Met Opera On Demand

[LaffingBear]

Opera has always been a hole in my performing-arts experience. I've always been interested, never been.

 

There was a simulcast of The Met's La Boheme this past weekend at my local cinema - alas, it was sold out.

 

I just discovered that the Met has an On Demand app on my new smartTV. I'm going to try the free preview.

1. Does anyone gave any experience with the OnDemand program?
   
2. More importantly, can anyone point me toward a good resource for libretto? I found operafolio.com.
   

Hoping to broaden my horizons, eventually make my way to the San Francisco Opera

[whipped guy]

I'm not overly a video person, but rather more of an audio person when it comes to opera. I prefer to sit back, close my eyes, and simply enjoy the music. Indeed they majority of what's on the MET site is audio, but there are increasing numbers of videos as well.

 

I would definitely suggest taking the free trial which is what I did initially. I then subscribed a couple of years later for a month to catch up on new performances that were added. I have not done so in the last few years because frankly many of the Bel Canto operas which are my main focus have not received outstanding performances by the currrnt crop of singers. Plus, I record the Saturday afternoon broadcasts that interest me and consequently have most of what I want.

 

The free trial is the perfect way to "broaden your horizons". Do listen to singers of the recent past and compare them to many of today's singers. Train your ears to listen carefully. While we have many wonderful singers today some would be considered also rans in times past. Conversely some of today's singers totally outclass some of the older generation. Listen and learn! Others and I have contributed much regarding singers of the past and present in the opera section of this forum. As and example there is the recent thread on Rossini's Semiramide. (There is even a recent thread about Muscle at the MET! That's where the video part is worth its weight in gold!)

 

Bottom line: ENJOY the wonderful world that you are about to explore!

 

Edit: PS: For libretti I do a google search and find the one with the best up to date translation. Some sites give the libretto only in the original language or offer stilted Victorian versions that don't quite fly today.

Edited February 26, 2018 by whipped guy

[+ WilliamM]

Hoping to broaden my horizons, eventually make my way to the San Francisco Opera

 

I suggest attending an opera first. After trying Britten's "Death in Venice, " I tried standing room at the Met for a Verdi opera. A very difference experience; I learned a lot about the lead soprano (a star) from the far more knowledgeable other standees. "Death in Venice" was wonderful but few opera are sung in English.

[+ g56whiz]

I suggest attending an opera first. After trying Britten's "Death in Venice, " I tried standing room at the Met for a Verdi opera. A very difference experience; I learned a lot about the lead soprano (a star) from the far more knowledgeable other standees. "Death in Venice" was wonderful but few opera are sung in English.

 

OMG. First opera is Death in Venice? I suggest reposting this in the Fetish Forum. A rather SM way to begin.

[+ WilliamM]

OMG. First opera is Death in Venice? I suggest reposting this in the Fetish Forum. A rather SM way to begin.

 

Huh.

 

Death in Venice is based on a book by Thomas Mann. Mann received a Nobel Prize for Literature. He also wrote much longer novels: Buddenbrook The Magic Mountain and Joseph and His Brothers.

[whipped guy]

I suggest attending an opera first. After trying Britten's "Death in Venice, " I tried standing room at the Met for a Verdi opera. A very difference experience; I learned a lot about the lead soprano (a star) from the far more knowledgeable other standees. "Death in Venice" was wonderful but few opera are sung in English.

 

OMG. First opera is Death in Venice? I suggest reposting this in the Fetish Forum. A rather SM way to begin.

 

Huh.

 

Death in Venice is based on a book by Thomas Mann. Mann received a Nobel Prize for Literature. He also wrote much longer novels: Buddenbrook The Magic Mountain and Joseph and His Brothers.

 

Well since the Fetish Forum was referenced I feel the need to respond. I totally understand the thinking behind recommending Death in Venice as it is in English and is based on the work of Thomad Mann, but it is hardly representative of opera in general. Due to the use of the English language it i's probably a better choice for a first opera compared to Albany Berg's Lulu or Wagner's Parsifal, but not much better. Plus, with today's supertitles knowledge of the original language is really not necessary. Conversely, I always think that it's not quite a good idea to take a child to Humperdink's Hansel und Gretle for their first operatic experience as that is really atypical as well. I also don't care for the MET's abbreviated English language versions of major works. Still, I understand the reasoning behind their presentation.

