to collect comic-relief stories. Tosca and the Trampoline. Tosca and the Unrehearsed Firing Squad.


 I don't think it's apocryphal, I've read it from more than one reputable source.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Catching up: day 11, the Met, by far, I was a rather frequent patron when I lived in NYC two blocks from Lincoln Center, with an occasional visit to the New York City Opera. Second, Opéra-Bastille, when I lived in Paris four blocks away, with a rare excursion to Opéra-Garnier and Théâtre du Châtelet. In spite of my frequent visits to Italy, I've only been to the Arena di Verona for a performance and to a secondary theater in Venice - I don't even remember the name; otherwise I've only toured the Teatro alla Scala, the I Fenici, and the Teatro di San Carlo during the day outside of performances. This is something I deeply regret, I'd love to actually attend a performance at La Scala. Then next it's the two local opera houses in the small metropolitan area in the Southeastern United States where I currently live, and three other small regional companies in cities nearby. I go to these local/regional opera houses about three times a year for the local ones (twice for the bigger one, once for the smaller one) and once a year for each of the other three. I go back to NYC twice a year for live opera. So this makes for an average of 9 live performances per year which is insufficient (especially because the local/regional performances I attend are not that good - I go more as a way of supporting the companies). Met in HD helps. And then all the rest is DVD-Blu-ray-CD.

A cappella moment: I love it when the orchestra slows down and stops while the singers continue to sing _Bella Figlia del Amore_.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Sieglinde said:


> 18. Best unfinished opera. - Turandot. Is there any other unfinished opera in the basic repertoire?


 Several, depending on your definition of *basic* repertoire; the most striking one which definitely is part of everybody's definition of basic repertoire is _Les Contes d'Hoffmann._


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 12: Best a cappella moment*

I'll go with Brünnhilde's Reproach in Act III of _Die Walküre_--not for being all that memorable in isolation, but for its role within the larger musical and thematic development of Wagner's Ring cycle.

Beginning in the previous drama, _Das Rheingold_, we repeatedly hear the stern, descending downward scale representing Wotan's Spear and its oppressive power.

In the second act of _Die Walküre_, as Wotan's plans are thwarted, this music turns on itself, becoming a repeatedly interrupted downward scale, in the motive known as Wotan's Frustration.

In Act III, Wotan condemns his disobedient daughter Brünnhilde to banishment. In an instrumental interlude, the interrupted descending scale of the Frustration motive alternates with a new variation, the alternately descending and leaping motive of Brünnhilde's Reproach.

When Brünnhilde finally breaks the silence, she sings the complete version of this Reproach motive *a cappella*, asking if her crime was so severe as to deserve banishment.

As she goes on to describe how her disobedience stemmed from the very love that Wotan instilled in her, the motive of her Reproach expands into the slowly descending and leaping theme of Brünnhilde's Compassionate Love.

This motive eventually becomes the soaring orchestral interlude in the midst of Wotan's Farewell, as father and daughter embrace on another for the last time.

Thus, over the course of two nights and a gradual musical development, the stern downward descending scale of Wotan's Spear and its harsh laws gradually becomes the alternating descending steps and soaring leaps of Brünnhilde's Compassionate Love--exemplifying the Ring's basic thematic opposition between Power and Love. And Brünnhilde's a cappella Reproach, coming in the midst of this sequence of variations, is a key part of that development.

It's this kind of musical thematic development, lending in its own interpretive level to the dramatic action, that makes Wagner's Ring so rich.

Note: The above is derived from Dercyk Cooke's brilliant analysis, _An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen_, highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand and enjoy the music of the Ring more fully.










Further note: for anyone actually clicking on the links above, you'll notice (as I just have) that they all go the page for the Spear Motive. I can't seem to fix that problem, but from that page you can navigate to the other examples as well.

Or just go listen to Wagner.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Well, it takes all sorts. But I reckon that just purely from an aural point of view, even with the best hi-fi in the world, you miss out by not hearing live music. The quality of the sound in real life is just wonderful.


You're right but there's no other way for me : There is no opera house or even a concert hall where I live, and my health condition makes me not able to go for a long-time trip ...


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Day 12: Best a cappella moment

Definitely from Russian Operas : chorus of the peasants, Eugene Onegin, act 1, the beginnning is one the best a cappella moments I've ever heard, also Boris Godunov, early morning chorus of the Monks in the first act, though each strophe in ended with a tam tam bell-like sound ...


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Il_Penseroso said:


> You're right but there's no other way for me : There is no opera house or even a concert hall where I live, and my health condition makes me not able to go for a long-time trip ...












I'm so sorry to hear that I_P

Thank goodness opera & music can be enjoyed at home and in different ways. I sometimes wonder what Mozart would think of DVDs, CDs, mp3 players etc.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Let's go for an opera that is fully sing "a cappella":_Boyarina Morozova_.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Il_Penseroso said:


> You're right but there's no other way for me : There is no opera house or even a concert hall where I live, and my health condition makes me not able to go for a long-time trip ...


Sorry to hear that. Aren't we lucky these days to have so many sources of recorded music.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

*13. Superhero who would make the best subject for an opera.*

Probably Batman. It would be a field day for the lighting crew at the opera house. No scary flying like in "Spiderman - Turn off the Dark".

Robin could be played as a "pants role" by a mezzo-soprano.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

The Hulk. We'd get Johan Botha to play the green guy.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 13: Superhero who would make the best subject for an opera*

Wonder Woman -- with Anna "La Bellissima" in the title role. A perfect opportunity to display her vocal and other assets (imagine Alma's delight at seeing her in that skimpy costume. )


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

sospiro said:


> I'm so sorry to hear that I_P
> 
> Thank goodness opera & music can be enjoyed at home and in different ways.





mamascarlatti said:


> Sorry to hear that. Aren't we lucky these days to have so many sources of recorded music.


Thanks, but never mind ... life goes on, with or without me !



sospiro said:


> I sometimes wonder what Mozart would think of DVDs, CDs, mp3 players etc.
> .


I sometimes wonder if Verdi could ever hear Callas or Del Monaco singing his Arias ! Seriously !


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Day 13: Superhero who would make the best subject for an opera

(@ Alma : Forget about Hulk, we have Anna Netrebko to play Miss Havisham in Great Expectations ! )

I don't think of a Superhero ! For Day 13 I simply thought of Sonia in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment as one of my female heros ... oh, also Boule de Suif in Maupassant's famous story, but which one of those great sopranos could really play as these two ?


