# Going to see my first live opera on Sat night!



## crmoorhead (Apr 6, 2011)

I'm very excited! Scottish Opera are performing The Magic Flute in Aberdeen over the weekend and I have two tickets for Sat night. I have only watched operas (though quite a few!) on DVD before now, although I have been to see the Ulster Orchestra before. The reviews of the production in the Guardian, Times and Telegraph are all favourable, although there were one or two minor criticisms. The setting is reminiscent of Victorian Britain with a steampunk slant to it. I'm looking forward to it and what I have seen of the sets and costumes looks fantastic. The opera will also be sung in English. I have no preference one way or the other, but it will be more useful for my opera partner (who is studying music at Aberdeen University) since she is a beginner at opera.

I'd be grateful if you shared your first experience of live opera. Which opera was performed, where was it and how did it go?


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

That's exciting! And what a good first one to see, I enjoy the Magic Flute. I have unfortunately not been to see a live opera yet. I was planning to see Don Giovanni this spring, but it's just not feasible with finances or travel arrangements. But I definitely plan to see one the following year. I hope you enjoy yourself!


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

Good for you! I've heard a lot of good things about the SO's Magic Flute! Have fun!

As for my first opera, I think it was an Aïda at the Wiener Staatsoper three (I think) years ago. It was utterly wonderful.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

My first opera really wasn't live - it was a movie. Senior class trip 1955, to New York. Saw Aida at a theater in mid-Manhattan. Enjoyed it a lot.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Hilltroll72 said:


> My first opera really wasn't live - it was a movie. Senior class trip 1955, to New York. Saw Aida at a theater in mid-Manhattan. Enjoyed it a lot.


Was that the one with Sophia Loren?


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

crmoorhead said:


> I'm very excited! Scottish Opera are performing The Magic Flute in Aberdeen over the weekend and I have two tickets for Sat night. I have only watched operas (though quite a few!) on DVD before now, although I have been to see the Ulster Orchestra before. The reviews of the production in the Guardian, Times and Telegraph are all favourable, although there were one or two minor criticisms. The setting is reminiscent of Victorian Britain with a steampunk slant to it. I'm looking forward to it and what I have seen of the sets and costumes looks fantastic. The opera will also be sung in English. I have no preference one way or the other, but it will be more useful for my opera partner (who is studying music at Aberdeen University) since she is a beginner at opera.
> 
> I'd be grateful if you shared your first experience of live opera. Which opera was performed, where was it and how did it go?


I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. Flute is a wonderful opera to start with.

My parents took me to see Carmen when I was little but I didn't like it. They also took me to see amateur productions of several Gilbert & Sullivan operas but I didn't like them much either!

Didn't see any more live opera until quite recently when I saw Don Pasquale by English Touring Opera. It was brilliant.


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

crmoorhead said:


> I'm very excited! Scottish Opera are performing The Magic Flute in Aberdeen over the weekend and I have two tickets for Sat night. I have only watched operas (though quite a few!) on DVD before now, although I have been to see the Ulster Orchestra before. The reviews of the production in the Guardian, Times and Telegraph are all favourable, although there were one or two minor criticisms. The setting is reminiscent of Victorian Britain with a steampunk slant to it. I'm looking forward to it and what I have seen of the sets and costumes looks fantastic. The opera will also be sung in English. I have no preference one way or the other, but it will be more useful for my opera partner (who is studying music at Aberdeen University) since she is a beginner at opera.
> 
> I'd be grateful if you shared your first experience of live opera. Which opera was performed, where was it and how did it go?


 Best whishes. Then shares, if you may, your thoughts about the perfomance.

My first opera that i saw was Tchaikovsky's Iolanta (concert version). Il fait dejá longtemps... and how amazed i got, i still remember. Although Nessun dorma was my first real contact with opera, this was the first time i saw opera almost at its full potential. Also i liked the company of my date  The first staged opera i saw was Verdi's MacBeth (and the date was the same...i was happier back then)


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I think my first opera was the barber of Seville at ENO, sung in English in about 1983. I can still remember trying to find out about opera when I moved to London and making the decision to go - it was so outside anything I had previously experienced that I felt quite daring!


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Was that the one with Sophia Loren?


No. It was a real opera, with opera singers acting. It's main advantage, besides the ability to do retakes, was that outdoor scenes were done outdoors, and the staging was mostly not fake. The female lead was a famous Afro-American with both looks and a fine voice - whose name I don't remember.

The movie was made by an outfit that made several other opera movies, and I think they were the folks who also staged at least one of Shakespeare's plays in movie form - Julius Caesar - that I got to see.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Hilltroll72 said:


> No. It was a real opera, with opera singers acting. It's main advantage, besides the ability to do retakes, was that outdoor scenes were done outdoors, and the staging was mostly not fake. The female lead was a famous Afro-American with both looks and a fine voice - whose name I don't remember.


