# Most Familiar Tunes from Opera



## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

I've thought of variants of this challenge for a while- but I'll actually unfurl it now--

What are your choices for the 10 most familiar tunes from the World of Opera? Now, I'm NOT talking about in-depth knowledge- I'm talking about 'lay-familiarity' of the general public... to the extent that a reasonably mentally aware stranger would hear the passage and say 'I recognize that tune!'

I made my own list, which I'll reveal at a later time (in its original form, regardless of how embarrassing it might be in retrospect)... I'm a little unsure about two of them- but I think I have eight of them nailed. Perhaps your lists will make some of my choices look silly- and I'll have a "D'oh! how could I forget _that_ one!?" moment!

_Note- it'll be more fun (AND more of a challenge) if- when you see this opening post, to immediately start working on your own list (if so inclined) and avoid looking at the lists of others until after you've made your own.)_

Willing to try? Ready for the challenge??


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

In no particular order

-_La donna è mobile_ because it is just so associated with Italian culture
-_Votre toast_ (the Toreador song) - I can vouch for this one, I once had it in my cell phone ring tone and everybody recognized it. The Habanera is also recognizable but I think the Toreador song is even more so.
-_Largo al factotum_ (the Figaro song) - thanks to cartoons
-_Nessun dorma_ - thanks to Paul Potts, and to Pavarotti in the 1990 FIFA World Cup
-_Caro Nome_ - because the ad song for the Chiquita Banana brand sounds so close to it; people may mistakenly recognize it, but you said people will say "this is familiar" so regardless of doing it in error or not, familiar they will find it. Such mistake was actually featured in a very good French movie - _Le goût des autres_ - in which the rich but poorly educated protagonist shocks his opera-loving sophisticated friends when he mistakes _Caro Nome_ for the Chiquita Banana song. I've witnessed this same mistake in real life.
-The Bridal Chorus in _Lohengrin_ - because it is really played in real life weddings - maybe this one would get the number one if we were ranking them
-The Infernal Gallop (can-can music) in Offenbach's _Orphée aux Enfers_ - who doesn't know it? Should probably get number 2 in a ranking.
-The _William Tell_ overture thanks to the Lone Ranger radio and TV shows
-The _Merry Widow_ waltz (or you can substitute for any of the well known waltzes in _Die Fledermaus_ or _Wiener Blut_)
-The Ride of the Walkyries thanks to the movie _Apocalipse Now _

Maybe there are others that fit the bill even more (I'm a little unsure about the _Willam Tell_ overture as the Lone Ranger fades in the memory of younger generations), but I'm quite sure that these ten are recognizable by lay people.

I had this one in, but though it was pushing it a little and moved it out of the top ten: 
_Méditation_ from _Thaïs_ because it's often performed as a concert piece; I removed it because it would still take familiarity with classical music
I also had _Barcarolle_ from_ Les Contes d'Hoffmann_ thanks to the movie _La Vita è Bella_ but realized that _Apocalipse Now_ is better known


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Nessun Dorma (Puccini)
La Donna e Mobile (Verdi)
Ride of the Valkyries (Wagner)
Largo al Factotum (Rossini)
O Mio Babbini Caro (Puccini)
Aida victory march (Verdi)
l'Amour est un Oiseau Rebelle (Bizet)
Toreador Song (Bizet)
Brindisi (Verdi)
Summertime (Gershwin)


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

I'll go with La Donna e Mobile and O Sole Mio. And I am very much not an opera buff, so the OP's requirement is satisfied.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Hilltroll72 said:


> I'll go with La Donna e Mobile and O Sole Mio. And I am very much not an opera buff, so the OP's requirement is satisfied.


O Sole Mio is not an opera song.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Almaviva said:


> -The Infernal Gallop (can-can music) in Offenbach's _Orphée aux Enfers_ - who doesn't know it? Should probably get number 2 in a ranking...
> -The _Merry Widow_ waltz (or you can substitute for any of the well known waltzes in _Die Fledermaus_ or _Wiener Blut_)


The whole issue of whether or not to include operettas was left deliberately open-ended. My list excluded operettas intentionally. If allowing operetta, you can be sure that I would have allowed for Offenbach's most famous melody. [I allowed for the _Barcarolle_- but that's one of the two I was ambivalent about.]

If we actually DO consider operetta, maybe we'd have to mention _A Wand'ring Minstrel I_ from 'The Mikado' & _Come, Friends- Who Plough the Sea_ from 'The Pirates of Penzance.'


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> The whole issue of whether or not to include operettas was left deliberately open-ended. My list excluded operettas intentionally. If allowing operetta, you can be sure that I would have allowed for Offenbach's most famous melody. [I allowed for the _Barcarolle_- but that's one of the two I was ambivalent about.]
> 
> If we actually DO consider operetta, maybe we'd have to mention _A Wand'ring Minstrel I_ from 'The Mikado' & _Come, Friends- Who Plough the Sea_ from 'The Pirates of Penzance.'


Fair enough. In that case I would scratch out the two operetta options I had, and double the Carmen entries by including the _Habanera_ (probably still more recognizable than the Barcarolle), and endorse Gaston's _Summertime_. Most lay people won't know that _Summertime_ is from an opera, but will surely recognize it since it made a career in the pop music universe. My _Caro Nome_ entry is a little controversial since it is not true recognition... I could go with the _Barcarolle_ instead.

What do you think of _Thais' Meditation_ which I also had there... is it recognizable enough by someone who is not into opera *nor* classical music? Probably not.

_O mio babbino caro _has been used in the sound track of many movies but I still think that the lay public won't get it.

There is a piece of Andrea Chenier in the movie Philadelphia, and a piece of Le Nozze di Figaro in The Shawshank Redemption so these would be contenders too (especially the latter which is a very popular movie). And also the movie The Fifth Element has an operatic aria - which one? I forgot.

I'm curious to know your list.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

The slave choir from Nabucco is another one that should be in there.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

jhar26 said:


> The slave choir from Nabucco is another one that should be in there.


I think we'll have to go for a top 20 instead of top 10. We've been quoting many more than ten.

The Queen of the Night aria could be there too, it's been popularized by the movie Amadeus, and it was recorded (with awful results) by a couple of crossover singers.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

La donna e mobile

Nessum dorma (Soccer World Cup 1990 theme which drove me nuts!!!)






Brindisi

Parts of overture La forza del destino Theme Jean de Florette & Stella ad






Largo al Factotum

'Anvil chorus' (this is sweet)






Va pensiero

William Tell

Aida march

Votre toast


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

sospiro said:


> 'Anvil chorus' (this is sweet)


_Brava_, Annie!

That's the one that the others let slip.

(Though in the interest of full disclosure, I let _Largo al factotum_ slip, too- 
which isn't a decision I'd make if I had to do it again.)

(IMO) there's one other 'biggie' out there- that hasn't been mentioned yet. It's the most famous tune composed by someone whose name is pretty much utterly unknown to 'lay-people.'


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> (IMO) there's one other 'biggie' out there- that hasn't been mentioned yet. It's the most famous tune composed by someone whose name is pretty much utterly unknown to 'lay-people.'


Could it be the intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana?


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Almaviva said:


> I'm curious to know your list.


My original list, warts and all, it all its glory (or ingloriousness):

1. *Bridal Chorus from Wagner's Lohengrin*- a contender for most familiar classical tune (of ANY genre). It's not Wagner's greatest inspiration- and Hot_townPhilly (my wife) & I actually prefer the equally well-known Wedding March from Mendelssohn's incidental music to _A Midsummer Night's Dream_- but its familiarity is certainly not subject to any question.

2. *Conclusion- Overture to William Tell-- Rossini*- did I have this rated too high? Probably. I still think it belongs on the list. People of a certain age will always associate it with 'Lone Ranger' episodes- but it's sufficiently well-circulated in other contexts to rate a place on this list, I think.

3. *Ride of the Valkyries- Wagner: Die Walküre*- I think the only question here is what position it should be placed. Circulated extensively through commercials, in addition to films.

4. *Toreador Song from Bizet's Carmen*- that most familiar of Baritone arias... Hot_ townPhilly argues that much of the music of 'Carmen' received a 'bump' from the "Bad News Bears" franchise of films.

5. *Habanera- also from Carmen*.

6. *Anvil Chorus from Il Trovatore by Verdi*- I think its place on the list is obvious... 
and the only quibble is its ranking.


Almaviva said:


> Could it be the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana?


No.

7. (Read slowly, for suspense-value) Amilcare Ponchielli- La Gioconda *Dance of the Hours*.

8. *La donna e mobile from Verdi's Rigoletto*- leading candidate for most familiar Tenor aria of all-time.

Now here follow the ones I was REALLY unsure about...

9. _Marriage of Figaro overture (Mozart)_- does it deserve a place on the list, even?? I shouldn't doubt that Rossini's Largo al factotum is more familiar. I do think it's more familiar than the Queen of Night's vocalizations in _Magic Flute_. Funny, then- Mozart has an array of tuneful music in many of his operas... but are NONE of his big tunes circulated enough to rate a place on our list of ten??

10. Barcarolle from Offenbach's _Tales of Hoffman_.

(Hot_townPhilly has opined that we're ALL missing Polovetsian Dance #2 from Borodin's _Prince Igor_.)

Now, my omission of Figaro's tune from _Barber of Seville_ was a mistake, I know. The more problematic omissions are 'Nessun Dorma' and Summertime. Maybe the fact that I'm not an especially well-travelled American plays into my non-listing of 'Nessun Dorma.' I DIDN'T forget about it (c.f. 'Largo al factotum'), I just didn't think it was sufficiently familiar. Maybe it's much better known outside Anglo-America than inside of it. In a contrary manner, I strongly considered 'Summertime' from Gershwin's _Porgy & Bess_, but thought that there was a risk that, BECAUSE I'm American, I may have been giving it too much credit- so I left it off.

Hope that was interesting...


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

VERY insteresting indeed, a delightful thread, thank you CTP and Mrs. CTP, aka HTP.
Dance of the Hours, of course, dumb me!!!
But now I've remembered still another one: the Bacchanale music from act III of Samson and Delilah.
Don't you think we should organize a top 20 now, CTP? I think we have enough of them although I haven't counted.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> Now, my omission of Figaro's tune from _Barber of Seville_ was a mistake, I know. The more problematic omissions are 'Nessun Dorma' and Summertime. Maybe the fact that I'm not an especially well-travelled American plays into my non-listing of 'Nessun Dorma.' I DIDN'T forget about it (c.f. 'Largo al factotum'), I just didn't think it was sufficiently familiar


Ha ha that reminds me of a comment I heard at the end of Nozze di Figaro at NZ opera:

One old lady to another old lady in puzzled voice:

"What happened to that "Figaro Figaro Figaro" bit?"

:lol:


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

I agree with Chi's top 8.. but what about "Casta Diva" from Norma? Is that not well-known enough by non-opera audiences? And I would put either the Queen of the Night aria or "O mio babbino caro" at No. 10.


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## classidaho (May 5, 2009)

I hate to date myself, but in 1953 a charts favorite was Tony Bennet singing 'Stranger in Paradise', I have always loved the melody and words and was, and am, always delighted to hear the original Opera Chorus version that it was adapted from ( Borodin's Prince Igor....Dance of the Maidens.)


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Ravellian said:


> I agree with Chi's top 8.. but what about "Casta Diva" from Norma? Is that not well-known enough by non-opera audiences? And I would put either the Queen of the Night aria or "O mio babbino caro" at No. 10.


Casta Diva? I think non-operatic audiences have no clue about it (it's their loss, it's so sublime!).


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

So what do we have thus far? Let's do a summary of the thread.

CTP's list:

1. Bridal Chorus from Wagner's _Lohengrin _(_Treulich geführt)_
2. Conclusion- Overture to _William Tell _- Rossini
3. Ride of the Valkyries- Wagner: _Die Walküre (Hojotoho! Heiaha!)_ 
4. Toreador Song from Bizet's _Carmen (Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre)_
5. Habanera - also from _Carmen (L'amour est un oiseau rebelle)_
6. Anvil Chorus from _Il Trovatore_ by Verdi _(Vedi! Le fosche notturne)_
7. _Dance of the Hours _ballet from _La Gioconda_ by Ponchielli _(Danza delle ore)_
8. _La donna è mobile_ from Verdi's _Rigoletto_
9. Overture to _Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart)_
10. Barcarolle from Offenbach's _Les Contes d'Hoffmann_,_ (Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour)_

Also quoted by CTP in his post and endorsed by jhar26 and me:

11. _Largo al Factotum_ from Rossini's _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_
12. _Nessun Dorma_ from Puccini's _Turandot_
13. _Summertime_ from Gershwin's _Porgy and Bess_

My own list overlapped a lot, except for:

14. _Caro Nome_ from Verdi's _Rigoletto_
15. The _Méditation de Thaïs_ intermezzo from Massenet's _Thaïs_

and I also mentioned

16. _O mio babbino caro_ from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi
17. The _Bacchanale_ ballet from Saint-Saëns' _Samson et Delila_

... and the references to operettas which I agreed to withdraw.

jhar26 also had overlaps, but added:

18. The Triumphal March from Verdi's_ Aida (Gloria all'Egitto, ad Iside)_
19. The drinking song _Brindisi (Libiamo ne' letti calici)_ from Verdi's _La Traviata_

Sospiro, after some overlaps, added

20. Overture to _La Forza del Destino_ by Verdi
21._ Va pensiero sull'alli dorate_ from _Nabucco_ by Verdi, the slave chorus

Later I added as well:

22. The Queen of the Night aria _(Die hölle Rache)_ from Mozart's _Die Zauberflöte_
23. The intermezzo from Mascagni's _Cavalleria Rusticana_

Ravellian added:

24. _Casta Diva_ from Bellini's _Norma_

Classidaho added:

25. _Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens_ from Borodin's _Prince Igor_

And finally, I had remembered three more that were in popular movies and therefore may be recognizable by the non-operatic public:

26. _La Mamma Morta,_ from Giordano's _Andrea Chenier_, in the movie _Philadelphia_
27. _Sull'aria, _from Mozart's _Le Nozze di Figaro, _in _The Shawshank Redemption_
28. _Il Dolce Suono _from Donizetti's _Lucia di Lammermoor'_s mad scene, in _The Fifth Element_

So we could vote for the elimination of eight from above to get to a top 20 (some are questionable including some of my own), or we could keep going and get to a top 30 (there may be more operatic music in popular movies - any other hints?), and then vote for the ranking order. What do you guys think?

Edit, late entries, thanks to Air:

29. Overture to Rossini's _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_ - how did we manage to miss this? Or did we? Didn't someboy mention it _en passant? _(now I feel lazy about re-reading the entire thread).
30. _Viens, Mallika _(the Flower Duet) from Delibes' _Lakmé._

Five more from movies although some of these movies are not that well known, so, questionable:

31. _Un bel dì vedremo _from Puccini's _Madama Butterfly _in the movie _Fatal Attraction_
32_. Soave sia il vento _from Mozart's _Così fan tutte _in the movie _Sunday Bloody Sunday_
33_. Questa o quella _from Verdi's _Rigoletto _in the movie _Wall Street_
34._ Au fond du temple saint_ from Bizet's _Les pêcheurs de perles _in the movie _Gallipoli_
35._ Tu che di gel sei cinta_ from Puccini's _Turandot _in the movie _The Life of David Gale_

Clarification, while I can still edit the post: these numbers don't imply a ranking. Maybe if you guys want to do it, we could vote for a ranking. Any more nominations? I'm getting greedy, maybe we can get to 50! Operatic music seems to be more diffused than I initially thought.


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## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

I like the list. Thanks for taking the time to compile it, Almaviva. Do you think we could add the *Overture* from _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_ on there? Or possibly, the Flower Duet from Delibes' _Lakme_?


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Air said:


> I like the list. Thanks for taking the time to compile it, Almaviva. Do you think we could add the *Overture* from _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_ on there? Or possibly, the Flower Duet from Delibes' _Lakme_?


Is the Flower Duet recognizable/familiar among those who fulfill the condition proposed by CTP, that is, a reasonably aware lay person (not an opera fan)?

The overture to _Il Barbiere di Siviglia _in my opinion is more likely to be recognized. I even remember an old radio news show that had a fragment of it that they played at the beginning of the news hour (I don't remember the details, some radio station I used to tune to when I was younger). Then, of course, there was the cartoon, so, yes - I'm amazed that we hadn't listed it yet.

The trick here is to find something that has achieved enough diffusion *outside* of the operatic field to be recognized by or at least familiar to lay people. I'm not sure whether the Flower Duet qualifies, but if you have evidence that it does, then, cool!

That's also the base for my hesitation regarding the_ Méditation_ from _Thaïs _and the intermezzo from _Cavalleria Rusticana - _these are concert pieces in the general classical music repertoire that get played outside of the operatic environment, but I'm not sure if this is what CTP had in mind, since he hasn't told us yet if he'd consider *as a lay person* someone familiar enough with concert music to be able to recognize these pieces. That takes a little more awareness of classical music than what I suspect he was aiming for when he started the thread.

Another one that would fall into this category is Beethoven's _Leonore no. 3 _overture, initially intended to be part of his opera _Fidelio _but it took on a life of its own and Beethoven ended up considering that it was overwhelming his opera. Then he composed a lighter piece that now is known as the _Fidelio _overture (his fourth attempt at it since there are two more Leonore overtures). The lighter overture is generally preferred by modern conductors when the opera is being staged, since it seems more in tune with Beethoven's intention when he revised his opera. Still, _Leonore no. 3 _is operatic music that became famous outside of opera, but I'm not sure if truly lay people would recognize it.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Air said:


> I like the list. Thanks for taking the time to compile it, Almaviva. Do you think we could add the *Overture* from _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_ on there? Or possibly, the Flower Duet from Delibes' _Lakme_?


On second thought, I've just checked it out, it looks like The Flower Duet (_Viens, Malika) _from Delibes' _Lakmé _was in a movie _(The Hunger),_ so yes, you may have a point. We actually had a short thread about opera tunes in mainstream movies a while ago:

http://www.talkclassical.com/10541-opera-music-mainstream-movies.html

Here are the ones listed there that we haven't included yet, although I think that the simple fact that some of these were in movies is no guarantee of the capacity of a lay person to be familiar with them, since it depends on how prominently they were displayed, and how popular the movie is. But for what it's worth, here is the list, minus the ones we've already mentioned:

_Un bel dì vedremo _from Puccini's _Madama Butterfly _in the movie _Fatal Attraction_
_Soave sia il vento _from Mozart's _Così fan tutte _in the movie _Sunday Bloody Sunday_
_Questa o quella _from Verdi's _Rigoletto _in the movie _Wall Street_
_Au fond du temple saint _from Bizet's _Les pêcheurs de perles _in the movie _Gallipoli_
_Tu che di gel sei cinta _from Puccini's _Turandot _in the movie _The Life of David Gale_


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## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

Almaviva said:


> On second thought, I've just checked, it looks like The Flower Duet was in a movie, so yes, you may have a point. We actually had a short thread about opera tunes in mainstream movies a while ago:
> 
> http://www.talkclassical.com/10541-opera-music-mainstream-movies.html


Just check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flower_Duet


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Air said:


> Just check this out:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flower_Duet


Yes, and the funny thing is that *I* was the one who commented upon the Flower Duet scene in _The Hunger _on that thread; gee, my memory is failing me. Actually it's a quite erotic scene. I like this movie a lot, buy the way, it's just that I haven't seen it in years.

Oh, and you don't need any more evidence than the British Airways commercials; yes, of course, The Flower Duet must be very recognizable by lay people.:tiphat:

So I guess we got our numbers 29 and 30, I'll add them to the list.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I made this list without looking at other's posts, as the OP suggested. In no particular order:

1. La donna e mobile from Rigoletto (Verdi)
2. Nessun dorma from Turandot (Puccini)
3. Ombra mai fu (Largo) from Xerxes (Handel)
4. Vesti la giubba (On with the motley) from I Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)
5. Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin (Wagner)
6. Papageno/papagena's aria from The Magic Flute (Mozart)
7. Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville (Rossini)
8. Che faro senza euridice from Orfeo et Euridice (Gluck)
9. Toreador Song from Carmen (Bizet)
10. Triumphal March from Aida (Verdi)

Another one:

11. Barcarolle from Tales of Hoffman (Offenbach)


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## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

More puzzling is _how_ people often confuse it (the Flower Duet) with "Sull' aria" from _Le Nozze_.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Andre said:


> I made this list without looking at other's posts, as the OP suggested. In no particular order:
> 
> 1. La donna e mobile from Rigoletto (Verdi)
> 2. Nessun dorma from Turandot (Puccini)
> ...


Not that I doubt you (the last time I tried to doubt someone's suggestion, I ended up with the weird event that I had previously suggested the same one myself in another thread, LOL), but for my information, would you elaborate on why your choices 3, 4, 6, and 8 are familiar to lay people (non-operatic fans)?


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> Not that I doubt you (the last time I tried to doubt someone's suggestion, I ended up with the weird event that I had previously suggested the same one myself in another thread, LOL), but for my information, would you elaborate on why your choices 3, 4, 6, and 8 are familiar to lay people (non-operatic fans)?


Well I'm no opera fan & yet I know these very well. That was the basis I was working on, from my own point of view. Of course, it's different for everyone. But most people would know these tunes, but not necessarily the composer or opera they're from. I've sometimes seen the Handel & Mozart pop up in weddings. The Leoncavallo has been put in the public consciousness by every great tenor - from Caruso to Gigli and Pavorotti & Domingo, recording it. The popularity of the Gluck might be less so, but as it features on many of those mixed classical music compilations that many non-opera listeners may have, it's probably at least recognizable by a certain number of non-opera or non-classical listeners out there...


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Andre said:


> Well I'm no opera fan & yet I know these very well. That was the basis I was working on, from my own point of view. Of course, it's different for everyone. But most people would know these tunes, but not necessarily the composer or opera they're from. I've sometimes seen the Handel & Mozart pop up in weddings. The Leoncavallo has been put in the public consciousness by every great tenor - from Caruso to Gigli and Pavorotti & Domingo, recording it. The popularity of the Gluck might be less so, but as it features on many of those mixed classical music compilations that many non-opera listeners may have, it's probably at least recognizable by a certain number of non-opera or non-classical listeners out there...


Fair enough, thanks. Although, even if you define yourself as "no opera fan" the simple fact that you're a member of Talk Classical who posts at times in the opera forum and you're able to come up with a list of 11 opera tunes correctly named and placed, might disqualify you as the type of lay person CTP was talking about. It seems to me like you're way above the "relatively aware stranger" - so my question is, sure, *you* know these tunes, but folks out there who are not especially interested in classical or operatic music, do they also know them? Maybe they do and I'm willing to take your word for it, but I'm just saying, you're not the lay person we've been talking about.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Air said:


> More puzzling is _how_ people often confuse it (the Flower Duet) with "Sull' aria" from _Le Nozze_.