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> The Hulk. We'd get Johan Botha to play the green guy.


I'm sorry but that made me laugh out loud :lol: - mainly cause I could *actually see that*


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

For Day 13 (Superhero who would make the best subject for an opera.) I've changed my mind :



















On one condition: Anna as Mrs. Hogenson


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 13: Superhero who would make the best subject for an opera*

I'll go with the Fantastic Four. Think of the various aria and ensemble possibilities, with Mr. Fantastic as a lyric baritone, the Human Torch as a light dramatic tenor, the Invisible Girl as a lyric soprano, and the Thing as a dramatic/comic bass.










For good measure, throw in the Silver Surfer as an unearthly countertenor.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 14: Opera with the best music (forgetting the libretto)*

Another tough call. I really love Mozart's _Die Zauberflöte _and _La Clemenza di Tito _. . but then there's _Rigoletto_.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 14: Opera with the best music (forgetting the libretto)*

I'll jump in here with an obvious choice: _Tristan und Isolde_. A landmark in musical history, it's practically a long symphonic tone poem in its own right, apart from the voices. Many critics hold that this is the work where Wagner went against his own precepts and elevated music for its own sake above the drama. I'm not sure I agree, but there's no doubt that this music is extraordinary.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

_I Puritani._


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Opera with the best music... notwithstanding the libretto. I take it to mean that it should be an opera with wonderful music and but with a book that is light-years behind it.

So, I'll go for _Pelléas et Mélisande_.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Day 14: 
Nozze.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Well, for me the obvious choice is the Ring. Sixteen hours of continuous orchestral music with its hundreds of leitmotifs (primary, secondary, tertiary) in such a way that the music tells the story as well as the words, is something that is entirely without equal in the history of opera, and one of the most beautiful artworks ever created.


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## Miriam (Sep 11, 2011)

How about Ha! Welch Ein Augenblick from Fidelio. Walter Berry not only sounds demonic, he looks demonic.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Miriam said:


> How about Ha! Welch Ein Augenblick from Fidelio. Walter Berry not only sounds demonic, he looks demonic.


Welcome to the forum, Miriam.
I assume you're talking about day 2.
We're on day 14, but feel free to catch up and post your preferences for day 1 then days 3 through 14.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

amfortas said:


> 14. Opera with the best music (forgetting the libretto).


Simply Handel and Mozart. Any.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

14. Opera with the best music (forgetting the libretto).



HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Simply Handel and Mozart. Any.


Agree, Die Zauberflöte most of all ...

Also Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmilla: Pushkin's poem is marvelous, but the libretto is not so good, it's more narrative rather than dramatic, see Chernomor's death scene for example ...


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 15: Which opera role would you most like to play?*

With my _Fidelio_ obsession, it has to be Leonore -- but only if I can have JK as my Florestan!


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 15: Which opera role would you most like to play?*

The _Walküre_ Wotan. _Leb' wohl . . . leb' wohl . . . leb' wohl . . . _

It's gonna' happen. I'm just entering my prime. Any day now they'll be calling me. Just you wait and see . . .


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Paul......


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

If I could change from an asthmatic baritone to a heldentenor, I'd be a natural for the role of Lohengrin.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Day 15 - well, I mean, just look at my screen name... 
It would have to be the Barbiere Almaviva, though, not the Nozze one.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Day 15: Which opera role would you most like to play?

Boris Godunov, and I even try, but I know it doesn't work !


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

*15. Which opera role would you most like to play?*
I'm not picky, I'd sing any role ... I just want to be an opera singer


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

*15. Which opera role would you most like to play?*

The starring female role/roles in whatever I'm listening to at the moment.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

*15. Which opera role would you most like to play?*

Dido or Minnie


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

Gosh, I have really fallen behind on this challenge... here's my catch up...!

2. Aria you think is scary.- The whole of La Voix Humaine / much of Bartok's Duke Bluebeard
3. Best purely instrumental moment (aside from overtures/preludes).- Forest Mumurs and the Intro (especially the flute) to Amelia's first big Ballo in Maschera Aria
4. Smartest opera character. Fricka- she really “wears the pants” in the marriage.
5. Classic movie that should be made into an opera. A River Runs Through It
6. Favorite opera director. Götz Friedrich & JP Ponelle
7. Opera that best illustrates Murphy's Law (whatever can go wrong, will go wrong). Ballo in Maschera from Amelia’s point of view (she is the only Verdian heroine that I know of, who never has a moment of bliss- even the love duet is unhappy)
8. Best seduction scene. Samson et Dalila Act II
9. Opera composer most likely to win in a bar fight. Gluck or Handel were both known for being short of patience
10. Best suicide. Cio Cio San
11. Opera house you've visited most. MET, Staatsoper Berlin, Regio Torino, and Covent Garden London
12. Best a cappella moment. The Helmsman (T&I)
13. Superhero who would make the best subject for an opera. Superman
14. Opera with the best music (forgetting the libretto). Tristan & Isolde and Nozze di Figaro
15. Which opera role would you most like to play? Wotan (Walkuere) or Posa (in Italian)


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

BalloinMaschera said:


> 15. Which opera role would you most like to play? Wotan (Walkuere) or Posa (in Italian)


So wait . . . Ballo is *male* . . . ???










I'm so confused . . . 

Than again, I shouldn't let myself be deceived by appearances, should I?


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

*Day 15: Which opera role would you most like to play?*

The Queen of Night. Cos I could do scary :lol: I'd scare everyone off with my horrid voice for starters... :lol:


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

amfortas said:


> I'm so confused . . .
> 
> Than again, I shouldn't let myself be deceived by appearances, should I?


Easy mistake to make.

That's Nat before the surgery...


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Easy mistake to make.
> 
> That's Nat before the surgery...


She's always had a keen sense of fashion, that one. I must say Nat, do bring back the hair.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

sospiro said:


> Easy mistake to make.
> 
> That's Nat before the surgery...












Could be worse. That's me *after* the surgery.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

amfortas said:


> So wait . . . Ballo is *male* . . . ???
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The question did not specifcy that the gender/sex of the chosen role need be that of respondent.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

BalloinMaschera said:


> The question did not specifcy that the gender/sex of the chosen role need be that of respondent.


