# Specific scenes or events in opera that electrify you the most?



## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

We all have our fave operas and composers, and some we don't care that much for. Opera's a big tent and there's lots to enjoy or dislike.

But let's share in pure genius, the scenes, arias, duets, etc, have most electrified you, pleased you, thrilled or chilled you --- specific moments or sequences in opera (not necessarily specific individual performances though) that make opera that great artform it really is. I've got 4 to start:

Rigoletto, Act 3, the final trio and surrounding scene during which Gilda's stabbed. Starting essentially with that terrible 3-knock entry, the music storms up, with Gilda, Sparafuchile, and Maddalena in this sweeping trio, music intense as it ever might be in opera. Every time I hear or see it, my heart pounds and pulse rushes. Possibly the most intense scene in all of opera (if you don't count when Rigoletto finds Gilda and the terrible ending cry of grief by him).

Rheingold, at the end, when Donner sings his brief "Heyda" sequence, crescendo until his hammer strikes. And just a bit after, when Wotan sings his "Valhalla" invitation. Truly magical.

Marriage of Figaro, first scene, "Cinque..." from Figaro, measuring (doing "guy" stuff) and Susanna, her song lyric and counterpoint to his staccato, talking about her bonnet ("gal" stuff). How brilliantly the two combine, how in the space of maybe 3 minutes, Mozart (and DaPonte) create two genuine human beings, characters in whom we can believe and care for, and who love one another but can tease each other as well.

Magic Flute, when Papageno, despondent, tries to hang himself ineptly and then is introduced at last to Papagena, and they sing their charming duet. Papageno is, I think, perhaps the single most beloved character in all of opera. And while, mmm, "enduring" the angst-ridden romance of Pamina and Tamino, we've all this time been rooting for Papageno. When he finally meets his lady and they sing, the joy of this scene is immense.

Okay --- agree or disagree with my picks is fine --- what are your "high points" in opera, and why?


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

Just a couple;

Das Rheingold, the moment when Wotan puts the Ring on his finger. I know, it's going to sound quite childish, but I always imagine Frodo standing at the edge of the abyss and pulling the other Ring on his finger in his own moment of triumph and seduction. 

Die Meistersinger, the moment when the curtain rises, the overture changes into organ-like music and the choir sings "Da zu dir der Heiland kam..." - simply because it is the beginning of one of my favorite works of art ever, some 4 hours still ahead and it's going to be a great ride  

Parsifal, the whole ceremony in the Grail castle in the first act: exalted and spiritual and yet so tragic and full of human passion. 

Siegfried, when Brünnhilde awakes and asks "who is he that awakes me", Siegfried answers her, and the Siegfried leitmotiv explodes in its full orchestral power, a perfect musical embodiment of all things masculine. The word "electrify" that the OP uses, applies to this moment especially well.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

La Fanciulla del West, the poker scene, and the last scene where Minnie goes around persuading the "boys" to release Johnson. 

Giulio Cesare, Va tacito e nascosto,the face off between Cesare and Tolomeo.

Tamerlano, when Bajazet sings of meeting his daughter on the shores of the river Lethe after death.

Il Ritorno D'Ulisse in Patria, the recognition scene between Ulisse and his son, the routing of the suitors; and then at the end when he persuades Penelope that it's really him.

La Traviata, after Alfredo comes in in Act 3. 

Don Carlo; Rodrigo's death, and the final farewell between Carlo and Elisabetta "Adio mia madre".

Otello, Gia nella notte densa, before everything turns to custard

Eugene Onegin; Lensky's aria and then the brief moment when Lensky and Onegin consider reconciliation, echoing each other's words, but nyet, nyet, nyet; and the final scene

Don Giovanni, the catalogue aria, the serenade, and the stone statue scene

Die Entführung aus dem Serail, from where the Pasha finds out who Belmonte is, to the forgiveness scene

Pique Dame, when the old countess is remembering her youth, and Yeletski's aria, and the last gambling scene.

War and Peace - the ball where Natasha and Andrei meet and fall in love

Albert Herring, when Albert finally asserts himself.

Stiffelio, when Stiffelio forgives Lina.

Meistersinger, the scenes between Sachs and Eva, with the undercurrent of UST.

Rosenkavalier, the presentation of the rose, when Sophie and Octavian's eyes meet and boom, they're in love, and the final trio.


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Thanks, but tell us a bit about the specifics of why these certain scenes are so unforgettable to you. What happens in the music or plot that renders that event so critical?

And Siegen, is there anything outside Wagner you like in opera?


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## Zabirilog (Mar 10, 2013)

Siegfried last minutes, when first Siegfried and then Brünnhilde sings "_Sie ist mir ewig ist mirblaablaa_"
Entführung when Pedrillo puts Osmin to sleep
Tristan when he rushes in in act 2 shouting "Isolde!"
Walküre act 3 scene 3 when the E major theme comes after Wotan singing "_der freier als ich, der Gott!_"
Cavaradossi's _Vittoria_ from Tosca

and many others, of course


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

I've always enjoyed the fact that Don Giovanni does not repent even in the face of death. Same thing with Carmen. Really powerful scenes that make you reflect on the theme of personal freedom. Along the same lines but from a teenager's perspective, I love it when Romeo tells the Capuleti to **** off in Bellini's Capuleti.

on the comedic side, I never get tired of the scene in Ariadne auf Naxos where the majordomo tells the artists that the opera seria and the vaudeville need to be performed together. It's so dead on and absurd! In L'italiana in Algeri, when Taddeo points out to Isabella that she will be taken to Mustafa's seraglio and she replies with something along the lines of "such is life! I don't want to let it bring me down" - haha! gotta love self assurance.


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## Volve (Apr 14, 2013)

Die Walküre - Siegmund's Walse in act 1. Every second of Fricka in act 2, and the Brunnhilde/Wotan farewell scene. 
Siegfried's entrance and forging scene.
Hagen calling the soldiers.
Parsifal's act 2 duet with Kundry.
Meistersinger's last minutes of Act 2. 

Iago's Credo and Desdemona's solo in the last act of Verdi's Otello.
The Commendatore's scene in Don Giovanni's ending.
Turandot's riddle scene and Liu's death.

To name the few that come to mind!


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

With my _Fidelio_ fixation, one of my favorite scenes just has to come from this opera, and it's the dungeon confrontation between Leonore and Pizarro. If it's done properly, the tension between those two is indeed electrifying.

I also love the scene in _Madama Butterfly _where Sharpless is reading Pinkerton's letter to Cio-Cio-San (or at least trying to). That, and the scene when Butterfly encounters Kate Pinkerton, are absolutely heart-rending.

Like mamascarlatti, I find the poker game between Minnie and Jack Rance very exciting (the heroine and the "villain" square off again, but it's a different sort of tension than that between Leonore and Pizarro), and love the ending when she appeals to the miners to save Johnson/Ramerrez.

Finally, there is Sarastro's second aria in _Die Zauberflöte_, "_In diesen heil'gen Hallen_." I find the music and the sentiments expressed in the text deeply moving.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Wow - great question!

Ballo - the moment right after Renato's name has been selected by Amelia, when Oscar comes in and they all sing a macabre quintet - Oscar is singing about how wonderful the ball will be, and Renato is singing of revenge! The fact that everybody has their own agenda and their own designs, and Verdi gets it all into the same music, just astounds me every time.

Ballo again - Renato has appeared and he convinces Gustav to trade clothing with him, so the king can escape the plotters who await. The music here is so fraught, and the drama that follows does not disappoint.

Barber - La Forza has entered the room and is vanquished by a look at Il Conte's credentials. The astonishment and humor of this moment is just perfectly captured in the music that comes afterwards.

Cosi - the music that attends the lovers' departure for camp is so gorgeous, it gives me goose pimples every time. It's so sad, and such a joke at the same time - it's really unbelievable.

Don Carlo - the confrontation between Filippo and Posa always gets to me. There's so much going on there. And that final "Guarda!" - wow.

Elisir - to me it always seems like the music builds and builds and builds until the storm breaks - Adina will marry Belcore TONIGHT! - ah, the sadness of that moment, at the end of all that lightheartedness always gets me. Poor Nemorino. He thought he had it wired, and Adina got away.

Eugene Onegin - I love Lensky's aria too - after hearing Shicoff do it how could you not - but for me the music that just precedes Onegin's visit after getting Tatiana's letter is just unbearable. Even when I know he's going to reject her I still can't stand it. It's so full of hope.

Lucia - sulla tomba. I stood on the grave of my father and swore revenge. And you stopped me. And this is how your brother repays me. That moment always gets to me.

Well, that's enough to start with!


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

katdad said:


> And Siegen, is there anything outside Wagner you like in opera?


To be honest, not _yet_. Some day I am going to become familiar the rest of the opera world, but for now I am happily exploring other CM: symphonies and concertos and lieder etc etc etc. Wagner is a whole world, so, personally, it is hard for me to imagine he might have an equal. I am sure that particular prejudice will change with time though.


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

In Act I of Britten's Turn of the Screw at the point when Quint's ghost first appears on the tower. In fact, the first act is littered with unforgettably creepy moments complimented by Britten's genius for simultaneously amplifying the effects of both evil and isolation, not least when the ghost of Miss Jessel appears at the other side of the lake and when the young boy starts singing 'Malo Malo' while apparently in a world of his own.

A sad (or perhaps mad) example is from Prokofiev's Semyon Kotko when a demented Lyubka wanders in and out of the action calling for her socialist sailor fiance who has not long been betrayed by a village elder and then hanged by German soldiers - then she talks to no one in particular about their intended wedding, seemingly oblivious to the fact that part of the village is being set alight.

On a lighter note, I usually end up chuckling at the crocodile tears of the dead man's relatives at the beginning of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi and also in Offenbach's Orphee aux enfers when the deities on Olympus moan about being bored and getting ambrosia and nectar YET again.

Oh, and let's not forget those trombone glissandi in the bedroom scene from Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District which was used to depict Katerina and Sergei indulging in a spot of horizontal jogging. Anyway, probably a pivotal moment in music history bearing in mind the creative effect the backlash had on the composer.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Some of my favs have already been named (Rheingold, Parsifal, Turandot). Many of mine also belong on 'most popular' lists, but I suppose there's a reason for that:

Boheme, Act I - _Che gelida manina_ thru end of Act. Best first date ever!! Long before I ever heard of _La Boheme_, my first ..errr.. encounter began with the accidental touching of cold hands in an unheated room.

Boheme, Act II - _Quando me'n vo_ thru end. Marcello's utter capitulation and declaration of love gets me everytime.

Carmen Act II - The whole darn act: Gypsy dance, Toreador Song, Flower Song - 'nuf said.

Don Carlo - Beginning of final act, thru _Tu che le vanità_. The brass, the drama, the BRASS.

Mefistofole - Prologue chorus. Boito set out to depict heaven itself , and succeeded.

Turandot - Act I chorus: Blood curdling!

It occurred to me than many of my most electrifying moments are strictly instrumental. There's probably a reason for that too. Sometimes the music speaks for itself:
Gotterdamerung - Siegfried's Death and Funeral
Thais- Meditation
Cavalleria - Intermezzo
Samson - Bachannale
Traviata - Prelude to Act III
Aida - Triumphal march


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Hard to top:

The ballroom scene with three on-stage bands each playing different music, the fourth music from the actual orchestra in the pit, while all the individual onstage characters maintain their character and individually tailored musical singing styles: with all those musical plates spinning in the air, this is certainly one of the most jaw-drop worthy of the greatest of contrapuntal tour de forces in all of musical literature. (Mozart; _Don Giovanni_.)

Lulu's blood-curdling death scream as Jack the Ripper cuts her throat, with the orchestral accompaniment a 12 pitch chord spanning a number of octaves. (Berg; _Lulu_.)

When Judith opens the fifth door overlooking Bluebeard's vast kingdom, she exclaims a brief high C, written short in the score... perfect dramatic moment, underscored by a massive vertical chord, the rest of the orchestral scoring of parallel chords. (Béla Bartók. _Bluebeard's Castle_.)

A dozen or so nuns, singing a hymn, one by one walk off to their execution by guillotine: the whoosh of the blade chillingly effective as rendered by a cymbal roll with a quick stop, the group singing unison, thins as each voice is stilled. End of opera -- casts a pall of "nothing to say" silence over adults seasoned to opera tragedy. (Poulenc; _Dialogues des carmélites_.)


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

The graveyard scene in _Un Ballo in Maschera_. Lust in the execution grounds, with music that is just a little too off-kilter to be passionate love music.

Of course, for sheer jaw-dropping spectacle and that stirring music with the strange harmonies, who doesn't get electrified in the coronation scene of _Boris Godunov_?


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

SiegendesLicht said:


> To be honest, not _yet_. Some day I am going to become familiar the rest of the opera world, but for now I am happily exploring other CM: symphonies and concertos and lieder etc etc etc. Wagner is a whole world, so, personally, it is hard for me to imagine he might have an equal. I am sure that particular prejudice will change with time though.


Er, W.A. Mozart?


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## Volve (Apr 14, 2013)

katdad said:


> Er, W.A. Mozart?


Mozart was great, but as Siegen stated, Wagner is a whole world of his own, detached from most things done before him. I have listened to several different opera composers, and haven't yet found one that can match him. That includes Mozart. I think the ones that came closest would be Verdi and Weber. (Remember I'm speaking about opera compositions, not overall works).


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Tosca, the scene where her lover is shot and she tries to revive him thinking that he is only feigning death.
So dramatic; so poignant!


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

waldvogel said:


> The graveyard scene in _Un Ballo in Maschera_. Lust in the execution grounds, with music that is just a little too off-kilter to be passionate love music.
> 
> Of course, for sheer jaw-dropping spectacle and that stirring music with the strange harmonies, who doesn't get electrified in the coronation scene of _Boris Godunov_?