 

The first opera that I listened to on the radio all the was through was Mozart's Don Giovanni and the music captivated me instantly. I was not forced to listen. I wanted to listen. When a local opera company presented Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro I jumped at the opportunity to attend. There were opera presentations on the radio Sunday afternoons of obviously standard repertory fare and I expanded my horizons by being initially exposed to a more melodic genre than Britten or Berg and decided what I liked and didn't care for. I did not learn of the MET broadcasts until later. I guess that I was doing other things on Saturdays!

 

Of course, Death in Venice was not composed until a bit later (I do recall listening to the MET broadcast when it was new) and the completed version of Lulu was not available either, so it was impossible for me to go that route. Like getting kicked out of "altar boy school" as a kid, that was probably a good thing as if those were my first experiences I don't think that I would have had the desire to expand my horizons.

[+ WilliamM]

Well since the Fetish Forum was referenced I feel the need to respond. I totally understand the thinking behind recommending Death in Venice as it is in English and is based on the work of Thomad Mann, but it is hardly representative of opera in general. Due to the use of the English language it i's probably a better choice for a first opera compared to Albany Berg's Lulu or Wagner's Parsifal, but not much better

 

The first opera does not have to represent opera in general. I am totally confused by your response.

 

Especially "it is probably a better choice for a first opera compared to Berg's Lulu or Wagner's Parsifal but not much better."

 

That is only one person's opinion. I like Lulu and Parsifal, but it would be wise to listen to the several times first.

 

Also Death in Venice in a novella so one can read it before seeing the opera. Granted it is not an easy book to understand -- but that is sometimes true of Nobel Prize winners in literature. The Magic Mountain is Mann's great novel. It is of the moment now because the setting is Davos Switzerland.

Edited February 28, 2018 by WilliamM

[whipped guy]

The first opera does not have to represent opera in general. I am totally confused by your response.

 

Especially "it is probably a better choice for a first opera compared to Berg's Lulu or Wagner's Parsifal but not much better."

 

That is only one person's opinion. I like Lulu and Parsifal, but it would be wise to listen to the several times first.

 

Also Death in Venice in a novella so one can read it before seeing the opera. Granted it is not an easy book to understand -- but that is sometimes true of Nobel Prize winners in literature. The Magic Mountain is Mann's great novel. It is of the moment now because the setting is Davos Switzerland.

Yes it is one person's opinion... simply my opinion. Also, sorry that you are confused, but I simply was saying that if I had listened to Death in Venice as my first opera, which as I stated was not composed until much later, I don't think that I would have been inspired to investigate things much further. For better or for worse, that opera was Don Giovanni and to this day it is one of a handful of operas that I consider to be very special. Operas that I consider special not only as they relate to me personally, but also as regards their importance in the history of opera in general. Incidentally Semiramide (the topic of a concurrent thread) is one of the other operas which I consider to be of great significance due to its influence on the development of Italian opera in the Nineteemth Century.

 

In any event, I have listened to Lulu and Parsifal enough to know that I am way to shallow to appreciate them. I do admit that Parsifal does have its moments and the leitmotif of the Dresden Amen can be quite inspiring, However, in the final analysis it is simply not (to use a shallow expression to reinfotce my shallowness) my cup of tea.

 

To get my point across, if I wanted to introduce someone to the world of classical music I most likely would be more inclined to play On the Beautiful Blue Danube as opposed to the Mahler Ninth. Of course that brings up the question as to which of the two is the greater composition... ponder that.

[+ WilliamM]

In any event, I have listened to Lulu and Parsifal enough to know that I am way to shallow to appreciate them. I do admit that Parsifal does have its moments and the leitmotif of the Dresden Amen can be quite inspiring, However, in the final analysis it is simply not (to use a shallow expression to reinfotce my shallowness) my cup of tea.

 

Of course you are not too shallow to appreciate Lulu or Parsifal. You prefer other operas.

[whipped guy]

Of course you are not too shallow to appreciate Lulu or Parsifal. You prefer other operas.

LOL! Well just my rakish and in this case self deprecating sense of humor! Something to go along with my devilishly shallow mention of having lacked "alter boy experience" as noted in my previous post!