Absolutely true. And much to my benefit, since in real life I fall in the "undecided" category.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

BalloinMaschera said:


> The question did not specifcy that the gender/sex of the chosen role need be that of respondent.


"Curiouser and curiouser" cried Alice; or in this instance Annie


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 16: Best magical/supernatural moment*

That statue come to life in the final act of _Don Giovanni_.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)




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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

MAuer said:


> *Day 16: Best magical/supernatural moment*
> 
> That statue come to life in the final act of _Don Giovanni_.


If done by a proper bass that scares you witless, yes


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Best magical/supernatural moment:

Amfortas, withstanding incredible pain, unveils the Holy Grail in _Parsifal_.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

waldvogel said:


> Best magical/supernatural moment:
> 
> Amfortas, withstanding incredible pain, unveils the Holy Grail in _Parsifal_.


Thank you. Thank you very much.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Day 16: Best magical/supernatural moment

The Wolf’s Glen scene (Der Freischütz)

The descent of Wotan and Loge into Nibelheim (Das Rheingold)


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

*Day 16: Best magical/supernatural moment*

The ending of la Damnation de Faust.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Il_Penseroso said:


> Day 16: Best magical/supernatural moment
> 
> The Wolf's Glen scene (Der Freischütz)


I thought of this one but the version I got is the one with the masturba!ing bunny, and it really ruined the scene for me, forever.

I'd say the Commendatore statue in Don Giovanni as well but it's so overdone!

Maybe some parts of Die Frau ohne Schatten... or Rusalka... or else, the dream scene in Die Tote Stadt.

OH WAIT A MOMENT! STOP THE PRESS!

I just thought of the perfect one: the final ride in La Damnation de Faust!!!!

Edit - darn, I replied to Il Penseroso without scrolling down. Nat beat me to it!


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

*17. Two characters from different operas who were made for each other.*

Don Giovanni and Salome would have an interesting relationship, methinks.

Cyrano de Bergerac and Kovalyov (from The Nose) would either become the greatest of friends or the fiercest of rivals.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

*17. Two characters from different operas who were made for each other.*

It's pretty obvious, but I always wanted to see Carmen get together with the Duke of Mantua.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> I thought of this one but the version I got is the one with the masturba!ing bunny, and it really ruined the scene for me, forever.


you mean this ?






Yep ! Damn ! I didn't notice to that at first ! :lol: what a good innocent boy I am 
any how musically it's wonderful , just think of Caspar whispering "Samiel ! Samiel ! erschein' !"



> I just thought of the perfect one: the final ride in La Damnation de Faust!!!!


Oh yes, one of the best diabolic scenes in the history of dramatic arts !



> Edit - darn, I replied to Il Penseroso without scrolling down. Nat beat me to it!


It's ok ! :tiphat:


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

17. Two characters from different operas who were made for each other. 

Anna and Alma !


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## FragendeFrau (May 30, 2011)

Just to interrupt: which production of Freischütz is that? (so I can avoid it...) thanks! Although I sort of get that the forest scene was meant to look like Hieronymus Bosch--not enough creatures in it. In fact, at least in this video, it looked almost amateurish, especially with the follow spots. Hope it's not the BSO! But I'm thinking must be in Germany somewhere...


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

waldvogel said:


> Best magical/supernatural moment:
> 
> Amfortas, withstanding incredible pain, unveils the Holy Grail in _Parsifal_.


@ amfortas- take another bow; I have to agree with this choice !


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Two characters from different operas who were made for each other:

Sparafucile and Katerina (of Lady Macbeth of Mzensk)


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

17. Two characters from different operas who were made for each other.

Papageno & Waldvogel from Siegfried


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Il_Penseroso said:


> 17. Two characters from different operas who were made for each other.
> 
> Anna and Alma !


I clicked on the _like_ button, but for this, we should have a _love_ button.:clap:
I certainly can't beat this, so it's gotta be my choice too.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

FragendeFrau said:


> Just to interrupt: which production of Freischütz is that? (so I can avoid it...) thanks! Although I sort of get that the forest scene was meant to look like Hieronymus Bosch--not enough creatures in it. In fact, at least in this video, it looked almost amateurish, especially with the follow spots. Hope it's not the BSO! But I'm thinking must be in Germany somewhere...


Where else would it come from, if not Regie-paradise, a.k.a. Stuttgart?


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 17: Two characters from different operas who were made for each other*

Tosca and Otello. Jealousy and unfounded suspicion galore.


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## FragendeFrau (May 30, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> Where else would it come from, if not Regie-paradise, a.k.a. Stuttgart?


Thank you good sir!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Two characters made for each other.

Carmen and Don Giovanni. Probably for a one-night stand.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

mamascarlatti said:


> Two characters made for each other.
> 
> Carmen and Don Giovanni. Probably for a one-night stand.


Who knows? Maybe they would have finally found their perfect soul mates. I've always wondered how the similar pairing of Carmen and Escamillo would have ended up if she'd survived.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

*18. Best unfinished opera.*

Tales of Hoffman. I was unaware until recently that the Barcarolle wasn't written for Hoffman, but was inserted posthumously, being extracted from an Offenbach operetta. Tough to imagine this opera without that lovely duet.

Honorable mention to Zaide if only for Ruhe Sanft, surely one of the loveliest arias Mozart ever wrote.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Lulu...............


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I'm voting Tales of Hoffmann too,


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

18. Best unfinished opera.

Moses und Aron


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

*Best Unfinished Opera:
*
Prince Igor


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Best unfinished opera:
I don't like Turandot very much. I'm torn between _Moses und Aron_ and _Les Contes D'Hoffmann_. The former is a powerful experience, like being hit by a brick. The latter is delightful, a small miracle. Well I guess I go back to the latter a lot more than to the former, then my vote goes to Hoffmann.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Scary aria: Renata in the Fiery angel...This opera is scary all along.






Best unfinished operas: Lulu and Turandot for me.

Nor Italian nor Germa nor French. Russian!!!!

Best seduction scene: no one..Worst: La Boheme...it takes a few minutes...It is ridiculous

Martin


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> Best seduction scene: no one..Worst: La Boheme...it takes a few minutes...It is ridiculous.


Sometimes . . . that's all it takes . . .


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> I'm torn between _Moses und Aron_ and _Les Contes D'Hoffmann_. The former is a powerful experience, like being hit by a brick. The latter is delightful, a small miracle.