The most electrifying scene in Boris Godunov must be the Clock Scene,especially Chaliapin's recording,it's quite frightening.
Boris imagines he sees the Tsarevich who he had murdered and demented orders the spectre away.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

In the last scene of "the Tales of Hoffmann" the dreadful Doctor Miracle gets into Antonia's house and works out a plan to kill her.
He brings a portrait of the girl's mother to life and the mother urges her to sing, Dr.Miracle knows full well that if Antonia sings she will die.
He seizes a violin and and plays to her enticingly,unable to resist Antonia sings--the three voices reach an unbelievable level of tension and Antonia falls dead.
With a demonical peel of laughter the evil one vanishes.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Mefistofele's furious whistling when he realizes he has failed to keep Faust in the dark side Slow Glissandi whistles over a full chorus and orchestra -- seriously chilling. (Boito; _Mefistofele._)


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

A few from operas that haven't been mentioned yet....

The tavern scene in Wozzeck, where the music the band is playing becomes increasingly distorted and feverish in the protagonist's mind as he watches his wife dance with the drum major. (Berg, _Wozzeck_)

The graveyard scene in The Rake's Progress, where the devil reveals himself, and Tom plays cards to save his own soul, keeping it, but losing his mind in the process, much of it to the bare accompaniment of harpsichord. (Stravinsky, _The Rake's Progress_)

The final scene of Moses und Aron's Act II, where the people move away, and Moses collapses in defeat, the music diminishing to a single, sustained note. (Schoenberg, _Moses und Aron_)

The "ballet" scene in Nixon in China, with its melange of styles and blurring of the fourth wall. (Adams, _Nixon in China_)


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Ingenue said:


> Tosca, the scene where her lover is shot and she tries to revive him thinking that he is only feigning death.
> So dramatic; so poignant!


Cavaradossi's [sp?] death is one of the few realistic in opera. Firing squad shoots, he drops like a stone, no "good-bye I'm dying but I've still got the breath for that high C" final aria.


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

The Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde...gets me every time.


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## Pantheon (Jun 9, 2013)

For me :

- Dido and Aeneas, by H. Purcell : The final scene when Dido dies. I must admit that I cried! The music was so emotional and the singing fantastic!

- Hercules, Händel : Act III, Scene 3, Dejanira's Recitative "Where shall I fly?". I found it very powerful and furious! It really scared me 

Tannhäuser, Wagner : The Death of Elisabeth and Tannhäuser's redemption...

Orlando Furioso, Vivaldi : Final scene, especially the aria "Andero Chiamero Dal Profondo"!

Need I say more? This scene almost scared me!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Pantheon said:


> Hercules, Händel : Act III, Scene 3, Dejanira's Recitative "Where shall I fly?". I found it very powerful and furious! It really scared me


Yes, I agree. I love the words too!


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## katdad (Jan 1, 2009)

Celloman said:


> The Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde...gets me every time.


One of the truly moving moments in all of Wagner, to be sure.


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## Hoffmann (Jun 10, 2013)

Die Walküre, Act I: Siegmund/Sieglinde's love duet

Wotan/Brünnhilde's farewell, leading into the Magic Fire Music. This scene (surtitles have made the difference here) when well cast and well sung is the one of the two in opera that almost always brings tears.

The other is Paul and Marietta's duet "Marietta's Lied" in _Die Tote Stadt_, along with the opera's closing, when it reprises when Paul realizes the end of his fantasy.

The final scene of Tannhaüser when the Pope's staff has sprouted leaves, indicating forgiveness/redemption, but too late, gives me chills.

When Lohengrin is bidding farewell to Elsa and explains who he is in "In Fernem Land."


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

katdad said:


> Marriage of Figaro, first scene, "Cinque..." from Figaro, measuring (doing "guy" stuff) and Susanna, her song lyric and counterpoint to his staccato, talking about her bonnet ("gal" stuff). How brilliantly the two combine, how in the space of maybe 3 minutes, Mozart (and DaPonte) create two genuine human beings, characters in whom we can believe and care for, and who love one another but can tease each other as well.


I agree ! A brilliant opening. There are so may layers in the voice, like you say, but also a brilliant orchestration.

Some other thrilling moments:
-Don Giovanni, when Donna Anna finds out Don Giovanni was the killer ("Don Ottavio son morta")
-Don Giovanni, the final Commendatore scene (I'd say this is the most thrilling scene of all opera's)
-Tristan und Isolde, "Mild und Leise"
-Traviata: When Violetta says goodbye to Alfredo ("Amami Alfredo")
-Rigoletto: When Rigoletto finds Gilda has been kidnappd ("Cortigiani, vil razza dannata") and when he finds out the Duke is still alive
-Tosca: The entrance of Scarpia and when Tosca stabs Scarpia: "Muori dannato!" 
-The opening of Otello
-Boheme: end of act I, Mimi's antrance in act IV and everything after that
-Nozze di Figaro: When the Count finds Susanna in stead of cherubino and of course "Dove Sono" and the count saying "Perdono"
-Magic Flute: First aria of Queen of the night when she sings "Du wirst sie zu befreien gehen", of course "Holle Rache", but also when the three boys interfere when Pamina wants to kill herself ("Ha! Unglückliche, halt ein!")


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

The end of Figaro where Mozart resolves the whole thing when the Countess forgives him.

Fidelio - the prisoner's chorus, the great duet and the final scene where Leonore takes her husband's chains off. 

Cosi - the wonderful trio. But then everything in Cosi is wonderful - musically, that is.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Volve said:


> Mozart was great, but as Siegen stated, Wagner is a whole world of his own, detached from most things done before him. I have listened to several different opera composers, and haven't yet found one that can match him. That includes Mozart. I think the ones that came closest would be Verdi and Weber. (Remember I'm speaking about opera compositions, not overall works).


Sorry. Mozart outdoes Wagner. Wagner has a world of his own but Mozart occupies humanity. His genius shows every facet of human emotion in music. Wagner doesn't get near (for me that is). The composer that came closest to Mozart was Verdi in Falstaff. But I've always thought Verdi far more in touch with the human condition than Wagner.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

DavidA said:


> Sorry. Mozart outdoes Wagner. Wagner has a world of his own but Mozart occupies humanity. His genius shows every facet of human emotion in music. Wagner doesn't get near *(for me that is)*. The composer that came closest to Mozart was Verdi in Falstaff. But I've always thought Verdi far more in touch with the human condition than Wagner.


This is an incoherent statement. Either these things are in music, or they are not. Personal perceptions would only affect whether or not we take them in as intended. If they are actually in the music, how do you know that your perception, and not that of others, is correct? And if they are not actually in the music, then why do you feel the need to rail against Wagner and prop up Mozart at every opportunity?


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## tyroneslothrop (Sep 5, 2012)

DavidA said:


> Sorry. Mozart outdoes Wagner. Wagner has a world of his own but Mozart occupies humanity. His genius shows every facet of human emotion in music. Wagner doesn't get near (for me that is). The composer that came closest to Mozart was Verdi in Falstaff. But I've always thought Verdi far more in touch with the human condition than Wagner.


