Types Of Opera: Baroque, Grand, Eurpoean, 19th Century, Wagner?!
Question: Is there a type of Opera that is more enjoyable than others?
I don;t know anything about Operas. Someone once told me years ago that you either Love it or Hate it. I watch one on TV one day..I hated it...
What would be a good type of Opera to Listen to???
Answers: Is there a type of Opera that is more enjoyable than others?
I don;t know anything about Operas. Someone once told me years ago that you either Love it or Hate it. I watch one on TV one day..I hated it...
What would be a good type of Opera to Listen to???
Everybody seems to like operas by Mozart. They are light-hearted, funny, and not heavy on the ears after dinner.
Wagner operas are like Texas..big in everything: dramatics, staging, music, harmonic texture, sound, power, cast, costumes, length, everything
Early opera was much more static than today. Characters did not move around the stage. They just stood there and sang...usually one emotion per aria.
French Grand Opera was big and robust for its day. Another way to put it would be bouncy (dotted rhythms). Wagner wasn't too fond of this type by the way.
Television operas have the public in mind when being performed and like comic opera, are usually based on issues the public can identify with.
Puccini's works are full of blood, betrayal, gore, suicide..the fun stuff...memorable arias, but not quite as heavy as Wagner.
Operas by Philip Glass are...well...not your typical opera.
and Phantom of the Opera is not an opera! (just a clarification). It is a musical.
I prefer opera from Baroque to Wagner. But I draw the line at Philip Glass.
Your first responder really knows what she's talking about. I would counsel you to really consider her comments with deep concentration.
Richard Wagner, though my favorite operatic composer, is most difficult to access, and usually not the best introduction to opera. To say that he is "long-winded", is a gross understatement. One usually needs a lot of exposure to opera, before tackling his monumental epics.
But you might enjoy a couple of orchestral excerpts from his works:
"The Ride of the Valkyries": you might already be familiar with this, probably his most famous composition.
Or try "Siegfried's Rhine Journey" and "Funeral Music" from "Die Gotterdammerung".
If you're serious about wanting to learn about opera, my suggestion is to obtain DVDs(with subtitles in English)of some of the more popular and accessible operas.
Puccini: "La Boheme" or "Madame Butterfly".
Verdi: "Aida", "Rigoletto", "La Traviata", etc.
Bizet: "Carmen"(a great, colorful opera: some consider it to be the most perfect ever written).
These should keep you entertained for a while,
Alberich
Just because you don't like opera ( I am not a big fan either) does not mean you should miss out on the wonderful arias.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0HaDXu4M...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX-6Ej2ln...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iLqXZHO4...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvW9cUCuP...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJLyZqETu...