# Finding Operas by Subject and Story



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

When one selects novels or movies, they are conveniently sorted into genres, such as action, fantasy, romance, comedy, historical, etc. Clearly, I wouldn't select a romance novel for my reading, while I would select an action or historical one.

I recognize that opera is not just a story, but is also music, but, to me, it seems that the story is mostly what it's about.

So, how do I locate, without having to read lengthy synopses, a list and brief description of operas that deal with the kind of stories I want to spend my time on?


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

I believe operas are broadly categorised as follows:

Soprano dies
Soprano doesn't die


But seriously, I don't think story types are a usual opera categorisation. Normally it's tragedy, seria, buffa/comedy etc. I wouldn't get too hung up on the plots. Most of us are in it for the tunes.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Alexander said:


> I believe operas are broadly categorised as follows:
> 
> Soprano dies
> Soprano doesn't die


:lol:



Alexander said:


> ...it's tragedy, seria, buffa/comedy etc. I wouldn't get too hung up on the plots.


It's exactly the plot that either makes or breaks it for me, since I'm actually an instrumental crossover listener with little interest in opera apart from the plot.

I will look up those terms and maybe I can find something.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Searching on the terms didn't turn up anything of interest, but Wikipedia came to the rescue with the next-best thing:

List of important operas

This doesn't group by plot subject, but it does give a one-line description. I spent a fair while scanning the list and one of the most obvious facts is that it would be best to start at the bottom and work upwards, as the largest number of the most interesting stories appear to be clustered in the latter XIXth and XXth Centuries.

Another approach might be to listen to all of the Faust/Mephistopheles operas, which must number at least a dozen or more and span a couple of hundred years.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2015)

Operas by eras and by countries should bring you close enough. For instance, if you focus on contemporary opera or baroque opera, you're probably less likely to wind up listening to a glorified marriage-swap.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

It seems there is nothing on the web listing operas by subject and story. As far as brief plots I found a document that has brief plots of 200 operas, but it is about 200 pages so looks like about a page per opera. Maybe you can search the file on select key words and find some operas.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

You might want to try Denis Forman's "A Night at the Opera" which is done tongue-in-cheek style and very informative without being stodgy.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

If you could tell us what types of stories would generally interest you -- tragedies, comedies, mythology, historic adaptations (though opera librettists have tended to take considerable liberty with historic personages), satire -- we may be able to offer some suggestions about operas you may find appealing.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Like I suggested above, themes of an heroic or historical nature, as well as ones dealing with mythical or dramatic or philosophical subjects. Particularly, the kind of stories that need telling and retelling, dealing with the eternal mysteries of life, the supernatural, the eternal, victory, quests, etc. Anything that kind of falls into this area... the kind of thing one would consider reading, were it a novel.

What I want to avoid are light, fluffy, humorous pieces with little more than an immediate (one-time) entertainment value... the kind of thing one would not read, were it a novel.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Beethoven's Fidelio is heroic and of a historic nature (the basis for the libretto). I recommend the DVD with Bernstein conducting and Gundula Janowitz as Leonore as an excellent production.

BTW, I don't find these two humorous operas, Cenerentola and La Fille du Regiment, one-timers but will continually revisit them.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Thanks for the Fidelio rec, in particular. I had no idea that it was "heroic and of a historic nature." I will definitely check it out


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

brotagonist said:


> Like I suggested above, themes of an heroic or historical nature, as well as ones dealing with mythical or dramatic or philosophical subjects. Particularly, the kind of stories that need telling and retelling, dealing with the eternal mysteries of life, the supernatural, the eternal, victory, quests, etc. Anything that kind of falls into this area... the kind of thing one would consider reading, were it a novel.
> 
> What I want to avoid are light, fluffy, humorous pieces with little more than an immediate (one-time) entertainment value... the kind of thing one would not read, were it a novel.


You need to keep in mind that opera is primarily a _musical_ form and that long, convoluted stories are not generally suitable for a musical presentation a few hours long. Good opera stories keep events to a minimum and allow music to carry the message. You don't want them to read like novels. That said, here are some interesting operas that deal with some of the themes you mention.

