Where do I start with Opera?
Thu, Oct 28 2010, 6:41PM
I have been a 'classical music' fan for nearly 30 years and whenever I go through a spell of listening to jazz or rock music I come back to my beloved Bach, Ravel or Vaughan Williams, etc. and wonder why I ever listen to anything else. However there is a big gap in my listening repertoire and that is opera!
I just cannot get into it and it troubles me because I'm certain I'm missing out.
The only opera I have ever sat and listened through complete is Peter Grimes (only because I live an hour from Aldeburgh). Great music but the recitative bits really make me cringe.
I love choral and lieder works and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater is just fantastic but how can I get to love opera beyond the arias?
HELP!
Thu, Oct 28 2010, 8:11PM
#2
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
I'll leave it to the opera experts on this site to give you chapter and verse, but as somebody who came into classical via a similar route to yours and struggled for years to come to terms with opera, I'll just make one point.
I believe the biggest barrier for folks like you an me is one of buying into the genre, with all its unwritten rules, entrenched practices, format oddities and specialized language. If you approach it wanting a form of video or story-telling that mimics life, you'll struggle because it's a highly stylized, mostly unrealistic art form. Many great opera librettos call for a suspension of belief, cancellation of one corner of our critical faculties. Melodrama there is in abundance, two or one-dimensional characters even in the best works. Most librettos are not meant to reproduce everyday speech, action can be condensed to the point of suggestion or almost intolerably drawn-out. Opera gets us to look at ourselves and life in new ways but the mirror it holds up is a distorted one.
I can't recall when I managed to overcome these 'barriers', somewhere around when Pavarotti was new on the scene I think, and falling in love with his voice I had to buy in to the genre. Once bought-in, I found I'd gained admission to whole new, incredibly rich world, arguably one of the greatest art forms. Now, I can't imagine my life without it.
Keep trying, and good luck!
WOW! What a response Tagalie. Thanks, all I need to do is detach myself from reality, as I know it, suspend belief and immerse!
I will start ....... where?
Thu, Oct 28 2010, 9:57PM
#3
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
Like yourselves when I got into classical music opera and choral music were the biggest challenges for me and remained a closed book for a long time, choral music still is in a way. Where to start, well I think a lot of that depends on your existing musical tastes so I´d suggest something from the period of music you like best. As for some general advice I´d start with something not overlong and which doesn´t take itself too seriously because as points Tagalie eloquently made this is where opera and cringing tend to meet, for me anyway, so I wouldn´t recommend starting with Wagner. Comedies make suspending disbelief a lot easier and also plots set in a world and sphere of emotions and events recognisable to all of us should keep you interested even through any dodgy recitative.There are on the other hand operas whose music is just so wonderful you´ll be hooked from start to finish. This is what happened to me when I first heard Duke Bluebeards Castle which was the door opener for me, helped by the fact that 20th century music has always appealed to me most. In the first category I would strongly recommend Mozart´s Cosi Fan Tutte, Verdi´s Falstaff and anything by Puccini. As for the second first off one of the very few opera that works on every level for me Wozzeck, Szymanowski´s King Roger, Debussy´s Pelleas et Melisande(a harder nut to crack but worth it) Strauss´ Salome and Elektra. Ravel´s L´Enfant et les Sortileges. There are others that are somewhere between the two or something wholly their own for example the operas of Janacek; Mussorgsky´s Boris Godunov, Berlioz´s Les Troyens; Shostakovich´s The Nose. I could be here all night there are hundreds but if I had to choose one to start It´s Bluebeard.
Thu, Oct 28 2010, 10:36PM
#4
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
... all I need to do is detach myself from reality, as I know it, suspend belief and immerse!
I will start ....... where?
Try jumping in at the deep end.
Seriously, though, whilst I'm very far from a fan of opera in general, Wagner is so OTT and so monumental that it just works for me. Strictly speaking, The Ring isn't just opera - it's ein Gesamtkunstwerk ('a total work of art') - but it's still a drama with people singing instead of speaking.
Plus - and it's often an overlooked aspect of his works - Wagner wrote some truly terrific music in between the singing.
Quite long bits of of music, in many cases, it's true. Rossini apparently once said "Wagner has lovely moments but awful quarters of an hour" (or something close to it, depending on the source), which is a bit unfair, but may have a kernel of truth to it. But it's just so all-encompassing that any sub-par quarter-hours pass soon enough.
If you like reading about music (and whilst listening to it is obviously the primary point of music - or listening and watching in the case of opera - reading about The Ring is pretty much essential to get to grips with it), get hold of 'The Faber Pocket Guide to Wagner' by Michael Tanner.