[gallahadesquire]

My mother had a subscription to Lyric of Chicago from when it re-opened after WWII to the early-to-mid-'80's. I never got into it.

 

I'm a choral singer, and although I was recorded in Damnation de Faust of Berlioz, opera has generally not interested me. That, and chamber music.

 

I did hear Brigit Nilsson in Tristan in 1969. Breathtaking. The Liebestod (I hope that leigh.bess.toad is doing well) was like having a warm, fluffy, wool blanket injected into your veins, even in the uppermost balcony at the Met. And a guy left during it.

[body2body]

I saw my first Opera when I was 10 on fifth grade field trip to a matinee performance of the San Francisco Opera. The Opera was La Fanciulla del West with Dorothy Kirsten as Minnie. The Gold Rush setting was perfect for kids who were watching Gunsmoke, and Wyatt Earp at home on TV. Many years later, a co-worker wanted to take his girlfriend to the Opera. Neither had ever been to the Opera. I suggested La Boheme. L.A. Opera had a beautiful traditional production directed by Herbert Ross that would be performed the following month. They went and loved it. If I'd sent them to see Wozzeck or Moses und Aron, it might not have been the right choice.

[whipped guy]

I have always considered opera to be a more populist art form. That was until Wagner came on the scene., not to mention the twelve tone school and beyond! Even Beethoven realized that, if a bit belatedly, when he discarded the three Leonora Overtures in favor of a more overtly simplistic and traditionally operatic approach in what ultimately became the final solution for the overtute to Fidelio. Also, regarding the opera proper and in spite of the emotional depths that it so eloquently portrays, it is still composed in a more populist vein compared to something such as the Missa Solemnis.

 

Still for some reason the greatest operas are able to inspire and touch ones soul as much as the greatest choral and symphonic music. Think of the penultimate scene of Mozart's Don Giovanni where we are taken to the depths of hell itself. The final hmm to liberty the concludes Rossini's Guillaume Tell. The sadness that causes not a dry eye in the house at the conclusion of La Boheme or La Traviata. The over the top emotions in just about every other measure of Cavalleria Rusticana. And I'll even give Wagner a nod by mentioning the sublime final scene of Die Gotterdamerung! (Of course its too bad that we have to wait five hours to get to it. Sorry, but I could not help myself!) I could go on with so many more wonderful examples!!

 

Damn just the thought gets my juices flowing... add in a special singer or singers and it's off the charts!

[body2body]

Many of the most popular and enduring Operas were based on popular works of fiction, or plays - think of Mozart and Da Ponte, Verdi's use of material by Victor Hugo, Dumas, and Shakespeare, Puccini's adaptation of plays by Belasco and Sardou. Even in the 20th Century, think of Strauss' Salome, or Janacek's Makropolus Case. A good story makes a good Opera.

[whipped guy]

Many of the most popular and enduring Operas were based on popular works of fiction, or plays - think of Mozart and Da Ponte, Verdi's use of material by Victor Hugo, Dumas, and Shakespeare, Puccini's adaptation of plays by Belasco and Sardou. Even in the 20th Century, think of Strauss' Salome, or Janacek's Makropolus Case. A good story makes a good Opera.

Exactly! Of course there was the period when Sir Walter Scott and all things Scottish were the rage. Sill, when one really thinks about it very few operas are based on original stories concocted by librettists. Often librettists pilfered the work of other librettists or plots from ballets many of which were based on previous sources be they historical, mythological, or whatever. Even originals such as Der Rosenkavalier were loosely based on other sources. Of course the real clincher is I Pagliacci. Composer Leoncavalo, who also wrote the libretto, said that it was an original story based on an incident he recalled from his youth. He was sued by some playwright who claimed that it was plagiarized from his work. Long story, but the playwright was himself accused of stealing his work from an earlier source. The lawsuit was dropped! Bottom line: There are not too many original operatic plots out there!

 

However, was there not a recent question on some quiz show where the contestants were asked what opera was based on an original Egyptian subject. I wonder which one that might be?!?!?! Hmmmm..... Hint: It is not the Moses und Aron mentioned above or even Moise et Phararon or Mosè in Egitto.