Funny, I've always seen it the other way around.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

18. Best unfinished opera

Mussorgsky's Fair at Sorochyntsi (I like both Tcherepnin and Shebalin versions, I've also studied Cui's vocal score, found it good but haven't heard it yet ...)


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 18: Best unfinished opera*

I'll have to go with Turandot. The two protagonists are both a pair of jerks, but the music is gorgeous.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

I'm so far behind again!

*Day 16: Best magical/supernatural moment*

It may not be the most spectacular--but it always make me smile.






*17. Two characters from different operas who were made for each other*.

The benevolent rulers: Tito from _La Clemenza di Tito_ and Dido from _Les Troyens_.

Maybe not the most exciting couple, but I'd feel pretty safe with them in the White House!

*Day 18: Best unfinished opera*

Some good candidates here, but I'll go with _Lulu_.


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## FragendeFrau (May 30, 2011)

hmmmm...I may have to bump that Zauberflöte right to the top of my wishlist! Lovely! I was holding out for German singers, but they are probably all Regie plus I really want something that's at least within the last decade... 

Who did the David Hockney one? I don't see that anywhere. OK, back on track.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

FragendeFrau said:


> hmmmm...I may have to bump that Zauberflöte right to the top of my wishlist! Lovely! I was holding out for German singers, but they are probably all Regie plus I really want something that's at least within the last decade...


Dorothea Röschmann (Pamina), Franz-Josef Selig (Sarastro), Will Hartmann (Pamino) and Diana Damrau (Queen of the Night) are native speakers, and Simon Keenlyside lived in Germany for some time (see this article), so your ears shouldn't be assaulted by too much bad German in this wonderful production.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

I can absolutely vouch for that version of Die Zauberflote. In fact, it is the TC recommended version for that opera.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 19: Role you wish a favorite singer would attempt *

Jonas Kaufmann as Manrico (which I think is fairly likely to happen).


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

*Day 19: Role you wish a favorite singer would attempt *

My all-time favourite: I don't think there is anything Giacomini has done that I'd want him to do. The Pretender/Grigoriy in Boris Godunov, maybe.

New favourites: Arturo Chacon-Cruz doing Cavaradossi (eventually) and Quinn Kelsey doing Amfortas in Parsifal (at which point I would go see Wagner without any complaints).


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Grigory Soloviov as Méphistophélès or Mefistofele


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

Or Quinn Kelsey as Rigoletto and Giacomini as the Duke.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

*Day 19: Role you wish a favorite singer would attempt *

Really wish Natalie had sung Rosina and/or Adina at some point in her career. I don't think she's even sung Una Voce Poco Fa in a recital, let alone the entire role.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Renée Fleming as Marie/Marietta.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Obviously, Anna Netrebko doing Salome, duh!

:lol:


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

*20. Best use of opera in pop culture.*

I have two, can't choose between them. Both are fairly obvious answers, I'm afraid:





Obviously, first part of the song is the relevant bit. I'm not sure that this aria fits the movie as a whole, but it's still a lovely scene of stillness in an otherwise frenetic (though thoroughly entertaining) movie

This one needs no explanation or justification, it's just brilliant!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

This always moves me. It really demonstrates the power of opera.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> This always moves me. It really demonstrates the power of opera.


I'd forgotten about this. What a great scene.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

I never knew this aria before the movie - but it moved me tremendously in _Philadelphia_.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

waldvogel said:


> I never knew this aria before the movie - but it moved me tremendously in _Philadelphia_.


_La Mamma morta _from _Andrea Chénier _also in _Philadelphia _is neat too.


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

rgz said:


> This one needs no explanation or justification, it's just brilliant!


Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit, kill the WABBIT! "Well, what did you expect in an opera, a *happy* ending?" :lol: Love it!


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

*20. Best use of opera in pop culture.*

(from around 5.50 into the clip)
Liu's aria in act 3, from "Turandot" - in "Life of David Gale". *Devastating* film.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 20: Best use of opera in pop culture*

Here's another vote for Bugs and Elmer in "What's Opera, Doc?"


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Il_Penseroso said:


> 18. Best unfinished opera
> 
> Mussorgsky's Fair at Sorochyntsi (I like both Tcherepnin and Shebalin versions, I've also studied Cui's vocal score, found it good but haven't heard it yet ...)


Had Mussorgsky ever finished an opera? Tell me at least one!

Martin


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

amfortas said:


> Sometimes . . . that's all it takes . . .


Really?

Martin, surprised


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

He finished Boris Godunov, unless someone wants to quibble over the meaning of the word _finished_. Hmmm, looks like he finished it twice--one answer to the trivia question: "What do _Boris Godunov_ and _Don Carlos_ have in common?"


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

waldvogel said:


> I never knew this aria before the movie - but it moved me tremendously in _Philadelphia_.


Right aria, wrong movie:






Diva is one of my favourite movies of all time.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 20: Best use of opera in pop culture*

I too would have gone with "What's Opera, Doc?"

But that's OK. We can all still sing "Kill the Wabbit" to this:


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> Had Mussorgsky ever finished an opera? Tell me at least one!
> 
> Martin


AnaMendoza has answered you completely ... thanks Ana.



AnaMendoza said:


> He finished Boris Godunov, unless someone wants to quibble over the meaning of the word _finished_. Hmmm, looks like he finished it twice--one answer to the trivia question: "What do _Boris Godunov_ and _Don Carlos_ have in common?"


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

Mar adentro - Javier Bardem






And another great movie including music from opera is La vita e bella.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Right aria, wrong movie:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No, Nat, this aria is in Philadelphia as well. The sound track for Philadelphia has several operatic arias.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> No, Nat, this aria is in Philadelphia as well. The sound track for Philadelphia has several operatic arias.


I was joking. I'm saying Waldvogel should have chosen "Diva" to showcase the aria, not "Philadelphia".


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## MAnna (Sep 19, 2011)

Best opening scene: *Julius Caesar* - nothing like a head on a silver charger to get an opera going...

2. Aria you think is scary :*Addio del Passato*

3. Best purely instrumental moment (aside from overtures/preludes): *Das Rheingold and the forging of the Rheingold at beginning of Act 3*

4. Smartest opera character: *Gianni Schicchi*

5. Classic movie that should be made into an opera. *On the Beach*

6. Favorite opera director Don't care really

7. Opera that best illustrates Murphy's Law (whatever can go wrong, will go wrong).
*Tales of Hoffmann
*

8. Best seduction scene: *La Duenna in Scene 4 of Betrothal in a Monastery*

9. Opera composer most likely to win in a bar fight: *Philip Glass (at least he's still alive...)*

10. Best suicide: *Gotterdamerung Brunnhilde*
11. Opera house you've visited most: *War Memorial SF*
12. Best a cappella moment. *The hymn in Luther*

13. Superhero who would make the best subject for an opera: *Wonder Woman*

14. Opera with the best music (forgetting the libretto): *Fairy Queen*

15. Which opera role would you most like to play? *Turiddu*

16. Best magical/supernatural moment.
*Samson crashing the temple*

17. Two characters from different operas who were made for each other.
*Azucena and Rigoletto*

18. Best unfinished opera.
*Tales of Hoffmann*

19. Role you wish a favorite singer would attempt.
*Anna Netrebko as Cleopatra* 

20. Best use of opera in pop culture.
*Fantasia - Dance of the Hours*


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

19. Role you wish a favorite singer would attempt. - I wish Nicola Herlea had sung Simon Boccanegra at some point.
20. Best use of opera in pop culture.- "I lost my shirt/I found my shirt"" scene in The Marx Brothers movie Cocoanuts or Bugs Bunny's Overtures to Disaster; and of course also the Shawshank Nozze Letter Duet


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

*Day 21: Dumbest Opera Character*

Resisting the urge to say Fenella in _La muette de Portici_...

OK, in the context in which it was intended, I'll go for Baron Ochs in _Der Rosenkavalier_. It's hard to think of another character in an opera whom everybody can successfully play for a fool. Even Von Faninal, not the brightest bulb himself, eventually gets the point.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Dumbest character - Azucena who can't recognize her own baby and ends up killing him instead of her enemy's baby


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 21: Dumbest opera character*

One certainly doesn't lack for choices here. I'll go with Mustafa in "_L'Italiana in Algeri_" and his hoodwinking by Isabella with the "Pappataci" ceremony.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Il_Penseroso said:


> AnaMendoza has answered you completely ... thanks Ana.


Tell me something I don't know...Did He complete Boris until his death or just until the part the fool is crying? Because Pushkin wrote the whole story ending by the death of Boris...I think Mussorgsky didn't give a "death" to Boris...Rimsky and Shosta did it. Am I wrong?

The same way, you could say then that Turandot was completed by Puccini, but Alfano completed the story...Puccini ended it with Liu's aria.

Martin


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## MAnna (Sep 19, 2011)

*Day 21: Dumbest Opera Character*

Mendoza in Betrothal in a Monastery - Duped into believing that the old governess is Don Jerome's daughter and marries her.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

*22. Opera with the hardest stage effect to bring off successfully.*

Das Rheingold's Rainbow Bridge


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Day 21: Dumbest Opera Character

I must say I think Hermann in Pique Dame is a bit daft with all this supernatural "Tri Karti" business.

22. Opera with the hardest stage effect to bring off successfully.

The Dragon in Siegfried. Never looks scary. The one in the old Met Ring is hilarious - wonder what Lepage's version will be like.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

22. The frog in Das Rheingold. It's always a ridiculous one.


----------



## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Does Wagner have all the difficult stage effects? I've seen _Lohengrin_ twice, and they've never come close to pulling off his entry in a boat pulled by a swan.

In Berlin, they had a brilliant flash of light, and Lohengrin walked off a wheeled cart shaped like a boat, with nary a swan in sight.

In Chicago, no flash, no boat, no swan.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 21: Dumbest Opera Character*

You have to give some votes to Otello, who is even more quickly duped in Boito's abbreviated libretto than in Shakespeare's original play.

*22. Opera with the hardest stage effect to bring off successfully*

Sticking with Wagner: The dragon in _Siegfried_ is tough, but the one in _Das Rheingold_ is even tougher--since it's supposed to appear as the result of Alberich's onstage transformation.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 22: Opera with the hardest stage effect to bring off successfully*

I'll go with John Adams' "_A Flowering Tree_" and the transformation of the young woman Kamudha into said tree. It took everything -- color, lighting effects, ballet dancers, and members of the chorus (not to mention the soprano singing Kamudha herself -- to pull this one off convincingly. And audience members still needed to use their imaginations to envision a tree in that many-armed and many-legged, multi-hued pyramid of people.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> Tell me something I don't know...Did He complete Boris until his death or just until the part the fool is crying? Because Pushkin wrote the whole story ending by the death of Boris...I think Mussorgsky didn't give a "death" to Boris...Rimsky and Shosta did it. Am I wrong?
> 
> Martin


I believe you're wrong.


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## MAnna (Sep 19, 2011)

*Day 22: Opera with the hardest stage effect to bring off successfully*

The crashing of the temple in Samson and Delilah


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

amfortas said:


> 22. Opera with the hardest stage effect to bring off successfully.


Interesting question. Depends what one means by "successfully". For traditional staging, I guess some of Wagner's might be a challenge, even _The Ring_.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

MAnna said:


> *Day 22: Opera with the hardest stage effect to bring off successfully*
> 
> The crashing of the temple in Samson and Delilah


Good one . . . although this old San Francisco Opera production brings it off quite well (they know something about buildings shaking and crashing to the ground in San Francisco).


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

amfortas said:


> Good one . . . although this old San Francisco Opera production brings it off quite well (they know something about buildings shaking and crashing to the ground in San Francisco).


I remember Natalie reviewing this & commenting on Plácido's legs, can't remember if she liked the opera though.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

sospiro said:


> I remember Natalie reviewing this & commenting on Plácido's legs, can't remember if she liked the opera though.


Yes, and a good thing they were so muscular, when it came to that final scene. You know--lift with your legs, not with your back.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 23: Which opera has been best represented in DVD productions*

In this case, I think it may be "operas." My vote is for Wagner's _Ring_ cycle.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

MAuer said:


> *Day 23: Which opera has been best represented in DVD productions*
> 
> In this case, I think it may be "operas." My vote is for Wagner's _Ring_ cycle.


This is what makes the forum interesting. Personally, I look at Wagner's Ring as such a huge, sprawling, unwieldy monstrosity that I don't think *any* DVD cycle has yet done it full justice. But maybe that's not the exact criteria you're applying (which is fine).

