I post hear with more fear than when I first posted in the Fetish Forum

[doitb4ugo]

I post here with more fear than when I first posted in the Fetish Forum

 

Despite a lack of credentials, I am posting this thread to see what others here think about the new season at the MET.

 

Whipped Guy, beside giving such good advice about BDSM activities, has got me interested enough to take a look at the not for the faint of heart world of Opera. I complained to him casualy that there were no operas being performed that I had ever even heard of. I just check out the Mets upcoming season and was excited to see some "familiar titles" in the line-up. Does knowing what i like in drama helpful, comedy vs. tragedy, vs. absurd, etc, help.

 

I am hoping i can hear from some erudite posters what their thoughts are on experiencing an opera for the first time....what one would be the most accessible to a novice...A large number of the titles I saw were familiar in that I had heard of them...any guidance/ thoughts/advice would be welcome...

[Diverdan]

You Just Have to Try It...

 

Hi Rich,

I saw my very first opera at the Met many years ago when I was a senior in college. Four of my buddies and I made a trip to DC and NYC from Minnesota to "see the sights." The first Opera I saw was Wagner's Parsifal on Good Friday, and my ticket was for standing room only. Fortunately, after the first act, I was able to get a seat. I fell in love with Opera, and for many years had season tickets to the Lyric in Chicago and often get tickets to opera in NYC and San Francisco when I am there during the season.

 

Most opera is not very long on story... at least in my opinion... most of them have the same themes of infidelity, spurned love, etc., but it is the music and the magnificient voices of the singers that make it so enjoyable for me.

 

My suggestion is for you to attend as many different operas as you can in a season. Go to the lectures that usually precede the production to learn more about the opera, the singers, etc. Consider taking a class at a college or elsewhere on opera. I am sure that in NYC there are a lot of options. Also, consider talking to someone at the MET about your curiosity, interests and ask for suggestions as to what they think might be good for a "newbie". Like so many other things we want to enjoy in life, there is no substitute for trying out all the varieties...(pun definitely intended).

 

Good luck in your ventures and let me know your thoughts, either here or in a pm.

[+ Charlie]

Diverdan has some good advice. I would also add that it might be worthwhile to get a recording of the first opera you are going to see, and listen to it first, while reading the libretto, so you have a sense of what it is going to be like before you go. Trying to watch and listen to an unfamiliar work, especially in another language (which means trying to read the supertitles at the same time) is pretty hard work, and you want it to be an enjoyable experience. I congratulate him for getting hooked on "Parsifal" as his first opera--much as I love that opera, it is not one I would recommend for the first-timer, because of its length, static action and ponderous theme. Start with something more easily accessible, like "La Boheme" or "Carmen", where you can figure out what is going on even if you are not sure of the words, and some of the music will sound familiar.

 

My first live opera was at the old Met on 39th Street, and it was not a good starter: "Die Meistersinger." Luckily, I knew enough German to understand some of what was going on (there were no supertitles in those days), but it was endless, and I became very restless, waiting for something really funny to happen, since it's supposed to be a "comedy." To this day, it's the only Wagner opera that I don't want to see.

[Kevin Slater]

Folk often talk about the ABCs of opera (Aida, La Bohème and Carmen) as being universal crowd pleasers (read: approachable). This year, the Met will be performing the latter two. Either of those might not be a bad place to start; my preference would definitely be for Carmen.

 

My first opera many years ago was Rigoletto and it is still amongst my favorites. That was in SF but I've also seen and loved the Met's production. It's included in the upcoming season as well. For me, it has the right mix of comedy and tragedy, great characters, and a very memorable tune or two. My ear is not at all trained and I'm one of those unsophisticats who relate to an opera more in terms of plot and even sets more than lyricism.

 

If you find the Met intimidating, there's also New York City Opera, which I believe is a smaller venue and more affordable. This year they're performing Elixir of Love (albeit set in the 1950s southwest) amongst others.

 

Kevin Slater

[whipped guy]

A fun choice... and it is scheduled for the MET in the theatres...

 

Personally I can't wait for Rossini's Le Comte Ory (Count Ory)... but that is later in the season so you can certainly try out your operatic ABC's prior to that. It is a comedy and even though it is rarely performed it ironically was among one of the first operas to which I listened in high school... the local public library happened to have a copy of the Glyndebourne recording from the 1950's… and since not much more of Rossini other than his Barber of Seville was available on records way back then it is amazing that I caught up with this opera at all. It was Rossini’s penultimate opera and as such was written in French for the Paris opera. The MET is reviving it for star tenor Juan Diego Floréz along with soprano Diana Damrau, and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato.