They do both sport two sopranos (well, Mallika is a mezzo, but lay people don't know these differences) singing some "wavy" music. While you and I know that they are very different, for non-discriminating lay people I can see how they can get confused.

In _Lakmé_ there is another aria that gets often confused with a different one: the Bell song (_Où va la jeune Hindoue) _does sound a little similar to an aria in Don Carlos, _Au palais de fées, _a.k.a. the Veil Song. While again, they're different enough, there are some similarities that do explain the confusion.

It is by the way interesting to notice that Verdi did write a French-sounding opera in Don Carlos, which doesn't just come from the fact that he was setting to music a French libretto. The Maestro was competent enough to adapt his musical language to the circumstances, since he wanted to please the French with this opera. I'm not talking about plagiarism, something Verdi would never do; just, he displayed his ability to interpret the soul of French music while composing his _grand opéra_ style, French-like opera. This is one of the things I admire in Verdi. The Veil Song is a very "French" piece.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Almaviva said:


> Classidaho added:..._Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens_ from Borodin's _Prince Igor_


Correction- _Hot_townPhilly_ & Classidaho added...


Andre said:


> Vesti la giubba (On with the motley) from I Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)


Worth thinking about... I considered it- but left it off-- but this aria has something of a history in recording...

I remember reading a statement (perhaps anecdotal) that Caruso's rendition of this was the first million-seller piece of recorded music. He's arguably the most famous of opera singers (certainly the most famous one pre-'3 tenors'), checking in with his most famous recording. Ultimately, I think the generation of our parents and grandparents would be quicker to recognize this than our generation(s).


Almaviva said:


> _Un bel dì vedremo _from Puccini's _Madama Butterfly _in the movie _Fatal Attraction_


I thought all along that this and not _O babbino caro mio_ was Puccini's most famous soprano aria. Maybe the latter is more familiar to Europeans for reasons I don't know about(?)

Maybe I'm again showing an endemically American perspective with this addition... but I recently recalled Prokofiev's March from _Love for Three Oranges_- (which incidentally had its premiere in Chicago, IL).


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> Correction- _Hot_townPhilly_ & Classidaho added...


Oops, she did, I missed that, sorry.



> I thought all along that this and not _O babbino caro mio_ was Puccini's most famous soprano aria. Maybe the latter is more familiar to Europeans for reasons I don't know about(?)


I found some potential explanations in Wikipedia:

Cultural resonance outside opera
It has also become in demand with popular music sopranos such as Sarah Brightman, Charlotte Church, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Lesley Garrett and Hayley Westenra. Violinist Joshua Bell also has produced a recording of it on his album _Romance of the Violin_. The rock group East Village Opera Company covered the aria and transformed it into an R&B-styled arrangement. Carlo Aonzo (mandolin) and Beppe Gambetta (guitar) also produced a recording of the song on their 2001 album _Traversata_. Recently, it has been used in a UBS (a Swiss Private Bank)TV commercial. 10 year old opera singer Jackie Evancho performed the song on the live NBC Talent competition, America's Got Talent Season 5. Her performance was lauded by the judges and evoked thunderous applause from the audience.
James Ivory's adaptation of E. M. Forster's novel _A Room with a View_ (1985) uses the aria as the title theme.
The 1999 Harmony Korine film _Julien Donkey-Boy_ uses the aria as its main theme.
The 1930s English singer Gracie Fields also recorded an English version of the song which proved to be a rarity.



> Maybe I'm again showing an endemically American perspective with this addition... but I recently recalled Prokofiev's March from _Love for Three Oranges_- (which incidentally had its premiere in Chicago, IL).


All right, we got what, 36 now? I'm hopping to get to 50.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Unless there are reservations about their operatic status how about 'Die Moritat von Mackie Messer' (Die Dreigroschenoper) and 'Alabama Song' (Rise & Fall of the City of Mahogany) by Weill/Brecht?


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

elgars ghost said:


> Unless there are reservations about their operatic status how about 'Die Moritat von Mackie Messer' (Die Dreigroschenoper)


*No reservations from me!!* _Great add!_

(Not so sure about the second one, though...)


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I added the second Weill/Brecht song because of well-known versions by The Doors and David Bowie - I agree that was probably pushing it a bit!


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> Fair enough, thanks. Although, even if you define yourself as "no opera fan" the simple fact that you're a member of Talk Classical who posts at times in the opera forum and you're able to come up with a list of 11 opera tunes correctly named and placed, might disqualify you as the type of lay person CTP was talking about. It seems to me like you're way above the "relatively aware stranger" - so my question is, sure, *you* know these tunes, but folks out there who are not especially interested in classical or operatic music, do they also know them? Maybe they do and I'm willing to take your word for it, but I'm just saying, you're not the lay person we've been talking about.


Yes, I'm not exactly a lay person, but I'm probably closer to being a lay person vis a vis opera than some of you here. Even my mother, who likes opera, only had tapes of the highlights, never full operas. So I have had my fair share of exposure to opera, I'm brighter than the average bear, but not as bright as some of you guys out there who listen to complete operas. Eg. I don't remember hearing any of those operas which I posted arias from in full, except maybe I Pagliacci, Aida and Turandot, and they were on TV during the 90's when the ABC here used to do a series of broadcasts every weekend during summer. The only operatic works I have in full in my collection are by Berg, Schoenberg and Erkel, which are not exactly mainstream, so not much draws me to the genre (compared to chamber music which is my favourite, but even there, I'm far from being an "expert," but that's another story)...


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

The _un poco più vivo_ section (starting 17 measures before Rehearsal C) in Herold's *Zampa* overture is another of those well-circulated tunes which, like Ponchielli's _Dance of the Hours_, might prove familiar, even if many folks are hard-pressed to identify the composer and/or composition.

Oh, and as long as I'm here- it seems we've all settled on _Summertime_ as the most familiar tune from *PORGY & BESS*, but how would you rank the following for familiarity- "It Ain't Necessarily So," "I Got Plenty O'Nothing," & "Bess, You is My Woman Now?"


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> Oh, and as long as I'm here- it seems we've all settled on _Summertime_ as the most familiar tune from *PORGY & BESS*, but how would you rank the following for familiarity- "It Ain't Necessarily So," "I Got Plenty O'Nothing," & "Bess, You is My Woman Now?"


They certainly will be familiar to jazz fans and people that are into pre-rock popular music because of recordings by artists like Armstrong and Sinatra.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> The _un poco più vivo_ section (starting 17 measures before Rehearsal C) in Herold's *Zampa* overture is another of those well-circulated tunes which, like Ponchielli's _Dance of the Hours_, might prove familiar, even if many folks are hard-pressed to identify the composer and/or composition.
> 
> Oh, and as long as I'm here- it seems we've all settled on _Summertime_ as the most familiar tune from *PORGY & BESS*, but how would you rank the following for familiarity- "It Ain't Necessarily So," "I Got Plenty O'Nothing," & "Bess, You is My Woman Now?"


Less familiar, but still familiar.


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## SalieriIsInnocent (Feb 28, 2008)

Nobody has even mentioned *Flight of the Bumblebee* from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Tale of Tsar Sultan. Everybody knows the song, but barely anybody knows the opera it came from. It's a shame, because Rimsky-Korsakov's operas are some of the best in history.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

SalieriIsInnocent said:


> Nobody has even mentioned *Flight of the Bumblebee* from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Tale of Tsar Sultan. Everybody knows the song, but barely anybody knows the opera it came from. It's a shame, because Rimsky-Korsakov's operas are some of the best in history.


Damn!!! This one got me! I didn't know it was from an opera!


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## SalieriIsInnocent (Feb 28, 2008)

Almaviva said:


> Damn!!! This one got me! I didn't know it was from an opera!


More people would know it was in an opera, had it not been used extensively as a separate competition piece. It's played more on it's own than the rest of Rimsky-Korsakov's works put together.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

I gave in to this popular tune. I even bought the DVD (on sale anyway, which is how I focus on my purchasing strategy).


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

SalieriIsInnocent said:


> More people would know it was in an opera, had it not been used extensively as a separate competition piece. It's played more on it's own than the rest of Rimsky-Korsakov's works put together.


Can't find a recording on CD on Amazon of the whole opera, so it's not surprising it's not well-known! On the other hand there are spectacular images from the Marinsky for a production on 27 November - let's hope for a DVD.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

elgars ghost said:


> Unless there are reservations about their operatic status how about 'Die Moritat von Mackie Messer' (Die Dreigroschenoper)


Of course! The American public knows this as The Ballad of Mack the Knife, which was recorded by Armstrong and Sinatra, and has been called one of the landmark tunes of the century.


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

I obeyed your instructions, didn't look any further, sat down, took a piece of paper and a pen, and began to think. The order of the items from the top to the bottom represent the order in which they occurred to me. I began to think their "popularity" next and added the numbers accordingly. As you can see, I changed my mind a couple of times.

8. Va, Pensiero
5. Nessun dorma
6. Largo al factotum
3. The Ride of the Valkyries
2. La donna è mobile
7. E lucevan le stelle
10. (Vissi d'arte) -> (The Triumphal March from Aida) -> The Ouverture of Guglielmo Tell
1. Ombra mai fù (played on organ in every other funeral)
9. (La Calunnia) -> Un bel di
4. Der Hölle Rache


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

I don't know why I haven't noticed this thread before, although it was begun in November! Very interesting. After having read all the messages, I cannot understand how I didn't think of O, mio babbino caro, The Toreador's song, Wagner's Bridal Chorus!

On the other hand, only Andre had also listed Handel's Ombra mai fù, better known as Handel's Largo, which I have heard played in at least every other funeral I have attended. Surely it must belong to the top two with Wagner's Bridal Chorus, because weddings and funerals (the latter at least) are a part of everyone's life.

A very good thread!


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> 9. _Marriage of Figaro overture (Mozart)_- does it deserve a place on the list, even?? I shouldn't doubt that Rossini's Largo al factotum is more familiar. I do think it's more familiar than the Queen of Night's vocalizations in _Magic Flute_. Funny, then- Mozart has an array of tuneful music in many of his operas... but are NONE of his big tunes circulated enough to rate a place on our list of ten??


Obviously it's difficult for opera fans to answer this thread's central question objectively (since we are more familiar with opera than the general public), but I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Mozart's best known opera piece is Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben -- ironic, in that it is from an unfinished opera that is certainly performed much less frequently than probably 5 or 6 of Mozart's other operas. Alternatively, La Ci Darem La Mano perhaps?
I'm skeptical that either would make a top 10 list, though. As you point out, very curious considering what a master of melody he was.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

rgz said:


> Obviously it's difficult for opera fans to answer this thread's central question objectively (since we are more familiar with opera than the general public), but I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Mozart's best known opera piece is Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben -- ironic, in that it is from an unfinished opera that is certainly performed much less frequently than probably 5 or 6 of Mozart's other operas. Alternatively, La Ci Darem La Mano perhaps?
> I'm skeptical that either would make a top 10 list, though. As you point out, very curious considering what a master of melody he was.


I'm at a total loss. Why on Earth do you think _Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben_ is better known by the lay, non-opera loving general public than the other four Mozart pieces quoted in this thread???

And I also doubt that the general public knows _La Ci Darem La Mano_.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> I'm a total loss. Why on Earth do you think _Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben_ is better known by the lay, non-opera loving general public than the other four Mozart pieces quoted in this thread???
> 
> And I also doubt that the general public knows _La Ci Darem La Mano_.


No quantifiable reason, other than that the melody is one of those Mozartian masterpieces that has the sense of inevitibility, of something that has always existed and one has been familiar with. I was certainly familiar with it before I was an opera fan.

But it's entirely possible that I'm not a representative example.


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## Dulcamara (Sep 22, 2010)

As far as Carmen goes, a number of folks have mentioned Votre toast and the Habanera... I don't disagree at all, but I think that perhaps the most famous bit from that opera is the prelude (which does include music from Votre toast, of course). I'd argue that the first few seconds of that opera are more famous than everything to follow. A few weeks ago, I was sitting around watching Japanese TV when I decided to keep track of all the opera clips that were playing in the background of various shows. That night, for some reason, it seemed like opera popped up every few minutes. The Carmen prelude was used multiple times. Der Hölle Rache pops up frequently, too.

The theme from The Godfather uses - to some extent - Povero Ernesto from Don Pasquale. That represents only the very beginning of the movie's theme music, but it is rather prominent. Just because an opera figures into a movie might not make it immediately famous, though. I saw Philadelphia some time ago, but I didn't even recollect the presence of opera. On the other hand, The Shawshank Redemption is one of the most famous films, and the Sull'aria plays a very prominent and memorable role. Then again, I only saw Philadelphia once and it is also a highly acclaimed film.

Additional thoughts on the Guillaume Tell overture. I have never seen The Lone Ranger, which aired long before I was born. However, I have always known the "Lone Ranger Theme Music" since childhood. I even knew it was really called the "William Tell Overture" long before I even knew what an overture was. It was only until much later that I realized it was part of an opera. I would guess than many people who have no familiarity with either opera or even The Lone Ranger might still easily recognize that piece.

Either way, I agree that Lohengrin should rank #1.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Dulcamara said:


> The theme from The Godfather uses - to some extent - Povero Ernesto from Don Pasquale. That represents only the very beginning of the movie's theme music, but it is rather prominent.


He he that's a funny coincidence. I went to Don Pasquale (Live in HD) last night, an opera with which I am not really familiar, and as I was listening to the trumpets I was getting Godfather flashbacks and I couldn't work out why.


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