Still have to think about how I would answer the question.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

_Giulio Cesare in Egitto_


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## MAnna (Sep 19, 2011)

*Day 23: Which opera has been best represented in DVD productions*

Not sure if this means quantity or quality. In any event, probably any baroque opera would fit the bill. How about L'Incoronazione Di Poppea. I count 5 DVD productions that I know about.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I have lots of versions of Don Giovanni so I guess it's well represented. I have aristocratic icy Don Giovanni (Ruggero Raimondi), anguished dying-by-inches Don Giovanni (Christopher Maltman), drug addict ghetto Don Giovanni (Eugene Perry), suave butter-wouldn't-melt Don Giovanni (Bryn Terfel) climbing-the-walls Don Giovanni (Simon Keenlyside), underwear-model-loving Don Giovanni (Thomas Hampson), brutal sadistic Don Giovanni (Gilles Cachemaille) and surprisingly boring Don Giovanni (Thomas Allen).


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

By numbers, operas like La Bohème, Carmen, La Traviata, Aida, etc, have literally dozens of DVD versions.
In terms of quality, sometimes operas that don't have as many versions have such a spectacular one, that it makes up for the lack of variety. One such example is Handel's Giulio Cesare, with a widely applauded version from Glyndebourne. Other operas that have near perfect versions on DVD are, for example, Così fan Tutte, and Les Indes Galantes (only one version, but what a version!!!)
So this is difficult to answer because it can be approached from different angles.

I agree that the existing Ring DVDs all have shortcomings.

Of course the opera that is definitely not well represented is Salome, since it lacks the one and only version that would matter, for obvious reasons: Anna Netrebko's!:devil:

Almaviva's opera _Les Mamelles d'Anna_ unfortunately doesn't exist on DVD...
It may be because it hasn't been composed yet.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

It seems to me that _Cenerentola_ is well served in both quality and quantity.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

I know which one is sadly _under_represented: Lucia di Lammermoor


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

rgz said:


> I know which one is sadly _under_represented: Lucia di Lammermoor


 Hey, since there is a version with Anna, we don't need any other...
PS-I reluctantly open an exception for Dame Sutherland, but then, there is a version with her too, so all is good.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

As far as quantity, Mozart is the big winner. Here are the top twenty operas by number of DVD productions available (according to ArkivMusic):

1. Don Giovanni, K 527 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35)
2.	Le nozze di Figaro, K 492 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31)
3.	Così fan tutte, K 588 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (30)
4.	Tosca by Giacomo Puccini (26)
5.	La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi (25)
6.	Aida by Giuseppe Verdi (24)
- .	Die Zauberflöte, K 620 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (24)
- .	La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini (24)
9.	Carmen by Georges Bizet (21)
- .	Die Walküre by Richard Wagner (21)
- .	Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi (21)
12.	Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner (19)
-- .	Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner (19)
14.	Siegfried by Richard Wagner (18)
15.	Otello by Giuseppe Verdi (17)
16.	L'Elisir d'Amore by Gaetano Donizetti (16)
-- .	Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini (16)
18.	Die Entführung aus dem Serail, K 384 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (15)
-- .	Fidelio, Op. 72 by Ludwig van Beethoven (15)
-- .	Il barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini (15)

Quality, of course, is another, highly subjective matter. I still can't make up my mind which opera has the best roster of accomplished, varied DVD productions.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Interesting info, Amfortas. How current is it? And do they extend the list beyond the top 20?


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

The list is my own (it took some doing), but the numbers are from Arkiv. These figures were current as of about three weeks ago, so they won't have changed much over that time.

I posted a more complete list earlier on another thread, but here it is again for those who missed it and may be interested:

1. Don Giovanni, K 527 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35)
2.	Le nozze di Figaro, K 492 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (31)
3.	Così fan tutte, K 588 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (30)
4.	Tosca by Giacomo Puccini (26)
5.	La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi (25)
6.	Aida by Giuseppe Verdi (24)
- .	Die Zauberflöte, K 620 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (24)
- .	La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini (24)
9.	Carmen by Georges Bizet (21)
- .	Die Walküre by Richard Wagner (21)
- .	Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi (21)
12.	Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner (19)
-- .	Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner (19)
14.	Siegfried by Richard Wagner (18)
15.	Otello by Giuseppe Verdi (17)
16.	L'Elisir d'Amore by Gaetano Donizetti (16)
-- .	Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini (16)
18.	Die Entführung aus dem Serail, K 384 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (15)
-- .	Fidelio, Op. 72 by Ludwig van Beethoven (15)
-- .	Il barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini (15)
21.	I Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo (14)
-- .	Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi (14)
-- .	Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi (14)
24.	Idomeneo, K 366 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (13)
-- .	Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner (13)
-- .	Turandot by Giacomo Puccini (13)
27.	Don Carlos by Giuseppe Verdi (12)
-- .	Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi (12)
-- .	Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Puccini (12)
-- .	Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi (12)
-- .	Norma by Vincenzo Bellini (12)
32.	Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss Jr. (11)
-- .	La clemenza di Tito, K 621 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (11)
-- .	Les contes d'Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach (11)
-- .	Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti (11)
36.	Andrea Chénier by Umberto Giordano (10)
-- .	Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni (10)
-- .	Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59 by Richard Strauss (10)
-- .	Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner (10)
-- .	Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria by Claudio Monteverdi (10)
-- .	L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi (10)
-- .	La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini (10)
-- .	Simon Boccanegra by Giuseppe Verdi (10)
-- .	Un ballo in maschera by Giuseppe Verdi (10)
45.	Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti (9)
-- .	Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph W. Gluck (9)
47.	Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky (8)
-- .	Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner (8)
-- .	Eugene Onegin, Op. 24 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (8)
-- .	L'Incoronazione di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi (8)
-- .	La Fanciulla del West by Giacomo Puccini (8)

Actually, I see that a number of these operas already have at least one more production than shown above; I'll update the whole list at some point. But at least this gives a reasonable idea of the opera DVD state of affairs.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

I think Alma has most of those but they're in his UWP


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 24: Best moment of complete silence*

It was difficult to find any moments of complete silence. Even when there is supposed to be silence, one usually has a character commenting on the fact, or at least some brief instrumental notes. The only bits of silence I could think of occur in the final act of _Die Zauberflöte_, when Papageno is contemplating hanging himself, but first counts to three and waits (in vain) for someone to intervene after each count.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Hey, since there is a version with Anna, we don't need any other...
> PS-I reluctantly open an exception for Dame Sutherland, but then, there is a version with her too, so all is good.


I'm well aware of both versions, but my point stands -- as is, I'm left with a choice of a Lucia who can't act, or one who can't sing


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

rgz said:


> I'm well aware of both versions, but my point stands -- as is, I'm left with a choice of a Lucia who can't act, or one who can't sing


::quickly gets out from between rgz and Almaviva and retreats to the farthest corner of the room, nervously dragging items of furniture in front of her, in the hopes that they'll be some protection against what happens next.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

AnaMendoza said:


> ::quickly gets out from between rgz and Almaviva and retreats to the farthest corner of the room, nervously dragging items of furniture in front of her, in the hopes that they'll be some protection against what happens next.


 They won't be any protection. I usually deal with such cases by means of small nuclear devices.:devil:
You need to retreat to at least 50 miles away.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> They won't be any protection. I usually deal with such cases by means of small nuclear devices.:devil:
> You need to retreat to at least 50 miles away.


He gets all threatening, but I've never heard of so much as a miniature damp sardine being thrown in anyone's direction. A big sweetie really.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> He gets all threatening, but I've never heard of so much as a miniature damp sardine being thrown in anyone's direction. A big sweetie really.


 ^Famous last words.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 25: Italian, French, or German opera?*

With my _Fidelio_ fixation, it ought to be German -- but I really love Verdi's operas and those of many of the other Italian composers.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

It's a difficult choice for me. Italian simply *is* the language of opera, they pair up so well ... but I love the French language and am far more familiar with it -- not fluent, but enough to generally follow librettos. In any event, German lags well behind those two.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

For me it has to be Italian. Words which end in vowels were made to be sung.

Closely followed by Russian - I know it isn't on the list but it's such a sexy language. Then French but I don't like sung German.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Of course, there are fantastic operas written in other languages: Russian, Czech, English,... but the main sources of Opera are indeed Italy, Germany (in an extended sense) and France.

Among the three, if I need to pick only one, I will go with the Italian masters.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 24: Best moment of complete silence*

Interesting that so few picked up on this one. I think it's fascinating when composers explore the dramatic power of silence.

My choice comes from Act II of _Die Walküre_. When the anguished Wotan laments that he now wants one thing only, the orchestra gives a great staccato burst as he cries out "Das Ende!" There follows a highly charged silence, before the god repeats his words, this time in a soft, slow, ominous cadence.

Directors have picked up on this silent moment and underscored it in different ways. In Patrice Chereau's centenary Bayreuth production, the enraged Wotan reaches out and grabs hold of the swinging pendulum in the center of his hall, bringing it to an abrupt halt. Sound and motion cease together, emblematic of his desire to stop the wheels of destiny.

Not to be outdone, Harry Kupfer, in his later Bayreuth production, has Wotan punctuate his cry by loudly stamping his spear--at which point a gigantic section of the highway-to-infinity set collapses with a thudding crash, leaving a huge triangular crater upstage.

Of course, the silence that follows is even more intensely heightened.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

I think we must have had this in a previous challenge because I remember saying my choice is the silence just before _Simon Boccanegra_ drinks the poisoned water.

I included a YouTube but I'm too tired to look now - will find it tomorrow.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 25: Italian, French, or German opera?*

With Wagner and Strauss (and at least one Mozart masterpiece), it has to be German.

Italian opera, with Verdi, Puccini, Monteverdi, and a host of other great composers (along with a few more Mozart masterpieces) is not far behind.

French opera comes in a more distant third, with all due respect to Messrs. Berlioz, Bizet, Massenet, Offenbach, Rameau, etc.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

sospiro said:


> I think we must have had this in a previous challenge because I remember saying my choice is the silence just before _Simon Boccanegra_ drinks the poisoned water.
> 
> I included a YouTube but I'm too tired to look now - will find it tomorrow.


Best silent moment wasn't used in either of the previous thirty-day challenges; maybe the question came up in another thread. At any rate, that's a good choice.


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

Day 25: Italian, French, or German opera?
I think I'll go with the same ranking as Amfortas. Altough French can be very sexy.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Day 24 - I recently saw an avant-garde opera that employed brief moments of silence at various points, and I liked it a lot: _Luci mie traditrici, _by Salvatore Sciarrino.

Day 25 - Italian, no doubt. Certainly the fact that part of my family (father's side) is originally from Italy helps a lot, but it's not only that. It's such a melodious language... it's where opera was invented...

This said, I do love opera in French, German, and Russian as well. Of course, there are fabulous operas in Czech, English, and other languages (I've seen/listened to operas in various Scandinavian languages, a few in Spanish, in Portuguese, and even Hebrew, Latin, etc.) but generally it's not because of the language that I love those (I usually will *prefer*, language-wise, opera in Italian, French, German, and Russian - which all four somehow for me "feel" like operatic languages - just subjectively, for me, they work this way, no judgment of value implied). What I definitely can't stand, is opera in translation.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

amfortas said:


> 25. Italian, French, or German opera?


What about them? My favourite? Oh ... too hard! Sorry.


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

*Day 25: Italian, French, or German opera?*

Italian!


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 26: Best opera curse*

Santuzza's "A te la mala Pasqua, spergiuro!" flung at Turiddu after their confrontation in front of the church.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Well, of course, Alberich's curse.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Day 26: Best opera curse

I love "vil bastarda" from Maria Stuarda>


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Between my inertia and the system failure, I've run behind here. 

My favourite operas are usually in German. There just aren't enough of them - maybe 20 masterpieces in all? There are certainly more than 20 first-rate Italian operas - Verdi alone might account for 20. 

The best curse in opera is Monterone's curse of Rigoletto. I looked for a YouTube video for it, and ended up in some horrible modern remake of Rigoletto. Maybe I'll find it later in the morning when the caffeine kicks in.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

*Day 26: Best opera curse*

In _Simon Boccanegra_, Paulo abducts Boccanegra's daughter Amelia and even though she manages to escape, Boccanegra publicly curses the man who abducted her. He then demands that Paolo repeat the oath, thereby cursing himself.