As we are offer opinions without any substantiation, then let me just say, sorry, Wagner outdoes both Mozart and Verdi in operas _(this being an opera forum after all)_.


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## rborganist (Jan 29, 2013)

The end of La Traviata where Violetta sings the Italian equivalent of "Ah I return to Life!" and then falls dead is very moving; "The Ride of the Valkyries" first with the orchestra and then with all nine Valkyries in full cry is exciting;Wagner's music has wonderful rhythmic drive; "Che faro senze Euridice" ("I have lost my Euridice") if sung well can be heartbreaking. And of course, one of the saddest pieces in all opera has to be "Va pensiero" from Nabucco. The Israelites in captivity in Babylon longing for their homeland "O mia patria is bella e perduta" --O my country so lovely--and lost" if the conductor has the faintest idea what is going one (and I heard a performance where he obviously didn't) can also rip your heart out. If you want to leave the theatre with a smile on your face, listen to the Salute A France from Daughter of the Regiment; it has a lively, infectiously happy rhythm.


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

When Don Jose confronts Carmen during the bullfight and the music is interrupted at points with the toreador theme.


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## tyroneslothrop (Sep 5, 2012)

katdad said:


> We all have our fave operas and composers, and some we don't care that much for. Opera's a big tent and there's lots to enjoy or dislike.
> 
> But let's share in pure genius, the scenes, arias, duets, etc, have most electrified you, pleased you, thrilled or chilled you --- specific moments or sequences in opera (not necessarily specific individual performances though) that make opera that great artform it really is.


Since it is the Britten Centenial, let me propose Britten's _Peter Grimes_, Act III, Scene 2. Here is Jon Vickers with a fantastic performance from 1981 (ROH):





Why? The rare mad scene in a twentieth century opera :clap:


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## Notung (Jun 12, 2013)

Good Friday Scene-Parsifal.

Oh, the heart-melting beauty.

"For today nature gains its day of innocence".


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## tyroneslothrop (Sep 5, 2012)

Notung said:


> Good Friday Scene-Parsifal.
> 
> Oh, the heart-melting beauty.
> 
> "For today nature gains its day of innocence".


What do you think of this version (from 3:05 - 13:48):


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Electrify is a good word, particularly for the live experience where the drama and music come together to grab the audience. Some of these are already mentioned, but here's my list anyway.

*Meistersinger*, the church choir, the chamber orchestra in the pit and then that great organ chord. That's the signal to sit back and enjoy great opera for the next five hours and forget about the rest of the world.

*Rigoletto*. The Act III door knocking scene is simply the moment I became hooked on opera. The perfect combination of music and drama.

*Aida*. I get chills in that Act I trio where the love triangle is introduced.... and later the _Radames... Radames... Radames _ section with Amneris's pleading lines in between.

*Don Carlo, O Don Fatale*, that notorious bring-the-house-down number, one of the few occasions in the repetory where the audience will applaud on top of the music. Certainly electrifying.

*Tales of Hoffmann, Olympia scene* is irresistable, with great comedy and vocal fireworks too. Always a show stopper.

*Salome's provoking of John The Baptist*, the live performance should be as erotically charged as the music.

*Scarpia's church chorus in Tosca, Act I*. A funereal start and then a great build up until the audience gets a wall of sound as Scarpia vents his spleen.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I'm going to limit mine to favorite individual moments, rather than favorite scenes or musical numbers:

*Elektra*: The Recognition Scene -- it's stunning and very moving how the music suddenly turns lyrical and tender after so much violence.

*I Puritani*: The moment when Elvira's voice is heard offstage just before her Act II Mad Scene. It's very eerie and haunting. And during the Mad Scene, that big chord before she sings (about Riccardo), "Eglie e piange," and then he sings, "O Dio." Very affecting.

*Le nozze di Figaro*: The orchestral ending of "Vedro, ment'rio sospiro" (one of my favorite baritone arias) has always thrilled me for some reason I can't quite explain.

*Les Contes d'Hoffmann*: The ending of the trio in the Antonia act, when Antonia collapses and Miracle disappears is cathartic!

I'm sure there are many more, but that's all I can call to mind at the moment. (This is my first post on here, so I'm a little rattled with trying to sift through my fifteen years of operagoing experience in a few minutes!)


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I'm going to add one more:

*Aida**:* In the Nile Scene, Amonasro's long phrase beginning "Pensa ch'un popolo." It's just such a superb phrase -- the music, the words, and the orchestra. It might be one of my favorite single phrases in all of opera.


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## aisia (Jul 28, 2013)

For genuine electricity, I would say a lot of Wagner and little else. The Commandatore's final confrontation with Giovanni, and various points in Fidelio: Florestan's scene alone at the start of Act II, and the Pizarro/Leonore confrontation as already mentioned. Incidentally I agree that the opening of Figaro is brilliant, just not in an electrical way. 

Wagner, I could go on and on. I'd probably start with Tannhauser's salvation. The opening and close of Rhinegold, the whole of Die Walkurie Act III, most of Siegfried Act III, every other scene in Gotterdammerung, Tristan start to finish, Parsifal's transformation music and grail scenes. 


'Sorry. Mozart outdoes Wagner. Wagner has a world of his own but Mozart occupies humanity. His genius shows every facet of human emotion in music. Wagner doesn't get near (for me that is). The composer that came closest to Mozart was Verdi in Falstaff. But I've always thought Verdi far more in touch with the human condition than Wagner.'

As to Wagner vs. Mozart on the range of human emotion: it would be helpful it you backed up your claim with specific emotions that Mozart covers but Wagner lacks. I think Mozart portrays the middle course of human life with great intelligence and sensitivity, but he rarely veers to the extremes. Where is the absolute agony (Tristan) and absolute ecstasy of romantic passion (Tristan and Siegfried)? Where spiritual awe (Parsifal)? Profound anguish (Walkure and Tristan) and total despair (Tristan)? The parent/child relationship (Parsifal, Siegfried, and, magnificently, Die Walkurie) is another great region of human experience in which Mozart is at least deficient. Verdi is ahead of Mozart here, but still several spear-lengths behind Wagner. 

As for the general human condition, I find the idea that Verdi had a better grasp on it than Wagner frankly ridiculous. A significant aspect of the human condition, we can all agree, is mortality. I'd say that the Ring Cycle ranks beside Gilgamesh as the most profound study of mortality I've encountered in art. Wotan's tremendous struggle, and the sad calm of the Gotterdammerung motif from 'all things end' to the final funeral pyre: those are strings that no other operatic composer, not Mozart and not Verdi, ever touched.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

*Eugene Onegin:* Tatiana's solo in the final scene with Onegin, especially those cello(?) notes that start it off and that part about how her blood ran cold when Onegin lectured her.

*Simon Boccanegra:* Fiesco's "Piango, perche mi parla" and Simon's response. Of all the numerous Verdi moments that I love, I'd venture to say that this might be my favorite of all. I get chills just thinking about it.


