I can't be the only person around here who enjoys Italy's number 2 religion (I'm pretty sure the Vatican is a distant third) along with its first. I once saw an interview with Luciano Pavarotti in which he was talking about the place of opera in Italian life. He said something like, "That's what people do; on Saturday night you go down to the opera house and boo the tenor". And on Sunday they go to the stadium and boo their own team, the other team and the refs. Last month, I was part of a crowd variously estimated at 40,000 to 60,000 that saw an open air performance of Carmen. And the crowd for the 2nd night was substantially larger! I grew up listening to 'Texaco Presents' on Saturday afternoons, so there was always a subconscious awareness. Then my wife convinced me to join her in a subscription (the high falutin' term for season tickets) to Boston's professional opera company. Early favorites: Aida and the low necked gowns a lot of the women wear. Yesterday, we saw the Barber of Seville, and I only spent half an hour thinking about Bugs Bunny. Lots of familiar melodies and enjoyable physical comedy.
I'm pretty particular about what kind of opera I listen to. I'm sure this will blow your mind, but for the most part I'm not crazy about Italian or German opera. I prefer Czech, French and Russian. In the Czech department I love things like: Antonin Dvorak: "Rusalka" or "Dmitrj" Bedrich Smetana: "The Bartered Bride" Leos Janacek: "Jenufa" or "The Cunning Little Vixen" French: Debussy: "Pelleas et Melisande" Ravel: "Enfant et les sortilèges" Messiaen: "Saint François d'Assise" Saint-Saëns: "Samson et Dalila" In the Russian department: Sergei Prokofiev: "Love for Three Oranges" or "War & Peace" Modest Mussourgsky: "Khovanhschina" I also really like John Tavener's "Mary of Egypt" Even more preferable to opera though is choral music by the likes of Arvo Part, John Tavener, Alfred Schnittke, Henryck Gorecki and older stuff like Palestrina, Lassus, Monteverdi, Allegri.
I forgot to mention that I think Italian opera has some of opera's highest moments like: Nessun Dorma C'ella mi creda but for the most part I would rather hear an entire opera from one of the previously mentioned countries.
A couple of years ago, Jan and I went to see The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro and Don Carlo. I want to see more, but the opera is sooo damned expensive.
I may not be as particular as nicodemus, but I will agree Italian opera does offer some of the best showstoppers. Some of my other favorites are 'Un Bel Di' (Madame Butterfly, obviously) and 'Ah! mes amis...Pour mon âme' from La Fille du Régiment. I also enjoyed Sir William Walton's 'Belshazzar's Feast,' but I'm not sure exactly how operatic that would be. Also, let's not forget Wagner's 'Ring des Nibelungen' ... for the sadist in all of us.
My father (a life-long opera fan) was a teenager during WWII, so Wagner never even got a toe hold in our house. Everything I know about the Ring comes either from 'kill the wabbit' or Anna Russell's spectacularly funny take on it in the 50s. Sadly, I have to agree w/ Mike LaStort about the prices: our seats are not well placed, and my 5'0" wife doesn't have enough leg room, but we still pay $50 per seat. Good thing a full season is only 4 operas.
I'm afraid that the only opera I've ever seen was Nixon In China. It was not a pleasing experience. I realize good opera will obviously be an improvement (hell, Kill da Wabbit is vastly superior), but it will be awhile before I'm psychologically ready for it.
John Adams can't write for voice at all (except for Harmonium.) His operas suck...they all sound like bad broadway musicals. I love his instrumental music though.
I have tickets to see "Little Women" at the NYC Opera in April -- a Christmas gift for my wife. It's relatively new (1998) and I know nothing about it as an opera, but she expressed an interest and it's one of her favorite books. Anyone seen it who could provide any insight?
I am not familiar with it or the composer, but for a modern opera by an American composer, it's already been performed quite a few times in only 4 years, usually to glowing reviews, apparently. Also, at 2hrs, 25 minutes, it shorter than your average opera.
A couple years ago I saw Philip Glass' Akhnaton, which I enjoyed very much (expect for the duet between Akhanton and Nefertiti). If wants to do a compare-and-contrast between Glass and the Nixon in China guy, I would appreciate it.