10:50 approx on here


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

The end of _Otello_'s third Act.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 27: Current event that should be made into an opera*

I think there would probably be plenty of fodder for an opera in Silvio Berlusconi's life. Wealth, allegations of corruption and womanizing -- what could be more operatic? :lol:


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 26: Best opera curse*

There is of course Isolde's famous Narrative and Curse from Act I of _Tristan_.

I also like her opening imprecation, as she calls on the winds to dash to pieces the ship holding her captive.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Day 27 = the Arab Spring.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

A good opera could be made about the violent war in Mexico against the narcotrafficantes. It would be a frightening, tragic opera with the starring roles as a group of innocent people swept up in a situation which has gone completely out of control.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

21. Dumbest opera character.- I don't think Klaas in Mozarts Entfuehrung is much help at all.
22. Opera with the hardest stage effect to bring off successfully.- Lohengrin Swan
23. Which opera has been best represented in DVD productions? - There are some lovely Nozze di Figaros
24. Best moment of complete silence. - when the Nozze count opens the wardrobe door, and Susanna steps out, there is typically a few moments of silence
25. Italian, French, or German opera? Italian & German; French can be great, but really only works for me, when sung the correct style 
26. Best opera curse. - Ortrud (Lohengrin: Entweihte Goetter)


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 28: Funniest moment in an opera *

Count Almaviva's impersonation of a tipsy soldier in _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_.


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## MAnna (Sep 19, 2011)

*25. Italian, French, or German opera:* 
French and Italian Baroque opera

*26. Best opera curse:* 
When my Paris Opera Garnier La Traviata ticket purchase wouldn't go through for security reasons and the performance was subsequently sold out

*27. Current event that should be made into an opera:* 
Global warming

*28. Funniest moment in an opera*
The drunk monks scene opening in Bethrothal in a Monastery
Also Don Basilio being duped into illness in Barber


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

MAnna said:


> *27. Current event that should be made into an opera:*
> Global warming


Giorgio Battistelli is working on adapting Al Gore's _An Inconvenient Truth_, and it will be premiered at La Scala in a couple of years.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*27. Current event that should be made into an opera: *

The Republican political debates. One long, discordant comic ensemble of nonsensical patter songs.

*28. Funniest moment in an opera*

I always chuckle at this exchange from _Figaro_:

FIGARO:
But of course,
he rode all the way back here on horseback from Seville,
which he must have reached by now.

ANTONIO:
No, no, 
I saw no horse
jump down from that window.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

*28. Funniest moment in an opera*
I find it depends much more on the performers and the staging then the libretto. Funny people can make most anything funny, unfunny people can't get a laugh with the best joke in the world.

With good comic timing and reactions, the bit in Dunque Io Son where Rosina presents the already-written letter can be hilarious





but in general, Via Resti Servita is usually great


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Funniest moment in an opera:


Baron Ochs is surrounded by a horde of kids singing "Papa, Papa" in Der Rosenkavalier.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 29: Career advice you would give to one particular singer*

Jonas Kaufmann: Don't tamper with perfection!


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Ms. Fleming: is now or never.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Simon Keenlyside: Please sing _Simon Boccanegra_ soonish like and because you promised


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Anna Netrebko: Stop being so greedy, and let Natalie Dessay have some of the DVD productions!


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

*27. Current event that should be made into an opera.*



Almaviva said:


> Day 27 = the Arab Spring.


I second this, in a way. What what I specifically want is an opera about Muammar Gaddafi, with the libretto written by someone of the old-school can-do spirit. (Visualize _Maria Stuarda_. "What, Elizabeth and Mary never met. Who CARES!") Now, visualize this librettist inspired by the news that Gaddafi kept a photograph album filled with pictures of Condoleeza Rice....


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Jonas - please please please come to New Zealand. Or Joseph, or even J-Flo. If we can fill the town hall for Andreas Scholl we can for you. And you'd have a lovely holiday.
Dang, I'd go to Australia to see Jonas.


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

For Natalie


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## MAnna (Sep 19, 2011)

*Day 29: Career advice you would give to one particular singer*

Magdalena Kozena:

Let yourself go!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Funniest moment: when John del Carlo in the latest Met production with DiDonato and Flórez, after listening to _La Calunnia è un venticello_ sung by John Relyea, he goes and... I won't tell. You guys gotta see this (it happens at 4'15").:lol:






Career advice to a singer:

Anna, one word: Salome!!!!


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Day 30: Most disappointing opera ending*

Verdi's _Alzira_. After spending nearly the entire opera behaving like a thorough villain (which he's supposed to be), Gusmano "gets religion" after being stabbed by the hero (Zamoro) and forgives him. The opera concludes with everyone, including Zamoro, Alzira and her old man, the Inca leader Ataliba, singing the praises of Gusmano's nobility -- having apparently conveniently forgotten everything else he'd done up to that point. Absolutely unconvincing.


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## MAnna (Sep 19, 2011)

*Day 30: Most disappointing opera ending*

Manon Lescaut:

Look for water. Don't find water. Die.

There are no deserts in New Orleans!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Most disappointing opera endings - I don't know what is worse: the various versions of the third act of La Rondine, the fourth act of Manon Lescault, or the incomplete ending of Turandot (not Puccini's fault, of course, but still...). Thankfully, Puccini's other endings are just fine.


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## Operafocus (Jul 17, 2011)

*Day 29: Career advice you would give to one particular singer*

Thor-Inge Falch: Quit.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

27. Current event that should be made into an opera. - an opera about Margaret Thatcher
28. Funniest moment in an opera. - Frosch monologue from Fledermaus- not strictly opera- but intended to be funny- nothing else.
29. Career advice you would give to one particular singer.- Florez-Verdi is not your thing
30. Most disappointing opera ending. - Turandot -Alfano


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

*Day 30: Most disappointing opera ending*

Verdi's _Don Carlo_

The king and his soldiers enter the monastery and attempt to capture young prince Carlo. They stab him, and he dies. Or he stabs himself and dies. Or just in the nick of time, he's pulled into a tomb by the Monk and lives on in sanctuary. Or dies there. Or is miraculously transfigured to a higher plane. Meanwhile the Monk is just who he appears to be. Or he's the Emperor Carlo V. Or the emperor's ghost. Or . . . I'm so confused!!!









It wouldn't matter so much if the rest of the opera weren't so great.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Day 25: Best Opera Language: *Italian*

Day 30: Most disappointing opera ending *Turandot.*


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

gah replied to the wrong thread.


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