 

The plot is thin... Count Ory wants to bed the Countess Adele and perhaps all the other women who are staying in the local castle because their husbands are off fighting in the crusades. The count's page the youthful Isolier has his sights set on the countess as well... Both are frustrated in their attempts and more so since it is announced that the crusaders will be returning to their wives the next day. That's Act One in a nutshell. In Act Two the Count and his men disguise themselves as nuns (with the count as their Mother Superior) to gain entry to the castle as they seek refuge from a storm... The guys all run off to the wine cellar to get ready for the big event of the evening and get totally loaded… In the final scene and in the darkness of the night, Ory jumps onto bed with Adele… however Isolier crawls into the bed and comes between them… So Ory is making love to Isioler who is making love to Adele… but it’s not really that simple!

 

Now one needs to make a spreadsheet (really, so this will be perfect for Rich) to keep track of this… Count Ory is a man disguised as Mother superior… that is a man in drag as a woman… The character Isioler is a young teenage man, but the part was written for a mezzo-soprano… Consequently we have a male character being played by a woman… a reverse drag type of situation… Of course the Countess is a woman played by a woman… So we have a guy in drag making love to a woman who is really a man and that man who is really a woman is making love to a woman… Got it… A totally psycho-sexual mish mash that is loads of fun…

 

Incidentally just when the inevitable is about to happen… and that includes what ever is in the works with the rest of the count's men and the other women of the castle… trumpets sound to announce the return of the Crusaders… The Count and his men are secretly whisked out the back door as quickly as possible and the triumphant crusaders march into the loving and “faithful” arms of their wives…

 

No torture scenes as in Tosca, and the music is very accessible and delightful so that won’t torture you as well.

 

My kind of opera!

[Guest alanm]

Try to pick an opera with a subject that interests you personally --- "Nixon in China" might do that.

 

I agree on "Le Conte Ory." But, an earlier option (in the fall) is Donizetti's "Don Pasquale" with superstar Anna Netrebko. I saw the opera with Netrebko; she is an excellent comic beyond her very good singing abilities. Any Puccini opera is a good choice as well.

 

I want to second what others have said about listening to the opera three or four times before you see it. I listen with the opera in the background while doing something else. You will pick up at least a few of the musical themes. Be prepared for long intermissions, which may take you out of the story and music!

 

Above all, I hope you look at opera as something to look forward to seeing and hearing in person. Yes, the Met is a big deal the first time (for me "Death in Venice" in 1974), but you will get over it very quickly. Good luck!

[whipped guy]

But, an earlier option (in the fall) is Donizetti's "Don Pasquale" with superstar Anna Netrebko.

I had forgotten about this. Yes, an excellent choice and I have put it on my list as well.

 

 

I want to second what others have said about listening to the opera three or four times before you see it.

Actually for me it seems to detract a bit... When I know I am going to see something I purposely don't listen to it for the previous several months as I want the experience to be fresh. Very often there will be a MET broadcast just prior to the performance that I will be attending and I always avoid that as welll... and especially if the cast is going to be virtually identical. However, that is just my approach... for a novice a bit of familiarity might be a good thing. However, don't be surprised if parts sound different in performance as there are different traditions that may or may not be followed in the recored performance as compared to the live performance... These include cuts and changes to the vocal line. actually that is one of the things that makes opera interesting as often no two performances of the same opera are identical. Just compare performances of Carmen, The Tales of Hoffmann, and even something as familiar as The Barber of Seville.

Yes, the Met is a big deal the first time (for me "Death in Venice" in 1974), but you will get over it very quickly. Good luck!

At one time I would never think of going there with out a jacket and tie... Now they encourage comfortable clothing. Indeed I have seen people there in Abercrombie style ripped jeans.... so it is not the totally formal and intimidating affair it once was.

[uwsman2]

My first trip to the Met was for Britten's Peter Grimes in the 1977-78 season. And then Elektra... I think it almost doesn't matter which opera is your first, provided you prepare yourself a bit by at least reading up on it. In those days there were no projected titles, which didn't make a big difference for Grimes, which is in English. Maybe going to an opera in English is the best bet for the novice.