Edited February 28, 2018 by whipped guy

[+ WilliamM]

However, in the final analysis it is simply not (to use a shallow expression to reinforce my shallowness) my cup of tea.

 

I attended some the wonderful; bel canto opera you suggest here. But after seeing Death in Venice at the Met in in 1974 I bought records of a variety of operas including Wagner.

 

Also I saw Death in Venice partly because of my love of Thomas Mann writing My next opera was standing room at the Met for "La Traviata." I also stood at the Met for my first Parsifal but I had listened to the recording many time first.

 

@whipped guy: we have a different approach. But I started with Broadway musicals not opera. My second musical was Gypsy with Merman. That was her last new musical.

 

.

Edited February 28, 2018 by WilliamM

[gallahadesquire]

Give me L'Orfeo of Monteverdi anyday! Love those ritornellos.

[whipped guy]

I attended some the wonderful; bel canto opera you suggest here. But after seeing Death in Venice at the Met in in 1974 I bought records of a variety of operas including Wagner.

 

Also I saw Death in Venice partly because of my love of Thomas Mann writing My next opera was standing room at the Met for "La Traviata." I also stood at the Met for my first Parsifal but I had listened to the recording many time first.

 

@whipped guy: we have a different approach. But I started with Broadway musicals not opera. My second musical was Gypsy with Merman. That was her last new musical.

 

.

I have listened to the whole gamut of classical mudic since I was about seven years old. I was the obnoxious child who had much of Mozart's Kôchel catalog memorized. I investigated individual instruments as well. I was always put off by opera, but when I came to the realization that the human voice was the greatest of all instruments and that the Bel Canto composers were the most adept at writing for the human voice it was a definite BINGO. Everything else faded into the background. I guess that I was ahead of my time, but I grew up in a university town. I was surprised to discover how many closet Bel Canto lovers were hiding in the shadows at a time when that genre was total unknown and as such misunderstood. Yes, we knew all about Beethoven's Rasumowsky String Quartets and his Grosse Fuge, but would rather investigate the unperformed operas of his contemporary Rossini, which were only the stuff of dreams way back then. That's how it all started and I have been a specialist ever since.

 

Incidentally an early music keyboard player I know is constantly being berated by colleagues for his love of the Bel Canto. Hence my quip about the Mahler Ninth above and my self mocking sarcasm about being shallow.

[bostonman]

My second musical was Gypsy with Merman. That was her last new musical.

 

Though, of course, not her last new stage role - that would be Dolly Levi.

 

Although I'm also tempted to say that her 1966 revival of Annie Get Your Gun was in some respects a new musical - the book was rewritten, songs from the 1946 version (and the characters that sang them) were cut, one new song was added ("An Old Fashioned Wedding") and the whole score was newly arranged and orchestrated. But I suppose that's all a big technicality, lol.

[bostonman]

Exactly! Of course there was the period when Sir Walter Scott and all things Scottish were the rage. Sill, when one really thinks about it very few operas are based on original stories concocted by librettists. Often librettists pilfered the work of other librettists or plots from ballets many of which were based on previous sources be they historical, mythological, or whatever. Even originals such as Der Rosenkavalier were loosely based on other sources.

 

Yes - but of course Shakespeare largely borrowed his plots as well, etc - so this was nothing new.

 

I believe Cosi Fan Tutte was an original idea. Gianni Schicchi was based on a scant reference to the title character in Dante's Inferno, but the details of the opera are all original. Just to name two originals.

 

Ades' maginificent recent operatic treatment of Bunuel's film The Exterminating Angel has now played the Met, as well as a few European houses. But Sondheim is also currently working on a musical which will be partially based on the same film.

[+ g56whiz]

OK guys I sang in the first opera I went to. The boys choir I sang in were the street urchins in our local Carmen with Phyllis Curtin. And my stage mom hussled me to audition for that choir when she discovered that I was humming on Wednesday or Thursday the tunes I’d heard the previous Saturday afternoon or earlier. I was an only child and a winter shut in who spent many Saturday afternoons playing with toy trucks Lincoln Logs or Erector Set while listening to the pretty music coming out of the little Silvertone radio with the big red dial my parents gave me for Christmas. The rest is history.

 

I was a New Yorker and The Met was my addiction sometimes two or three times a week.