Leontyne Price perchance?


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Sonata said:


> Leontyne Price perchance?


Yes! The closest I could find in my head was Leoncavallo - and I _knew_ that wasn't right.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

My first time was when I was 15, I went to see Janacek's Makropolous case with my parents and my music teacher. We were sat in the front row so I saw everything in the pit too and I was just engaged the whole way through more than I had ever been in a film or in a play.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Hilltroll72 said:


> Yes! The closest I could find in my head was Leoncavallo - and I _knew_ that wasn't right.


Hmm. Now I dunno; I may be merging two memories. Wikipedia's bio of Price doesn't mention that movie. Elsewhere, this movie is mentioned:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aida_(1953_film)

So... Sophia Loren got morphed into Leontyne Price, and Renata Tebaldi's voice got added to the mix. Ain't it amazing what a 57 years-old memory can do?

Well, anyway... it's a pretty good movie... as I remember it.


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

My first live opera experience was also The Magic Flute ! Vienna State Opera, sung in German. It was an overwhelming experience. I prefer the German language for this opera. Although it must have a plusside when it is sung in your own language. 

First of all, the whole theater experience is exciting. Everything is live and acoustic. There is no safety net for the performers. There is always interaction with the audience, that you don't get with CD/DVD or whatever. In the Magic Flute there are many moments with a humor element, of course this depends on the production. There were some great moments with Papageno who played the audience very well.

Then there is the live music. Recorded music, no matter how high the quality is of the recording and equipment, doesn't come close to live performance. The dynamics of the orchestra is huge. There is so many great music in the Magic Flute. The first aria of the Queen touched me deeply. The second one ("Hoelle Rache") was spectaculair. During a live performance you realize just how spot on this aria is. It must have been sensational for the people to hear this at the time of the premiere. "Ach if fuhl es" sung by Pamina moved me to tears. During the performance I also enjoyed Sarastro's aria's much more than usual. 

So enjoy ! Let us know how your experience was.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

crmoorhead said:


> I'd be grateful if you shared your first experience of live opera. Which opera was performed, where was it[?]...


Itinerant Moderator makes oblique reference to first live opera experience here.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Dongiovanni said:


> My first live opera experience was also The Magic Flute ! Vienna State Opera, sung in German. It was an overwhelming experience. I prefer the German language for this opera. Although it must have a plusside when it is sung in your own language.


The Wiener Staatsoper! I'm so jealous! (And The Magic Flute is one of my favorite operas, too.)

Although I grew up listening to opera on recordings and on the radio, the first live performance I attended was in 1980 -- _La_ _Traviata_ at the Cincinnati Opera with Patricia Craig and Joseph Evans. It was lovely, and I agree that nothing -- even the best videos -- compares to the live experience.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

First live opera recently I _think_ was Damnation of Faust, by Berlioz, at the Met. Ramon Vargas was singing Faust and Ildar Abdrazakov was Mephistopheles. The most amazing part was how magical the stage action was - all sorts of things happened that shouldn't be possible. My understanding is that this was Robert LePage's "test" opera, where he learned how the Met worked prior to doing his recently premiered Ring. A real eye-opener, but the music didn't thrill me.

I think my first live opera _ever_ was (as with Sospiro) when my parents dragged me to Carmen as a kid. Yeesh. Mommy, why did that man kill that woman? lol I was totally clueless. It did nothing for my appreciation of opera.


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## Ramako (Apr 28, 2012)

That sounds great! I will also be seeing my first live opera soon (next Friday), so I can't tell you my experience...


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

guythegreg said:


> First live opera recently I _think_ was Damnation of Faust, by Berlioz, at the Met. Ramon Vargas was singing Faust and Ildar Abdrazakov was Mephistopheles. The most amazing part was how magical the stage action was - all sorts of things happened that shouldn't be possible. My understanding is that this was Robert LePage's "test" opera, where he learned how the Met worked prior to doing his recently premiered Ring. A real eye-opener, but the music didn't thrill me.


I'd love to have seen that production live. It's MUCH more successful, in my opinion, than the Lepage Ring, and the lack of stage direction doesn't matter so much because the opera is more oratorio-like anyway.

BTW glad to see you've obviously got through the dread Sandy OK, greg.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> I'd love to have seen that production live. It's MUCH more successful, in my opinion, than the Lepage Ring, and the lack of stage direction doesn't matter so much because the opera is more oratorio-like anyway.
> 
> BTW glad to see you've obviously got through the dread Sandy OK, greg.


Hey lady! Yeah, I got through OK. And yes, Damnation of Faust was magical, I thought much better than the Ring (although others have commented on and liked some of the exact same things I saw that I thought were laughable, so who knows.) lol


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

crmoorhead, how did it go??


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