Whats Opera, Doc?

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Help!

 

I need to attend a performance of the Los Angeles Opera before the end of the current season with a client; I get to pick and I have no clue. I have never sat through an opera in my life, unless you consider the Bugs Bunny classics ....

 

This is a link to their web site: http://www.losangelesopera.com/home/index.asp

 

The Marriage of Figaro is in Italian and I could say I have seen the cliff notes version, so I thought it would be a good virgin experience, but another client recommended the Verdi and my ex in San Francisco, who knows me well, thought Madame Butterfly was the best of the remaining choices (although he would have picked one that has already passed, Faust).

 

Any thoughts from the Opera buffs among you?

[jimmer]

Franco,

 

Why don't you call me this weekend and we can talk. I might be able to help you.

 

Jimmer

[+ deej]

It's hard to imagine going wrong with any of the choices you have. ;-)

 

Even people who dislike opera tend to enjoy Figaro, so it's not a bad choice for a first-timer.

[TedLinden]

I'd do Butterfly. If you've seen Miss Saigon, you know the story.

[theDCeBOY]

go with figaro if you're a novice.

[Guest Kenny021]

Best opera for a first timer is CARMEN. Second choice would be LaBohem. Unfortunately, neither is available. Stick with Madam Butterfly.

[theDCeBOY]

butterfly sucks donkey dick in hell for crack money. i think you'll enjoy figaro more.

[OneFinger]

I agree that Madama Butterfly is a good choice as is The Marriage of Figaro.

 

However, I'd opt for Nicholas and Alexandra. It's a world premiere with Plácido Domingo's in his 120th role. I'd give my left nut to see him in person.

 

According to the site, they use supertitles. This is like watching closed caption TV with the english words on a screen above the stage. This really helps make the opera more user-friendly.

 

I volunteer to attend the opera with your client and then have you finish off the night with him in the bedroom. I wouldn't even expect part of your fee - you can have it all. Any chance??? :7

[Guest pyell]

If you've not been to opera before, you'll probably prefer something a bit lighter, both musically and dramatically. That tends to rule out Verdi, which is pretty solid going. It's a bit like the difference between Japanese sushi and, say, a Steak Dianne drowning in rich sauce. Both are delicious and worthwhile in their own ways, but you wouldn't want a Steak Dianne if you were suffering indigestion.

 

La damnation de Faust - Berlioz is very heavy going, and not really the kind of thing a novice operalover would like. Lots of tunes, but lots of very rich harmonies and orchestrations, and loooooooooong.

 

Nicholas and Alexandra - I'm a part time professional musician as well as everything else, and I know that most people find contemporary classical music something to ease into gently with a lot of experience of less challenging fare first. I'd steer clear of this one as a novice, especially as the reviews describe the harmonies as "alluring" which suggests they're a bit unusual

 

Lucia di Lammermoor - borderline. Donizetti is tuneful and not too thick, but the plot is pretty heavy and serious.

 

Orfeo et Eurydice - this is a real possibility. Gluck is fairly light, musically speaking, with light orchestrations and clear tunes. The plot is classical (literally) and dramatic, but without the lush absurdities of ultra grand romantic opera

 

Madame Butterfly - this is also a possibility. Puccini is usually pretty heavy going, but Madame Butterfly is an exception because the plot is so well known and the music is often quite exquisitely light and beautiful - and tragic, too. Bring tissues: it's at least a one-box opera.

 

Die Frau ohne Schatten - give this a miss if you're a novice. Richard Strauss is not to be confused with his namesakes who wrote Viennese waltzes. This is anything but light and frothy: it's solid heavy early 20th century music, tuneful but with lots of spiky bits. Store this one up for later on when you've got used to opera.

 

Le nozze di Figaro - I'd make this one the first choice. Mozart wrote pieces like this for the Broadway theatres of his day - his audiences weren't always toffs in evening dress but included the unwashed plebs standing in the body of the theatre smelling like they'd just been rolling in the garbage bins. So he fully intended his music to be easy listening, tuneful and approachable. The genius is that it is also subtle and sophisticated the more you get to hear and understand it, so that it can keep you entranced for a lifetime. The plot is a bit light, but at least there will be comedy as well as good tunes. A good production of a Mozart opera like this one will have lots of slapstick visual humour to make you feel good. And it's not too long either.

 

Il trovatore - Verdi. Solid. Long. Lush. Heavy. A grand opera in the finest traditions of 19th century romantic opera - but not, perhaps, the best thing to see for your first opera. Save this one up for another client later on when you've got a bit more operatic experience under your belt.

[Trixie]

I agree with pyell's assessment, except that I wouldn't discount Il Trovatore, it might make a wonderful introduction. You'll have heard bits of it before, I'm sure, which is always comforting. Besides, any escort who can put up with a night or weekend - long date can certainly put up with a long opera!

Kill the Wabbit!

Miss Trix

(mezzo soprano)

[+ deej]

>Kill the Wabbit!

 

Be vewwwy vewwwy quiet. :+

 

deej

(bargain counter tenor)

[+ deej]

Pvell, that's an outstanding assessment of each of the composers as well as the works involved.

 

Hmmm ... perhaps we need to do a Hooville/LA opera night. James? You listening?

[jack]

Madame Butterfly. Trust me.;-)

[JamesK840]

And I thought dinner at Numbers was expensive!

[+ bigjoey]

in college (too many years ago), i got interested in opera after seeing the marx brothers in "night at the opera". i wanted to see the whole opera in the film which was IL TROVATORE. from then on i became a devoted fan ("opera queen"). for a good introduction i suggest seeing that movie before going. enjoy.

[+ Charlie]

If you have never been to the opera, you want to start with a plot you can understand (without constantly checking the supertitles) and that doesn't strike you as too silly, plus music that is beautiful and somewhat familiar. Of that group, I would choose Butterfly first, and either Trovatore or Figaro as second choice (the real problem with Figaro is that the underlying plot situation seems ridiculous today, and it is fairly long). Orfeo is easy to understand and has gorgeous music, but it may be a little static for guys who are wondering when it will be over so they can get to the sex. Definitely steer clear of Frau ohne Schatten for your first opera.

[Guest]

I will agree with the majority on Figaro. There are other operas (not shown in LA this season) which I might pick before Figaro, but most people would enjoy Figaro. I really hate Madama Butterfly, and I can't for the life of me see its appeal. The music is boring, and the plot is stupid, whiny, and depressing. You won't leave humming the music. I'm not sure why others have put question marks on Il Trovatore. So what if it's long? The music is much more enjoyable than Butterfly. I have attended about 30 operas, and the only opera I dislike more than Butterfly (I've actually gone twice, just to make sure I wasn't just in a bad mood the first time) is Pelleas et Melisande.

[theDCeBOY]

i agree with unicorn: butterfly is the ass of opera.

[Traveler North]

Hey Franco - Think you would really enjoy Madame Butterfly. Puccini's music is great. There are many fabulous arias. You probably know story of American Naval officer who falls in love with Japanese girl and then leaves her expecting child, returning home and getting married. Do not mean to say that I do not like Verdi. Really into Aida and several other operas he did. But Marriage of Figaro not one of my favorites. Think music of Madame Butterfly more melodic and story with American theme as were other of Puccini's operas like Golden Girl of the West. ;)

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

What About The Pre-Performance Lecture?

 

A few things:

 

I am adequately sufficient as to Italian to understand most of these operas without the super titles. I am familiar with the story behind the three operas I mentioned (Verdi, Mozart and Puccini).

 

Finally, there is a lecture prior to the opera. My client and I are meeting beforehand, spending some intimate time, eating, going to the lecture, then going to the opera and then spending more time together. I doubt my client would appreciate my not attending with him; he is, in fact, hoping I will become interested enough to attend the opera with him on regular basis.

 

He has season tickets and has gone for years with his partner, who finally passed away late last year.

[Guest Valleyman]

RE: What About The Pre-Performance Lecture?

 

Any of these three operas should be fine for a first-time opera experience.

 

Even if you are fluent in the language it can sometimes be difficult to understand the words being sung in an opera performance. (The new opera NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA was sung in English, but titles were still used. Without the titles I wouldn’t really have known what was going on.) In the good seats downstairs you may have to look up from the stage action to read the titles. Up in the balcony where I sit it is possible to watch the stage action and read the titles at the same time.

 

The pre-performance lectures in Los Angeles are worth attending. Of course some of the lecturers are better than others, but usually they do an excellent job of introducing the opera.