 

There’s a reason the A B C operas (Aida Boheme and Carmen) are the most popular and most performed operas. They’re great beginner operas because they deal directly with love/passion which is an emotion we’ve all experienced or want to experience. It takes a while to get to the sophistication of pealing onion of interpretations of The Ring Cycle but the trip is enriching. The endless string of melodic inventiveness in Bel Canto, the worldly sophistication of Mozart/dePonte the drama of Puccini. There’s so much to enrich the human experience.

 

When my local theater cancelled Live in HD I invested the savings in Met Opera On Demand. It may be a while before I look up Death in Venice. I recall it as a long evening of slumber in the house. Perhaps it’s because I’m not a big fan of Mann. I don’t think I ever made it thru Magic Mountain although I tried several times. But bring on dem Rhinemaidens and I’m over the rainbow for hours. Or Mozart or Verdi or . . .

[bostonman]

Perhaps it’s because I’m not a big fan of Mann

 

Ironic, given that this site brings together many of us who are fans of men, lol.

 

I admit to not knowing Death In Venice very well. But I'm a huge huge fan of Peter Grimes and Billy Budd, as well as Albert Herring.

 

Without hesitation, I'd say that Peter Grimes is one of the top great masterworks of the 20th century.

[+ g56whiz]

Ironic, given that this site brings together many of us who are fans of men, lol.

 

I admit to not knowing Death In Venice very well. But I'm a huge huge fan of Peter Grimes and Billy Budd, as well as Albert Herring.

 

Without hesitation, I'd say that Peter Grimes is one of the top great masterworks of the 20th century.

 

Further proof of why the pun is the lowest form of humor - and my favorite.

 

I’ll take Billy Budd over Grimes any day but they take a backseat to most Strauss especially Der Rosenkavalier or Die Frau Ohne Schatten or Solome or Poulenc’s Dialogue of The Carmelites. I even contributed to the Met’s first production of Lulu which I still appreciate as a great evening of theater although not necessarily of opera.

 

Which is to say chacon a son gout!

[+ WilliamM]

Though, of course, not her last new stage role - that would be Dolly Levi.

 

Although I'm also tempted to say that her 1966 revival of Annie Get Your Gun was in some respects a new musical - the book was rewritten, songs from the 1946 version (and the characters that sang them) were cut, one new song was added ("An Old Fashioned Wedding") and the whole score was newly arranged and orchestrated. But I suppose that's all a big technicality, lol.

 

I doubt Merman considered Dolly important to her career. She seldom mentioned it in later life interviews but Merman always talked about Gypsy. The same with the "Annie Get Your Gun" revival. She was always engaged talking about Gershwin Porter and Berlin and her parents.

 

After seeing her TV version of "Annie" in 1967, Merman was lucky the tape was somehow lost. She was decades too old for the role.

Edited March 1, 2018 by WilliamM

[bostonman]

or Poulenc’s Dialogues of The Carmelites.

 

The final scene of Carmelites is one of the most powerful and emotionally shattering musical scenes I know. I cannot hear it without getting emotionally wound up. Incredible stuff.

 

Though yes, all the works you mentioned have moments of equally powerful magic. The Rosenkavalier trio deserves its fame, not only for its musical beauty, but for the emotional journey the 3 characters present us with. Likewise it's hard not to get caught up in Salome's appropriately lurid final scene, which fascinates us as much as it reviles us. (Also, I love the tense confrontation scene between Salome and Herod as she keeps insisting on Jokanaan's head.) As long as we're on Strauss, I can't not mention Ariadne Auf Naxos and Elektra, which are both huge favorites of mine.

 

I have great admiration for both Wozzeck and Lulu - and I love both scores a lot - but I think that Wozzeck is generally better theatre - it's a more taut story and just more visceral, IMO. Lulu has a lot of great moments, both musically and dramatically, but I think on the whole it's not quite as dramatically satisfying. But it is fascinating.

 

One of the 20th century works that the Met has done (and for which the video is FINALLY available after too long) that has had a major impact on me is Weill's Mahagonny. Seeing the original telecast from the Met (as a teen) was a revelatory experience for me, and it was my introduction to Weill and Brecht as well - Weill has since become one of my favorite composers. And that opera holds a very special, and very powerful, place in my heart.