I think Philip Glass' "Akhnaton" is a really cool opera. I just listened to it yesterday, and am reading a book about it called "Singing Archaelogy." To me there are huge differences between Philip Glass and John Adams. A lot of people like to peg it all as minimalists and say it sounds the same. That's like saying there's no difference between Dvorak and Beethoven. John Adams (who wrote Nixon in China) for instance (in my opinion) has no ability to write vocal music. I've heard his operas "Nixon in China" "I was Staring at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky" as well as "El Nino" and they are all pretty bad ("Staring at the Ceiling" is abysmally bad.) Adams style has evolved more to me than Glass has, although I think Glass is probably naturally more gifted. For some good John Adams, check out his violin concerto (which is often paired with Glass' violin concerto) or his "Shaker Loops" which is extremely cool or his "Piano Rolls" concerto. Adams has developed a more lyrical style (ultra-modern romanticism is what I call it) whereas Glass has stuck more to the chugging sounds. Glass, can write in a wider variety of genres (opera, concertos, symphonies, film music, chamber music, etc.) He's the man behind brilliant soundtracks like "Koyannisqatsi" and "Mishima" but has written operas that have received rave reviews such as "Einstein on the Beach" and "Akhnaten." His string quartets are fantastic and his symphonies are quite good too. The other of the famous American minimalist Steve Reich is even different too. Check out his "Music for 18 Musicians" or "Six Marimbas" and you will see that Reich is more percussive than the other two. Then you've got the whole European group of minimalists, which are really maximalists and much more preferable to me. They call them the "Holy Minimalists" because many of them are deeply spiritual. This group include Arvo Part, John Tavener, Henryk Gorecki and others. Early in their careers Part, Tavener & Gorecki were all extreme members of the avante garde and used serialism and other harsh techniques. They've all radically changed their styles to slow, sparse, profound sounding religious works. Most of all their work is primarily for voice and orchestra (not too much instrumental music from any of them, or not much compared to their vocal output.) Tavener did write an opera though called "Mary of Egypt" about the Egyptian prostitute turned recluse that led a holy life in the Egyptian desert. It is a pretty amazing piece of work. I know I've gotte just a bit off topic, but thought since we were talking minimalism that I should cover it on both sides of the Atlantic.
Abduction from the Seraglio On Sunday, I am going to see this lesser known Mozart opera. My first Mozart, unless you count the Queen of the Night aria in a television concert performance. I am somewhat disappointed that it will be sung in English. I've studied a bit if German, and I'll need the titles just as much as if it was.
Remember to file a match report... errr, performance review, on Monday. The library where I work just received a donation of nearly 100 CDs. I got to take home John Adams' Shaker Loops and Light Over Water, and I have to agree with Nicodemus... while I'm glad I didn't pay for the disks, they're much better than Nixon in China. Which (back to Opera) we also received, and I'm tempted to orchestrate a cataloging accident so that those disks disappear. But that goes against the spirit of the library, so I won't
Abduction from the Seraglio (r) As you requested: Structurally, it's a mess; the plot is a transparent device to get to the songs, which in no way advance the plot. The characters have all the shading and unpredictability of wind-up toys. The music veers abruptly between happy frivolity and 'oh woe is me' complaints. The lead soprano was 6 or 7 months pregnant, which made the references to the purity of her character very strange. Here is a synopsis if you really want to know. http://www.texnet.net/scarpia/Abd.html This production is set confusingly on board the Orient Express in 1921. The set is fun to look at but... On the other hand, it was extremely amusing to hear the women next to me ask her companion 'Did Mozart set it in the 20s?' Fortunately, none of this really mattered (nor was it intended to). The music is delightful and was very well performed. It helped considerably that the singers looked as though they were having a lot of fun. There was even better acting than I am used to seeing from opera singers. Vocally, the lineup was 2 tenors, 2 sopranos and a bass, who is the villainous buffoon of the piece. The Pasha, who's actions trigger the whole story, is a speaking part, and all the action is carried forward by spoken dialogue rather than singing. Since, as I mentioned, I had never heard a Mozart opera, I was interested to notice that the music sounds quite baroque. If you are looking for something to make the Magic Flute seem rational and sedate, Abduction from the Seraglio is just the thing for you.
To me opera's great weakness is its opera-ness. Composers aren't script writers (I suppose the librettist are in a weird sort of way) and most opera holds little theatrical or stage value for me (and most of them are poorly directed too.) I like the music to a lot of them, but its boring watching them. I prefer hearing singers in concert or listening to operas on CD so I can get to the good bits, there's too much fluff in most for my taste.
Re: Abduction from the Seraglio (r) Well, as a British soccer commentator would say regarding the Orient Express setting, "a bit of a surprise there." Or maybe, "the less said about that, the better." Back to the regrettable Nixon In China... I was showing the CD to some of the students I supervise in the library where I work... one of them checked it out and listened to it with some friends. By all reports, they find it hysterically funny. Should that thing ever be staged again, I think we have a potential cult classic on our hands, the Opera equivalent of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.