To quote from an article by Simon Heffer, about Wagner, in which he reviews Tanner's book:
"If you have been flirting with the idea of Wagner, or have reached that point where intellectual curiosity dictates that he may be the next mountain to climb, Dr Tanner's book should push you over the top. There you will find a world of beauty, drama, fascination, the most powerful emotions, spirituality and, yes, politics that can become a lifetime's interest. And one almost forgets the music, which is just about the finest ever written. Yet I always advise anyone with an interest simply to start with the music: just sit down and listen without troubling yourself, at that stage, with leitmotifs, plots, characters or messages, hidden or otherwise. Such will be its power over you that you will soon thirst to know, and understand, more."
Fri, Oct 29 2010, 1:44AM
#5
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
I will start ....... where?
Dubrob’s leading you in on the ‘short reach’ side of opera, where the librettos (libretti, I guess) are more like the kind of thing that today’s theatre-goer or reader of good fiction is used to. It’s a great place to start and I would debate next to nothing on his list. Certainly Bluebeard, Pelleas, all of Janacek, Wozzeck (or Lulu), Falstaff, Boris, any of the Strauss/Hoffmannstahl operas. Puccini – I’d go with Boheme or Butterfly for an appetizer. Fanciulla’s weeping cowboys and Manon’s crawling about in the Arizonan desert tend to strike the wrong chord with those reared on Clint Eastwood. Tosca is a wonderful opera in the right performance but flirts with melodrama. As the boys have said, we could go on.
A couple of other thoughts: the all-out-crazy side of opera can be lots of fun – Rossini (L’Italiana in Algeri) and Donizetti (Fille du Regiment) for example. There’s no belief to suspend because they’re nonsense to start out with, but what a musical ride and the singing in a good performance can be mind-blowing. A totally uplifting evening’s worth of entertainment.
Secondly, I seem to be a one-man-band on this site regarding the world of dvd/bluray, but opera was always intended to be a multi-faceted entertainment and you’re missing so much if you stick solely to cd. Until I bought a dvd set of the Ring I looked on Wagner as a kind of duty, like visiting your inlaws at Christmas. Now, I own three complete Rings on dvd and have joined the millions who believe it to be one of THE greatest works of art. Opera on dvd is often cheaper than on cd. There’s no reason not to take the plunge. Or given where you live, trundle on down to Aldeburgh unless you’re one of us people who prefer to take your opera in a t-shirt with a beer or two.
Fri, Oct 29 2010, 6:59AM
#6
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
Some find Wagner too full-on (how could they?!) and others find Italian opera too melodramatic (how could they?!) but the one almost everyone agrees on is Mozart. I"d start with a safe choice - Le Nozze di Figaro. Go for a good DVD or BluRay, or if it must be CD alone, I'd highly recommend the Solti recording with Kiri Te Kanawa and Thomas Allen.
All the best - let us know what you try and what you think of it!
James
Fri, Oct 29 2010, 7:04AM
#7
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
Mozart: Marriage of Figaro (Solti, LPO, 1982)
Verdi: Rigoletto
Puccini: La Boheme
Before I got hooked I remember listening to a kind of "intro to opera" talk on Radio 3. The guy played the quartet from Act 3 of Rigoletto. He demonstrated each of the four tunes seperately then played the extract to make his point. I have never forgotten the effect on me!
All points above are valid in their way but wouldn't have worked for me. (Four hours of Wagner!) I bought the above on LPs, played them until the key tunes became embedded, so to speak, then later sought them in performance, either live or on video as it was then.
Richypike, you are right to see it as "getting beyond the arias", but I found these three easy to access, quick to assimilate, and now, impossible to live without as a whole experience. Every time. Just sheer magic.
Good luck. You are on an exciting journey. Enjoy.
Vic.
Fri, Oct 29 2010, 7:27AM
#8
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
I forgot to say as Tagalie points out opera MUST be seen live DVD whichever it´s a must.
Fri, Oct 29 2010, 5:46PM
#9
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
Thanks everyone for your help (and time responding) plenty to get on with.
I will see what's available on DVD at my library and online and will let you know what I've chosen and how I get on.
I shall research the plot so I'm not in the dark and can concentrate on the music.
Looking forward to new horizons.
Fri, Oct 29 2010, 6:33PM
#10
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
It goes without saying that this is all wildly subjective. Like you and others here, it took a while for me to go from other classical music to opera. My personal experiences/recommendations:
1. The 'shallow' end. Yes, I echo what others here have said about La Boheme. I'd go further and push you enthusiastically towards the Beecham recording. I bought it reluctantly, decades ago, sure that I was 'above' Italian opera. My preconceptions were blown away in the first minute or two. You say that 'recitative' is an obstacle for you? Well, Boheme hasn't got any: it's all solid-gold 'highlight' from start to end. Puccini can't write an unmelodic bar, and I know of no other recording which achieves such amazing 'parlando' -- perfect singing which somehow also seems like spontaneous speech.