[trilingual]

Definitely Figaro or Butterfly. You just need to decide whether you prefer barbed comedy (Figaro) or serious drama (Butterfly). Unlike many operas, both of these pieces are superb theater as well as musical masterpieces. A few years ago I took a working-class Brazilian escort I knew who was working in B.A. to a performance of Butterfly at the Teatro Colón. It was his first opera, and even though it was sung in Italian (with supertitles in Spanish) he was utterly transfixed! So were the rest of us in the group -- all experienced opera-goers -- because the performance and production were superb. B.A. is the largest Italian city in the world, so they know their Italian opera, and the crowd was standing up at the end, stamping and roaring and throwing their programs into the air! But it was an excellent choice for a first-timer, because the plot is convincing, the music is magical (the wedding night scene beats the musical pants off the much-ballyhooed and infinitely dull Tristan und Isolde, IMHO), and, as another poster said, it's a real five-hanky piece. And, contrary to what someone else said, you WILL come out humming the tunes. "Un bel di" is an unforgettable aria, but there are some other ravishingly beautiful things in the score.

 

Figaro is also a great choice. Along with Don Giovanni and Cosi fan Tutte, Figaro represents the pinnacle of Mozart's operatic achievement. Since Mozart probably was the pinnacle of Western music, we're talking about something extraordinary here! The opera is both funny and sad (in a wistful kind of way). As for the music, the hits just keep coming; you'll recognize many of the tunes and melodies even if you don't think you know anything about classical music or opera.

 

Have a great evening, and let us know which opera you choose and how you liked it!

[trilingual]

P.S. I agree that Carmen and La Boheme would be outstanding first-time choices, as another poster mentioned, if they were being performed this season. Other great choices for an opera newbie include The Barber of Seville (the funniest and zaniest of all operas), Cosi fan Tutte (the most grown-up of all comedies with some of the most sublime music ever written), La Traviata (great plot and tunes you will whistle 'til the end of your days), Aida (the grandest of grand operas, with fabulous special effects and the ultimate triumphal scene, with a surprisingly interesting and moving plot), The Flying Dutchman (superb music and a plot that holds your interest), Don Carlos (long, but wonderful music, a moving plot, and the most homoerotic scene in grand opera when done right), Gounod's Faust (good plot and superbly tuneful), or Der Rosenkavalier (another grown-up comedy with music that will move you to tears in places). Get some or all of these under your belt and you'll be ready for to move on to the rest of the repertory!

[Guest Dan]

>Help!

>

>I need to attend a performance of the Los Angeles Opera before

>the end of the current season with a client; I get to pick and

>I have no clue. I have never sat through an opera in my life,

>unless you consider the Bugs Bunny classics ....

>

>This is a link to their web site:

>http://www.losangelesopera.com/home/index.asp

>

>The Marriage of Figaro is in Italian and I could say I

>have seen the cliff notes version, so I thought it would be a

>good virgin experience, but another client recommended the

>Verdi and my ex in San Francisco, who knows me well, thought

>Madame Butterfly was the best of the remaining choices

>(although he would have picked one that has already passed,

>Faust).

>

>Any thoughts from the Opera buffs among you?

 

Yes. Decline and have him call me. (But not for Butterfly - I'm already line up for that one.) :+

 

Barring that, go with Madame Butterfly. One of the warhorses that you can't go wrong with and will know some of the music. You would have been luckier though if they were doing Carmen since most of the score has been used in pop culture from Gilligan's Island to There's Something About Mary and Friends.

 

Suprised with all your worldly knowledge you have no exposure to opera.

 

Dan Dare

http://male4malescorts.com/reviews/dandarela.html

[Guest Dan]

>Help!

>

>I need to attend a performance of the Los Angeles Opera before

>the end of the current season with a client; I get to pick and

>I have no clue. I have never sat through an opera in my life,

>unless you consider the Bugs Bunny classics ....

>

>This is a link to their web site:

>http://www.losangelesopera.com/home/index.asp

>

>The Marriage of Figaro is in Italian and I could say I

>have seen the cliff notes version, so I thought it would be a

>good virgin experience, but another client recommended the

>Verdi and my ex in San Francisco, who knows me well, thought

>Madame Butterfly was the best of the remaining choices

>(although he would have picked one that has already passed,

>Faust).

>

>Any thoughts from the Opera buffs among you?

 

Yes. Decline and have him call me. (But not for Butterfly - I'm already line up for that one.) :+

 

Barring that, go with Madame Butterfly. One of the warhorses that you can't go wrong with and will know some of the music. You would have been luckier though if they were doing Carmen since most of the score has been used in pop culture from Gilligan's Island to There's Something About Mary and Friends.

 

Suprised with all your worldly knowledge you have no exposure to opera.

 

Dan Dare

http://male4malescorts.com/reviews/dandarela.html