Whats Opera, Doc?

[+ Charlie]

Trilingual has pointed out something important: Figaro and Butterfly were both popular plays before they were made into operas. The problem with many operas, for a newcomer, is that the plots are so flimsy or obscure, that you have to depend entirely on the music to hold your interest. The best operas for those who are just getting into it are those in which the story and the music work together to keep you going.

[+ Charlie]

Trilingual has pointed out something important: Figaro and Butterfly were both popular plays before they were made into operas. The problem with many operas, for a newcomer, is that the plots are so flimsy or obscure, that you have to depend entirely on the music to hold your interest. The best operas for those who are just getting into it are those in which the story and the music work together to keep you going.

[foxy]

As with all of the fine arts, the more knowledge you bring with you, the better your understanding and enjoymment. Regardless of which opera you see, get a recording of the music or better yet a VHS tape of the opera. Most video stores carry the major operas. Know the plot ahead of time so you can follow it without being dependant on the super titles. You don't come to an opera to read but to listen and to see the performance. That's where the beauty lies. Let the music carry you emotionally. Don't think of it as a test. If you are having dinner with your companion ahead of time discus the plot with him. If he has a subscription he must be an enthusiastic opera goer. Consider yourself lucky that he's chosen you to share one of the world's greatest art forms. Keep going as long as he asks you and bring lots of tissues for those times when you're moved to tears, which I guarantee you will be.

[foxy]

As with all of the fine arts, the more knowledge you bring with you, the better your understanding and enjoymment. Regardless of which opera you see, get a recording of the music or better yet a VHS tape of the opera. Most video stores carry the major operas. Know the plot ahead of time so you can follow it without being dependant on the super titles. You don't come to an opera to read but to listen and to see the performance. That's where the beauty lies. Let the music carry you emotionally. Don't think of it as a test. If you are having dinner with your companion ahead of time discus the plot with him. If he has a subscription he must be an enthusiastic opera goer. Consider yourself lucky that he's chosen you to share one of the world's greatest art forms. Keep going as long as he asks you and bring lots of tissues for those times when you're moved to tears, which I guarantee you will be.

[Bilbo]

I think that one should start, if possible, with a comedy. For me the best opera to start with is the funniest one, The Love for Three Oranges. But Figaro is not only funny, the music is divine.

[Bilbo]

I think that one should start, if possible, with a comedy. For me the best opera to start with is the funniest one, The Love for Three Oranges. But Figaro is not only funny, the music is divine.

[Guest ortrud45]

Franco:

 

Go with the sound advice of pyell and the majorizty of this board: "Le nozze di Figaro"!

 

Second choice for me would be "Trovatore", only third choice "Madama

Butterfly", definitely not a modern opera like "Nicholas + Alexandra" as a starter into opera!

 

Charlie's statement that the plot of the Mozart opera is thin and ridiculous these days, is way off base! I go with Bilbo: "But Figaro

is not only funny, but the music is divine!"

 

Enjoy your first evening at the opera!

 

With kind regards from ortrud45, who just sat yesterday through Wag-

ner's "Meistersinger von Nürnberg" (duration: close to 6 hours with intervals). This one is definitely not for beginners!

 

P.S: My first opera was Mozart's "Don Giovanni" at the age of 11, since then I have spent almost 2 years of my life in operahouses and

heard/seen so far over 600 performances.

[+ Charlie]

As a proud opera queen who has probably seen as many performances as you have, I must protest: I never said the plot of Figaro was "thin". My objection is to the sexual situation which drives the plot, which seems silly today; there are no feudal lords with the right to deflower a bride before her new husband does (even in Beaumarchais's time, this was not exactly a normal custom). If you can get past that, there are wonderful psychological portraits and some fairly funny complications, but perhaps I have seen it too often to find it really amusing anymore. I'd rather listen to excerpts.

 

However, I wish that LA were doing La Traviata. If the lead role were sung by an attractive counter tenor, it would be the perfect opera about escorting.

[Orson Kane]

You have some good choices there - I would probably go with Butterfly, just because it has such great melodies and moves quite quickly. Second choice would be Figaro (or almost any other opera by Mozart) because the music is so great, especially the way it ties so well to the characters. With any opera you go to, it really helps to read through the plot first and if possible either listen to the whole opera on CD or at least a highlights recording. You will apprecaite an opera better the more you know about. Most operas were written as entertainment for the audiences of the day -- composers needed to keep the audiences coming back.

 

Good luck with the opera!

[trilingual]

I disagree with the recommendation about "Trovatore." To me, it's a less worthy piece for a first-timer than either "Butterfly" or "Figaro." "Trovatore" has some wonderful music (including the famous "Anvil Chorus") but the plot is from hunger! Switched babies, vengeful gypsies, and none of it makes sense -- everyone starts of being horrid to each other without any rhyme or reason, and they all end up dead at the end for no rhyme or reason, either! All while singing these upbeat, oompah-pah tunes! You'll definitely remember the music, but the plot is truly forgettable. It reminds me of "La Gioconda," another one with some wonderful music and a plot about inexplicable nastiness that seems to have been concocted in a Cuisinart! Oh, G-d, stop me, before we get into the game of trying to list the all-time worst opera plots of all time! There are SO many worthy candidates!

 

Fortunately, there are a large number of operas (many of them already mentioned) that work as well as theater as they do musically. When it all comes together, and you have great singing actors in the lead roles, you realize why opera is the pinnacle of all Western performing arts forms. I hope whichever opera you choose for your debut into opera-queen-dom has a great performance, because you'll end up hooked just like the rest of us!

[+ Charlie]

By the way, my first opera was "Die Meistersinger" at the old Met on 39th Street, and you're right: it is definitely not appropriate for a beginner--I still see sitting through it as a chore.