 

This coming season, City Opera is doing some good stuff in English, including the NY premiere of Leonard Bernstein's only full-length opera, A Quiet Place, which includes at least one gay character and has embedded within it his funny, quirky one-actor from the 1950s, Trouble in Tahiti. That might make a great first opera for somebody looking to get their toes wet.

[+ sf westcoaster]

Whatever you select be sure to prepare for the performance. Get the CD and listen to it. Read the libretto amd then listen to the music a second time and follow along with the libretto.. Preperation is the key to enjoying an opera. Personally I think one of the Italian war horses eg. Boheme, Aida, Tosca, would be a good place to start.

[BgMstr4u]

I had listened to a number of opera recordings during my high school days, but the first operas I saw on stage were Tosca and Faust, both traveling companies that graced the stage of the large Midwestern university I attended. I don't remember the particulars of Faust except that it was a terrific show with lots of toe-tapping melodies and opportunities for dancing and verbal pyrotechnics. The Tosca was Leontyne Price, believe it or not, and when she sang Vissi d'arte on her stomach on the floor I knew I had come home.

 

It is a LOT easier to get started on opera now than it was in the mid-60's. Back in those days you had to get records and play them on record players, and the written documentation was hit or miss. Or you could listen to the Metropolitan Opera broadcast on Saturdays, which was a little like going to church at home. Somehow I acquired a German-language production of The Marriage of Figaro with Christa Ludwig and Walter Berry. I basically memorized it. It came as a shock when I realized that it was written in Italian! To this day I hear it in German.

 

Now there is all the information you could ever want online, with Wikipedia and websites for every opera house on the planet and downloadable mpgs or whatever they are. CDs are now becoming passé. Who would have thought. The world waits at your doorstep now. You have but to ask (or click).

 

As to getting started, pick an opera that's musically approachable and fun. All three referenced above are good first operas. Stay away from the more recerché titles (Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande comes to mind; I got into it because I learned that Proust had somehow hauled himself out of bed to attend the premiere) until you're a bit more experienced.

 

And then there are the books.... If you are looking for the opera queen experience, there is The Queen's Throat: Opera, Homosexuality and the Mystery of Desire, by Wayne Koestenbaum, which will initiate you into some of the ... well ... mysteries. James McCourt's Mawrdrew Czgowchwz is the classic opera queen novel, and a wonderful (if dense) look at the New York gay opera scene of yesteryear. Both evoke a world which still exists in small corners here and there but which years ago was de rigeur if you were a Serious Gay Person.

[+ Charlie]

Somehow I acquired a German-language production of The Marriage of Figaro with Christa Ludwig and Walter Berry. I basically memorized it. It came as a shock when I realized that it was written in Italian! To this day I hear it in German.

 

 

 

And then there are the books.... If you are looking for the opera queen experience, there is The Queen's Throat: Opera, Homosexuality and the Mystery of Desire, by Wayne Koestenbaum, which will initiate you into some of the ... well ... mysteries. James McCourt's Mawrdrew Czgowchwz is the classic opera queen novel, and a wonderful (if dense) look at the New York gay opera scene of yesteryear. Both evoke a world which still exists in small corners here and there but which years ago was de rigeur if you were a Serious Gay Person.

 

It is always interesting to be introduced to an opera in a different language than the one in which it was written. My first "Marriage of Figaro" was "Les Noces de Figaro" at the Opera Comique in Paris. The first production I saw of "Kat'a Kabanova" was in English, and whenever I hear it in Czech, I can't forget how silly some of the libretto sounded to me in English.

 

As for The Queen's Throat, please! One of the most pretentious books I've ever forced my way through. Mawrdrew Czgowczwz,however, was a delight. (If you are asking for it at a bookstore, it's pronounced 'Mardew Gorgeous.")

[BgMstr4u]

Pretentious? A book about opera queens by an opera queen?? How could that be??? LOL.

[Kevin Slater]

And then there are the books.... If you are looking for the opera queen experience, there is The Queen's Throat: Opera, Homosexuality and the Mystery of Desire, by Wayne Koestenbaum, which will initiate you into some of the ... well ... mysteries. James McCourt's Mawrdrew Czgowchwz is the classic opera queen novel, and a wonderful (if dense) look at the New York gay opera scene of yesteryear. Both evoke a world which still exists in small corners here and there but which years ago was de rigeur if you were a Serious Gay Person.

 

I haven't read either of those, but really enjoyed Bel Canto by Ann Patchett.

 

Kevin Slater