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## Signor Crescendo (May 8, 2014)

The Blessing of the Swords (_Les Huguenots)_: one of opera's great scenes, a powerful depiction of religion-sanctioned bigotry unleashed. And the second half of Act III, from Marcel's duet with Valentine (where he realises that, even though she's a Catholic _and_ a woman, she's also a good person), through the duel septuor, the whole town up in arms with the Protestants and Catholics quarrelling...

The Cathedral Scene (_Le Prophète_). Also: the scene at the end of Act III where Jean preaches to his army before launching the assault on Munster, and the Anabaptists' menacing chorale "Ad nos..."

The Act III finale of Halévy's _La juive_, where Cardinal Brogni excommunicates Eléazar, Rachel and Léopold.
(And the end where the good burghers happily sing that's the end of the Jews, hurrah! - chilling)

The end of Gounod's Sapho: "O ma lyre immortelle", one of the saddest and most beautiful arias in opera. (



)

Rossini at his most exhilarating: The Gran pezzo concertato (_Il viaggio a Reims_). The quintet and sextet in _Matilde di Shabran_. The quartet in _Bianca e Falliero_. The Act I finale of _La donna del lago_. The onomatopoeiac finale of _L'italiana_. The Act II trio in _Otello_.

"Esprits de l'air, esprits de l'onde!" - the invocation scene in _Esclarmonde_: 




The bit in _La vie parisienne_ where all the guests at the party get progressively sozzled.

The bit in _Turandot_, where Calaf sees Turandot, and starts banging away on the gong. The Riddle Scene.

The opening of _I puritani_, with the trumpets, the distant singing, and the sense of dawn rising over the castle. Absolutely glorious.

The very bright, almost Handelian, Act I finale of _Euryanthe_, with drums and trumpets: "Jubeltöne, Heldensöhne".

The prologue of _Boris Godunov_, with the bells and the assembled people. The scene in the forest near Kromy.

The whole first act of _Lohengrin_ - one of the best things Wagner ever did.

Salome doing a strip-tease for her step-father, and making love to the severed head of John the Baptist.

The ending of _La clemenza di Tito_: One of the very few passages in opera where I cry.

And there's a fantastic part in _Satyagraha_, where two male voices are singing slowly, and from out of nowhere a female voice bursts in.


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

The storm summoned by Donner to clear the air at the end of Rheingold and the subsequent entry into Valhalla.

Wotan's Farewell, the magic fire, etc. in Walkure.

I'm not a fan of Aida but the ending gets to me every time, if sung by the right three singers.


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

Dongiovanni said:


> -Don Giovanni, the final Commendatore scene (I'd say this is the most thrilling scene of all opera's)


i agree.

this scene was particularly well directed. i've seen twice the production of the National Theatre of Miskolc, .


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

Bellinilover said:


> I'm going to add one more:
> 
> *Aida**:* In the Nile Scene, Amonasro's long phrase beginning "Pensa ch'un popolo." It's just such a superb phrase -- the music, the words, and the orchestra. It might be one of my favorite single phrases in all of opera.


As a baritone, it certainly is one of the most beautiful lines to sing for my voice type.


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

I'll contribute one I heard today in Cenerentola: The great sextet "Questo e un' nodo avviluppato, questo e un' gruppo rintrecciato"


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Some that haven't been mentioned yet ... in no particular order:
Brangane's Warning from the Love Duet in Tristan
Isolde's Curse in Tristan
Elektra: What blood must flow!
The Presentation of the Rose from Rosenkavalier
Zweite Brautnacht from Die Egyptishe Helen by Strauss
The big confrotation scene between Scarpia and Tosca around where she ascends up to C.
The Triumphal Quartet plus chorus in Aida
The last third of the Immolation Scene
The prelude up to including Hojotojo in Walkure
In quest reggia from Turandot.


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

The orchestral surge as Wozzeck kills Marie is a standout for me


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

dgee said:


> The orchestral surge as Wozzeck kills Marie is a standout for me


I was looking over a copy of the vocal score once, and the person who had had it before me pointed out a lot of the leitmotifs, but at places like that, he/she missed about half of them, simply because there are so many! Her whole life really does flash before her eyes.


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## msegers (Oct 17, 2008)

Many of my favorites show up here, but I have to add one that surprises me. I recently took on Verdi's _Trovatore_ again, and to my surprise, "_Stride la vampa_" can still scare the hell out of me. In fact, so much of that opera is devoted to people telling sad stories about the past, and so often, I felt that it was almost my past. I love me some Berg, some Wagner, some Handel, but, dammit, Verdi still can impress me.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Barelytenor said:


> As a baritone, it certainly is one of the most beautiful lines to sing for my voice type.


Have you also tried Simon Boccanegra's beautiful response to Fiesco in "Piango, perche mi parla"? Like I said, I get chills just thinking about it: "Vien, ch'io stringa al petto/O padre di Maria/Balsamo all'alma mia/Il tuo perdon sara..."


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Signor Crescendo wrote:

*The opening of I puritani, with the trumpets, the distant singing, and the sense of dawn rising over the castle. Absolutely glorious.*

I love that, too, and what always amazes me about it is how quickly and easily Bellini is able to change moods and generate tension.

The opening sequence of NORMA, with Oroveso and the priests, is another one that thrills me.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

the bit in _Die Frau ohne Schatten_ where the Empress refuses to rob the Dyer's Wife of her humanity is probably the most powerful thing I've ever heard live. Even thinking about it unsettles me (in a good way, but still unsettles me and I don't consider myself musically squeamish).


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

The quartet from Idomeneo


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

Whatever woke up this old thread, it is a nice one. For now, I will only write shortly, that it is the finale of Norma. Depending on the time I have, I start at "Qual cor tradisti" and to the end, that is my shortest option. Alternatively, I go from "In mia man alfin to sei", or even from "Ei tornera".


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I've said it before but I'll say it again:
1. Last scene of _Dialogues des Carmelites_
2. Tebaldi's triumphant "Tre assi e un paio" from_ La Fanciulla del West_
3. The Duel Scene from _Eugene Onegin_
4. Scarpia's Te Deum scene from _Tosca
5. _Roderigo's "Io Morro" in _Don Carlo_
6. Rodolfo claiming, "vedi, e tranquilla" to the tear-soaked end of _La Boheme
7. _Butterfly exclaiming: "Ahhh! Ma scordata!"
8. _Mefistofele _prelude
9. "In mia man" from _Norma
10. "_Niun mi tema_" _in _Otello_


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I forgot if I did this earlier: 1. The final of the trio from Norma if the D is good. It was both times I saw it with Goerke and Eaglen. 2.Allein weh ganz allein and Was blute muB from Elektra. 3. Brunhilde and Wotan at the end of Die Walkure, 4. The Dawn Duet. 5. Bel Raggio when Sutherland sings it. 6. Spirits of the Air from Esclarmonde. 7. The Immolation Scene and a few minutes before. 8. Isolde's Curse. 9. Santo di Patria by Sutherland. 10. The big D'amore ... aria from Armida with Callas with those impossible to believe notes. 11. Amneris final aria. 12. The end of Tacea la notte by early Callas.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

The last part of the Aida duet with Radames… ‘chi ti salva, sciagurato…’ furious chest voice followed by huge high notes, frantic orchestra and a dramatic tenor. Wonderful. Also when the trumpets double Amneris in the final part of her judgement scene where she gets that big melody.

’No, non tremare perfido’ and ‘i romani a cento’ in Norma. Dramatic coloratura at its finest.

’Was Bluten Muß‘ is definitely up there too, for the orchestration as well as those chilling high notes.

The torture music in Tosca from ‘orsu Tosca parlate’ can be thrilling when sung well.

Theres much more but I’m too tired to list them all.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

1. Final of _Les dialogues des carmelites. 
2. Que fai? - Nulla! from La Traviata._
3. D'amor sull'alli rosee... from _Il Trovatore. _
4. Tutto en mondo e burla... from _Falstaff. _It is the best possible final point of an opera, of composer's life itself, of all. 
5. Son nata lagrimar... and Se pieta di me non senti... from _Giulio Cesare. _
6. Un pensiero nemico di pace... from _Il trionfo di tempo e di desinganno. _
7. O smania! from _Idomeneo. 
8. Introduction to Act 3 of Siegfried and to Act 1 of Die Walküre._
9. Praise to the desert from _The tale of the invisible city of Kitezh. _


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

The duet between Filippo II and the Grande Inquisitore in *Don Carlo;*
Most of the protagonist’s music in Cherubini’s *Medea *especially as sung by Maria Callas;
The trio that ends the first Act of *Norma *by Bellini, especially if the interpolated high D is taken (and sung by Callas) ; the _“Dormono entrambi” _scene;
*Elektra*’s first Act monologue (“_Allein!)_; Klytemnestra’s scene; Elektra’s scream:”_Orest!!! _and the cacophony that follows;
the _“Vivrà” _duet from *Il Trovatore *with a singer who can handle both the rythm and coloratura, see Callas 1950 Mexico City;
Callas in “_Sempre Libera,” Mexico City _1951 *La Traviata*;
_Vien diletto _from *I Puritani*, Maria Callas 1949, RAI recording;
Callas in Verdi’s *Macbeth*, La Scala 1952;
Callas’s in Verdi’s *Nabucco, *Naples 1949;
Franco Corelli’s live recordings of *Turandot*, *Il Trovatore*, *Tosca*, *Andrea Chenier*, *Pagliacci*, *Cavalleria Rusticana*, *Don Carlo *
The third Act duet between Amneris and Radames in *Aida *(try Corelli and Cossotto)
Etc.


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Boris Death scene. Trio from Der Rosenkavalier. End of Walkuere


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I think first of Wotan's long farewell to his valkyrie daughter and his magic fire, a majestic and poignant finale by a composer many of whose finales - to individual acts as well as whole operas - are unequaled. The orchestral interlude, where Wotan and Brunnhilde embrace silently and the orchestra carries their love to the peak of sorrow and grandeur, slays me every time (especially under Knappertsbusch, who understands that power lies in not being in a hurry). All three acts of _Parsifal_ end magnificently, but their finales have competition from that opera's orchestral preludes and interludes, music deep enough to drown in, full of unspeakable agonies and ecstasies. In _Tristan_ we have the glories of the _Liebesnacht_ and _Liebestod_, but the whole tragedy and transcendence of love seems concentrated in Brangaene's warning, which Furtwangler convinces me is the most exquisite thing ever conceived by a composer.

Any number of moments and passages in operas can be electrifying if performed by great artists, but that's a different question. If it _were_ the question, I'd have to choose Callas and Gobbi in Tosca, Covent Garden, 1964. They are so uncannily good that I can temporarily experience melodrama as high tragedy.


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

The Dawn duet and Siegfried's Rhine Journey from Gotterdamerung. Absolutely exhilarating.

The closing scene of Act 1 of La Giaconda - when it's sung by Callas on her second recording. She's outside the church with her mother and the organ starts playing. It might just be my all time favourite Callas moment.

The Aida and Amonasro duet from Act 3 of Aida.

Donna Anna's entry in Don Giovanni.

The Humming Chorus in Madama Butterfly.

Mirella Frei singing Act 3 of La Boheme in 1963 in Vienna.


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

Woodduck said:


> I think first of Wotan's long farewell to his valkyrie daughter and his magic fire, a majestic and poignant finale by a composer many of whose finales - to individual acts as well as whole operas - are unequaled. The orchestral interlude, where Wotan and Brunnhilde embrace silently and the orchestra carries their love to the peak of sorrow and grandeur, slays me every time (especially under Knappertsbusch, who understands that power lies in not being in a hurry). All three acts of _Parsifal_ end magnificently, but their finales have competition from that opera's orchestral preludes and interludes, music deep enough to drown in, full of unspeakable agonies and ecstasies. In _Tristan_ we have the glories of the _Liebesnacht_ and _Liebestod_, but the whole tragedy and transcendence of love seems concentrated in Brangaene's warning, which Furtwangler convinces me is the most exquisite thing ever conceived by a composer.
> 
> Any number of moments and passages in operas can be electrifying if performed by great artists, but that's a different question. If it _were_ the question, I'd have to choose Callas and Gobbi in Tosca, Covent Garden, 1964. They are so uncannily good that I can temporarily experience melodrama as high tragedy.


All of the Ring Opera's have superb beginnings and ends. One thing Wagner really knew how to do was begin an Opera and end an Opera.


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

damianjb1 said:


> All of the Ring Opera's have superb beginnings and ends. One thing Wagner really knew how to do was begin an Opera and end an Opera.


Actually, all Wagner's Operas (from Lohengrin onwards) have fabulous beginning and fabulous endings.


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

damianjb1 said:


> The Dawn duet and Siegfried's Rhine Journey from Gotterdamerung. Absolutely exhilarating.
> 
> The closing scene of Act 1 of La Giaconda - when it's sung by Callas on her second recording. She's outside the church with her mother and the organ starts playing. It might just be my all time favourite Callas moment.
> 
> ...


I thought of a few others:

The build up in Act 2 of Tristan where Isolde puts out the torch. Flagstaff and Nilsson are electrifying here.

Brangäne's Warning.

The Prelude to Act 3 of Tristan. The most agonised music I have ever heard.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Op.123 said:


> The last part of the Aida duet with Radames… ‘chi ti salva, sciagurato…’ furious chest voice followed by huge high notes, frantic orchestra and a dramatic tenor. Wonderful. Also when the trumpets double Amneris in the final part of her judgement scene where she gets that big melody.
> 
> ’No, non tremare perfido’ and ‘i romani a cento’ in Norma. Dramatic coloratura at its finest.
> 
> ...


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

The second half of _Il tabarro_ is one electrifying moment after another. "O Luigi, Luigi" with that repeating pattern in the bass and shivering orchestra... "Resta vicino a me," one of the most underrated baritone arias (partly because it's short and partly because it is seamlessly woven into the duet). And then "Nulla silenzio" another amazing aria. The sense of spontaneous conversation achieved through a seamless formal structure makes these two duets among the most impressive that I know of. One of the rare scenes in opera where every single note is psychologically penetrating and believable.