Wagner, definitely. You've described most of his subject matter: myth, legend, the supernatural, gods, heroes, quests for salvation, philosophical ruminations - serious stuff and epic music. The _Ring_ alone could keep you occupied for a month. _Der Fliegende Hollander_, _Tannhauser_,_Lohengrin_ and _Parsifal_ also have mythical or legendary, often symbolic stories. _Die Meistersinger_ is a comedy, and _Tristan und Isolde_ is a love story, but both deal with serious themes.

Baroque operas are often based on history or mythology, e.g. Handel's. There isn't much of the "eternal mysteries of life" there, however. Mostly a lot of confusing intrigue, difficult arias, and mezzo-sopranos pretending to be castrati (good music, though!).

The Orpheus story (Monteverdi and Gluck) is Greek mythology and takes us to Hades and back.

Beethoven's _Fidelio_ is a story of a woman's heroic rescue of her husband from prison.

Weber's _Der Freischutz_is a supernatural folk tale about magic bullets, with some spooky music.

Both Purcell's _Dido and Aeneas_ and Berlioz's _Les Troyens_ tell the legendary story (from Virgil) of Trojan warrior Aeneas and Dido, queen of Carthage. The Purcell is brief but the Berlioz is on an epic scale.

Dvorak's _Rusalka_ is the fairy tale of the "little mermaid" who wanted to be human. Very atmospheric, with water goblins and stuff.

Mussorgsky's _Boris Godunov_ and _Khovanshchina_ are from Russian history, as are Borodin's _Prince Igor_ and Tchaikovsky's _Mazeppa_. _Boris_ is a powerful masterpiece.

Rimsky-Korsakov wrote a number of colorful operas based on Russian history and folk tales.

Verdi's plots can be hard to follow, but the story of _Macbeth_ is clear enough. Many of his operas are based on plays based on history; _Don Carlos_ and _Simon Boccanegra_ are great works with strong characters.

The Faust legend is treated by Gounod in _Faust_, Boito in _Mefistofele_, and Busoni in _Doktor Faust._ The Gounod is rather sentimental; the Busoni is fascinating (IMO).

Stravinsky's _Le Rossignol_ and Puccini's _Turandot_ are both fairy tales set in China, both with magical scores.

Prokofiev's _War and Peace_ is about... war and peace! (Tolstoy, of course).

Bartok's _Bluebeard's Castle_ is a powerful psychological study based on the story of Duke Bluebeard.

Strauss's _Die Frau Ohne Schatten_ is a lengthy, quasi-mythical supernatural tale.

Szymanowski's _King Roger_ is a semi-historical supernatural tale.

Enescu's _Oedipe_ is an impressive telling of the Oedipus myth, undeservedly obscure, IMO.

Vaughan Williams's _The Pilgrim's Progress_ is John Bunyan's Christian allegory of the journey of a soul.

Walter Braunfels's _Die Voegel_ (The Birds) is a fascinating opera based on the play by Aristophanes.

Britten's _The Turn of the Screw_ is based on a ghost story by Henry James. His _Billy Budd_ sets the story by Herman Melville, and his _Peter Grimes_ tells the tragic story of a social misfit.

Schoenberg's _Moses und Aron_ deals with the difficulty of communicating spiritual truth.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

What a marvellous list, Woodduck :tiphat:

I had already had Der Freischütz and Doktor Faust (Busoni) on my list, as well as Berlioz' adaptation of the Faust tale (I forgot the name momentarily). I've read all of Aristophanes, so the Birds could be "fascinating" to me, too.

A question regarding Doktor Faust (Busoni). The Nagano with the current completion is rather expensive, but the newer completion respects Busoni's original intent, while the older completion is less expensive (Dieskau, par exemple) and is preferred by many (likely habit), but is not what Busoni intended.

Where do you (and other TCistes, of course  ) stand on this?


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## Balthazar (Aug 30, 2014)

In the same vein as Fidelio, you might take a look at Giordano's _Andrea Chenier_ and Rossini's _Guillaume Tell_.

For historical, John Adams's _Doctor Atomic_ and _Nixon in China_.

For the philosophical, try R. Strauss's _Capriccio_ and _Ariadne auf Naxos_ or Janáček's _The Makropolous Case_.

For the literary, Verdi's Shakespeare trio: _Macbeth, Otello, _and _Falstaff_.

For fun, Mozart's _Don Giovanni_.


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2015)

You should try the operas of Harrison Birtwistle or Aribert Reimann. Also, throw in things like Penderecki's _The Devils Of Loudun_ or Harvey's _Wagner Dream_ for good measure.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

arcaneholocaust said:


> You should try the operas of Harrison Birtwistle or Aribert Reimann. Also, throw in things like Penderecki's _The Devils Of Loudun_ or Harvey's _Wagner Dream_ for good measure.


I was just sampling Birtwistle's retelling of the Round Table legends, Gawain, last night. I like Birtwistle, but I had, until then, been reticent to explore his operatic works. Reiman is long in my ken, but I admit that I haven't heard a thing. And Penderecki, bien sûr! How could I have forgotten? Harvey draws a blank 

Thanks for the recs! I will add them to my offline list


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Balthazar said:


> In the same vein as Fidelio, you might take a look at Giordano's _Andrea Chenier_ and Rossini's _Guillaume Tell_.
> 
> For historical, John Adams's _Doctor Atomic_ and _Nixon in China_.
> 
> ...


Also, thanks for the recs! There's some great stuff here  Yes, Don Giovanni, too


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

brotagonist said:


> What a marvellous list, Woodduck :tiphat:
> 
> I had already had Der Freischütz and Doktor Faust (Busoni) on my list, as well as Berlioz' adaptation of the Faust tale (I forgot the name momentarily). I've read all of Aristophanes, so the Birds could be "fascinating" to me, too.
> 
> ...


I wish I knew what to tell you about _Doktor Faust._ I know only the old recording with Fischer-Dieskau. It's very good on the whole, though the soprano could be better. I need to get to know the other version.


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2015)

brotagonist said:


> I was just sampling Birtwistle's retelling of the Round Table legends, Gawain, last night. I like Birtwistle, but I had, until then, been reticent to explore his operatic works. Reiman is long in my ken, but I admit that I haven't heard a thing. And Penderecki, bien sûr! How could I have forgotten? Harvey draws a blank
> 
> Thanks for the recs! I will add them to my offline list


Jonathan Harvey (British spectralist) hasn't been too successful as an opera composer in general, to my knowledge, but his Wagner Dream is perhaps an exception, and a really cool little opera, really. About Wagner and that Buddhist-themed opera he wanted to write before he died and whatnot, it's got a lot of contemporary music going on under the sound of Richard Wagner ranting at a ghostly Buddha that no one else can see. More on the philosophical end.


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

Peter Eotvos wrote operas on Chekhov's Three Sisters and Angels in America - I can recommend both. Britten's Billy Budd and Peter Grimes are definitely worthwhile dramatically. There's also a recent premiere recording of Detlev Glanert's Caligula that may or may not be dramatically rewarding but was musically enjoyable, and York Holler's The Master and Margarita might be worth a try as well - not sure of what resources there are about to understand the action in these latter two (may need to be a German speaker to get the most out of them )


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

dgee said:


> Peter Eotvos wrote operas on Chekhov's Three Sisters and Angels in America - I can recommend both. Britten's Billy Budd and Peter Grimes are definitely worthwhile dramatically. There's also a recent premiere recording of Detlev Glanert's Caligula that may or may not be dramatically rewarding but was musically enjoyable, and York Holler's The Master and Margarita might be worth a try as well - not sure of what resources there are about to understand the action in these latter two (may need to be a German speaker to get the most out of them )


I am a German speaker. Chekhov I have read, as well as Bulgakov. Those should be interesting  Caligula has promise, but it might be too bawdy and excessive. Britten, of course; I really ought to finally give him a listen!

Danke sehr!


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