The Poker scene from _Fanciulla_ is widely acknowledged, although the finale from "Ch'ella mi creda" to the end is, imo, sublime.

The confrontation between Suor Angelica and the Zia Principessa is one of my favorite scenes; I (mostly) like the rest of the opera, but it doesn't quite live up to this scene.
Miti Truccaco-Pace & Rosanna Carteri "Il Principe Gualtiero" Suor Angelica - YouTube

The trio from _William Tell _is one of my all-time favorites, especially when sung like this:
Guillaume Tell (William Tell) , Act II: Troncar suoi di - YouTube


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

“_O patria,mo patria, quanto mi costi” _with the orchestra spilling its tears with *Aida *(Callas especially makes this devastating) - in fact, the whole Nile Duet is imprinted on me by Gobbi and Callas.
Mexico City, 1951: the Triumphal Scene, capped by a huge E-Flat in alt by one Maria Meneghini Callas
Siegfried’s Funeral music (especially aptly used in “Excalibur” a great conflation of majestic music and imagery (and great story)


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

For me there is a clear answer to this question. It is Act 3 of Otello, the whole of it really, but especially from the moment when the trumpets sound to the fall of the curtain. It reaches its climax with the terrible _A terra!... e piangi!_


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

damianjb1 said:


> I thought of a few others:
> 
> The build up in Act 2 of Tristan where Isolde puts out the torch. Flagstaff and Nilsson are electrifying here.
> 
> ...


Those last two!!!


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

The “cat” fight in *La Gioconda *“_È un anatema!” _
The high tenor sounds in the choruses of *Lohengrin *
_“Suicidio!” in _the voice of Maria Callas, particularly the chest utterances (1952)
The incredible vocalism of Callas’s 1951 Proch’s *Variazoni *on “Deh torna in Il mio ben.”
*La Forza del Destino*, Napoli 1958 with an unbeatable cast: Corelli, Bastianin, Tebaldi, Dominguez, Capecchi, Christoff / Molinari-Pradelli
_“Non posso entrare in casa vostra; sono scomunicata! _with its plunge into chest (Callas) in *Cavalleria Rusticana*.
The loud wild timpani at the beginning of the Dance of the Seven Veils, before the sinuous music begins in *Salome*_._


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

The moment Jochanaan's head is bought up from the cistern. Pounding timpani and then calamity in the orchestra. Wonderful. As well as that discordant chord at the end of Salome... "ecstasy falling in upon itself, crumbling into the abyss".

'Amami Alfredo' in La Traviata. Passionate and poignant. 

Plenty of moments in Boris Godunov. The coronation, clock and death scenes specifically. 

'O cari accenti, cosi...' from Norma's first duet with Adalgisa, so much expressed in such geogreous phrase. Also Norma's entry in their second duet, 'ah, perche, perche...' both especially magical with Callas. 

The outbursts of 'asassini' in the 'cortigana' section of rigoletto'.

When the soprano, tenor and chorus enter at the end of Act 1 in Simon Boccanegra after 'Plebe! Patrizi! Popolo!'.

Brangaene's warning in Tristan und Isolde. Beautiful music and wonderful libretto too.

"Tanto amore segreto" in Turandot. Very beautiful music indeed. 

The second scene of the Third act of L'Amour de Loin. All of it. Glorious.

'Ah ton baiser' in the last act of Werther where Charoltte finally kisses him.

'O herstes wunder' from Die Walkure, especially when Sieglinde is sung by a lyric-dramatic like Broujwenstein. 

'Andate O mamma' after 'voi lo sapete' with Bruna Rasa is very beautiful and those cries of 'io son dannata' are thrilling. 

'Pur ti miro' at the end of l'incoronazione di poppea. Alternatively 'adagiati Poppea' as sung by Oralia Dominguez. 

The Duet between Gioconda and Enzo in the last act of La Gioconda. Especially conducted by Panizza with a drive that is unmatched. 

'Or sai chi l'onore' from Don Giovanni. 

Otello's denouncement of Desdemona in the third act of Otello. 

When a dramatic coloratura like Callas takes the high E-flat in 'ah vieni al tempio' in i puritani and soares above everyone else.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Op.123 said:


> The moment Jochanaan's head is bought up from the cistern. Pounding timpani and then calamity in the orchestra. Wonderful. As well as that discordant chord at the end of Salome... "ecstasy falling in upon itself, crumbling into the abyss".
> 
> 'Amami Alfredo' in La Traviata. Passionate and poignant.
> 
> ...


I came unglued as a teen hearing the presentation of the head!!! I grew up on Nilsson. Jessye Norman has the wrong voice for the part but she sounds so glorious singing Salome with that huge opulent sound. Or sai chi l''ornore is supposed to be very very difficult to sing as the tessitura is very very high and stays there. I love the recitative that leads up to it with Sutherland's huge voice.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Quite a few of mine have been mentioned already, but one that hasn't is the finale to Act I of *Anna Bolena *from _Giudice ad Anna! _to the end of the act, in the live Callas performance from La Scala in 1957. The instensity is unbelievalable and Callas caps the finale with a stunning top D. Perhaps not surprisingly, this moment was singled out for special mention in Pasta's performances of the role as well.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

The first Act finale of Boito’s *Mefistofele*, the chorus’s _Ave Signor, _specifically the final “_ave” _which seems to go on forever, _fortissimo, _until it stops and the audience goes crazy.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Quite a few of mine have been mentioned already, but one that hasn't is the finale to Act I of *Anna Bolena *from _Giudice ad Anna! _to the end of the act, in the live Callas performance from La Scala in 1957. The instensity is unbelievalable and Callas caps the finale with a stunning top D. Perhaps not surprisingly, this moment was singled out for special mention in Pasta's performances of the role as well.


I didn't know she could still hit D's like that in 57!!!!!!!!!! That is really wonderful. Almost as good as the D hit by ..........


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I didn't know she could still hit D's like that in 57!!!!!!!!!! That is really wonderful. Almost as good as the D hit by ..........


Almost? And what about everything that went before it? Callas was never just about the high notes (pace that high Eb in Aida in Mexico).


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Almost? And what about everything that went before it? Callas was never just about the high notes (pace that high Eb in Aida in Mexico).


No NO NO you take me wrong. I just thought her high notes above C were on the way out by 57. I had no idea she could nail such a fabulous D, almost like her old fat self could hit them. . Of course everything else was incredible but on her Mad Scenes from that year which I just got on LP she was very careful around the top notes, not fearless like this.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Act 1 of_ Les Troyens_ starting with Châtiment effroyable





And, of course, the act 4 quintet and septet followed by the gorgeous duet Nuit d'ivresse


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Becca said:


> Act 1 of_ Les Troyens_ starting with Châtiment effroyable
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I read a bio of Berlioz and listended to Les Troyens pretty solidly for a couple of months. It has such gorgeous music.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> No NO NO you take me wrong. I just thought her high notes above C were on the way out by 57. I had no idea she could nail such a fabulous D, almost like her old fat self could hit them. . Of course everything else was incredible but on her Mad Scenes from that year which I just got on LP she was very careful around the top notes, not fearless like this.


The answer no doubt lies in the fact that here, caught on the wing in front of a live audience, she throws caution to the wind and just lets the voice fly out. But actually the Mad Scenes recital was recorded in 1958, after the infamous Rome walkout on New Year’s Day that year, which I always think had a profound effect on her. Also in 1957 she sings a wonderful Amina in Cologne, with a stunning top Eb in the finale and a powerful and vocally secure Amelia in Un Ballo In Maschera at La Scala.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Tsaraslondon said:


> The answer no doubt lies that here, caught on the wing in front of a live audience, she throws caution to the wind and just lets the voice fly out. But actually the Mad Scenes recital was recorded in 1958, after the infamous Rome walkout on New Year’s Day that year, which I always think had a profound effect on her. Also in 1957 she sings a wonderful Amina in Cologne, with a stunning top Eb in the finale and a powerful and vocally secure Amelia in Un Ballo In Maschera at La Scala.


I asked Mas about it and he said that she was much better and more daring in performance than in studio in that period. I've heard her incredible Ah non giungi from then live. I just never knew she could sing such powerful notes above the staff that late. For years I only listened to fat Callas and reeducating myself that she could still do some spectacular singing vocally for a number of years after that. I love the 58 Mad Scenes but she is so much more careful when she goes up high. She does a great job but you could tell she was being super cautious. I wish I could buy her live Anna Bolena but the prices are very high. Maybe a birthday present if I am good. I am glad we straightened that out.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> The answer no doubt lies that here, caught on the wing in front of a live audience, she throws caution to the wind and just lets the voice fly out. But actually the Mad Scenes recital was recorded in 1958, after the infamous Rome walkout on New Year’s Day that year, which I always think had a profound effect on her. Also in 1957 she sings a wonderful Amina in Cologne, with a stunning top Eb in the finale and a powerful and vocally secure Amelia in Un Ballo In Maschera at La Scala.


I'm reminded that Gobbi felt that her problems were more psychological than physical. I doubt that one can separate them.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I'm reminded that Gobbi felt that her problems were more psychological than physical. I doubt that one can separate them.


It is so complex. I saw Debbi Voigt after her huge weight loss a year before and she still had that big lush sound from before just like Callas sounded almost as good as before for a number of years after slimming down. I don't know Voigt well enough to know if her decline was purely from the weight loss or some psychological issue like some say happed to Callas. The vocal decline for both was about equal after a decade, though. Both of their voices were a shadow of their glory days when they were fat. I wonder if Callas had lost just 50 pounds instead of 80 if she would have faced all of the issues. She was obsessed with looking like Audrey Hepburn, though.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> It is so complex. I saw Debbi Voigt after her huge weight loss a year before and she still had that big lush sound from before just like Callas sounded almost as good as before for a number of years after slimming down. I don't know Voigt well enough to know if her decline was purely from the weight loss or some psychological issue like some say happed to Callas. The vocal decline for both was about equal after a decade, though. Both of their voices were a shadow of their glory days when they were fat. I wonder if Callas had lost just 50 pounds instead of 80 if she would have faced all of the issues. She was obsessed with looking like Audrey Hepburn, though.


The mistake with Callas is to look for a single cause.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I read a bio of Berlioz and listended to Les Troyens pretty solidly for a couple of months. It has such gorgeous music.


*Les Troyens *is one of my very favourite operas. I just wish Dame Janet had been on the Davis recording.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I wish I could buy her live Anna Bolena but the prices are very high.


It is o youtube. Do you prefer the sound of CD ?


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

The moment when the duel between Romeo and Tebaldo is interrupted by the funeral procession for Giullietta. (Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi).


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

BBSVK said:


> It is o youtube. Do you prefer the sound of CD ?


I listened in the car on Youtube but I would love to add it to my vinyl collection. Good quality vinyl featuring Callas are often at very high prices. I was able to find her Mad Scenes album for $20 and it has a scene from Anna Bolena on it. But she is better live. Those are often over $50. New vinyl, which is very expensive, is not nearly as good as the pre CD stuff.


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

In addition to the examples I gave in a post back in 2013:

Act III from _Macbeth_ with the procession of the prophetic apparitions conjured up by the three witches while Macbeth looks on aghast. A chilling scene with music to match.

Ditto the Wolf's Glen scene from von Weber's _Der Freischütz._

"...real horrorshow...", as _A Clockwork Orange_'s Alex DeLarge might have said.


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## Dogville (Dec 28, 2021)

One of the most electrifying moments that has etched itself into my mind since I first heard it is 'Del Fiero Duol' from Cherubini's Medea, as sung by La Divina of course. In this aria, Medea has come as far as raising the spear with which she will slay her children. However, she is briefly overcome with maternal feelings of love and experiences a moment of mercy for her two sons, who are after all, just as much her flesh and blood as they are Jason's. This scene in the opera is pivotal as it perhaps the most vivid illustration of the titanic clash between Medea's human and demigoddess natures; the loving mother and the betrayed wife wrestling with the murderous intent of a supernatural mercenary killer, and the pathos that emerges when the latter wins out. Only Callas has the vocal skills and musical imagination to ride the hypnotic tidal waves of the music and portray these juxtaposing halves with complete and utter authenticity.

While I deeply treasure all of Callas' renditions of this aria, my favorite is from the 1953 Florence performance under Gui, where Callas still has her unparalleled, tremendously dark and heavy 'fat' voice and is able to do full justice to the score. My only wish is that there were no cuts made to the music.


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## ewilkros (8 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> . I wish I could buy [Calas'] live Anna Bolena but the prices are very high. Maybe a birthday present if I am good. I am glad we straightened that out.


You probably should save your live-Callas $ for a year--next December is her 100th birthday and who knows what Warners' will be bringing out to cash in celebrate?


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

ewilkros said:


> You probably should save your live-Callas $ for a year--next December is her 100th birthday and who knows what Warners' will be bringing out to cash in celebrate?


BBSVK found me a Callas Anna Bolena live for a great price in good condition. My massive vinyl splurge is complete till my birthday now. I got around 17 titles in great condition including the Solti Gotterdammerung, Flagstad Furtwangler Tristan, and 2 Verdi Requiems.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> BBSVK found me a Callas Anna Bolena live for a great price in good condition. My massive vinyl splurge is complete till my birthday now. I got around 17 titles in great condition including the Solti Gotterdammerung, Flagstad Furtwangler Tristan, and 2 Verdi Requiems.


You have been splurging! Love it!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> You have been splurging! Love it!


When one is perennially single one must be one's own partner and be Santa and this year I was very good to myself!


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Verdi
Don Carlo :Tu che le vanità (Elisabetta) E dessa!...Un detto, un sol , and onwards trough the end


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