2. The 'deep' end. The first opera I ever attended was the Ring cycle. All of it. 15 hours sitting on the hard floor of Covent Garden at a 'prom' subsidised by the then Midland Bank. For much of those 15 hours I was sort-of bored... but for all of those 15 hours I felt I was experiencing something transcendental. Being taken over by Wagner doesn't happen to everyone, but don't rule it out. What I DO recommend is that you read Bryan Magee's brilliant and unWagnerianly short book "Aspects of Wagner". It was reading that book that convinced me I HAD to experience the works themselves.
3. [The controversial bit] Unless you're already a Mozart-lover, steer clear of the operas until you've sampled a 'best of Mozart opera' CD to see what you like. Mozart's operas are nearly as long as Wagner's and are FULL of the recitative which you say puts you off. It's practically illegal these days to express reservations about Wolfgang Amadeus, but four hours of farce with harpsichord continuo is more than I can stand.
4. [The other controversial bit] Some here are urging you to experience opera live and/or on DVD. Some people prefer live music, but not all of us. The live music fans generally see themselves occupying some kind of spiritual/moral high-ground, but it's just a different POV. My preference for recorded music is strongest of all in opera, which is very expensive, rarely as well sung as on record, and at the mercy of producers' 'concepts'. Live fans enjoy the sporting-event excitement of seeing vocal athletes in action, but I tend to find that on-stage realities come a poor second to my own imagination. And for me, DVDs of live performances are the worst of all worlds – close-ups of stage makeup, wobbling larynxes and projectile saliva, and wide shots with unvarying long lenses, horrible framing and ghastly uncinematic lighting. However, if you're a film fan, there's a handful of fairly interesting real movies of operas (Rosa's Carmen, Losey's Don Giovanni, Syberberg's Parsifal).
Fri, Oct 29 2010, 7:15PM
#11
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
I put this question to my wife, who has a knack of cutting to the chase. Unequivocally, she offered: (1) Start with Boheme. (2) Don't go trying to watch/listen to 3 hours of any opera in one sitting. Take the 3-4 hour epics one act at a time.
Only trouble is, there are several great recordings of Boheme (Beecham, Karajan to name two) but I've yet to find a dvd version without warts on it.
Fri, Oct 29 2010, 8:16PM
#12
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
Thanks 12tonelizzie and tagalie. More thoughts to chew over. Interesting comments regarding whether to watch/listen or just listen.
Coincidentally Sky Arts are showing Australian Opera's La Boheme tonight!! Apparently it's 'highly acclaimed' and I think set in modern times.
Anyway, I've set it to record and will plug in my hi fi and will watch an act at a time as suggested. Hopefully they won't ruin it with ad breaks.
Really excited now :)
Sat, Oct 30 2010, 12:02AM
#13
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
I think many of the replies are correct. I wouldn't advise jumping in the deep end with Wagner. My own introduction to opera began with Puccini and then Verdi. Mozart and Rossini followed. Long stretches of recitative were and still are harder to digest. Donizetti and Bellini were interesting and worthwhile excursions along the way towards French opera and Wagner. I would strongly urge you to try Tannhauser, Lohengrin or The Flying Dutchman before moving on to Wagner's later works. I still take his later works in smaller doses of one disc or one act a time after 25 or so years of listening to opera to avoid overload. Synopses and libretti or subtitles are essential in the early stages of acquaintance.
Sat, Oct 30 2010, 1:12AM
#14
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
It's practically illegal these days to express reservations about Wolfgang Amadeus, but four hours of farce with harpsichord continuo is more than I can stand.
Which Mozart opera lasts four hours? An absolutely complete Idomeneo perhaps? And which is a farce?
Guillaume
Sat, Oct 30 2010, 4:26AM
#15
RE: Where do I start with Opera?
I'll answer by telling you where I started as a kid: I started with Aida. Big story, grand tunes. But its not the only place to start. The indispensable element, I think, is that you want to start with a tuneful opera, an opera that has several arias with hummable melodies that will stick in your head and that provide an opportunity for great, full-throated singing. I love Wagner; don't start there. If not Aida, try Traviata (a more intimate and subtle story than Aida, and maybe a better opera all around) or Don Giovanni or Carmen. If you like these, then move out into the popular Verdi/Mozart repertory: Trovatore, Nabucco, Le Nozze di Figaro, The Magic Flute. I agree that you need to experience opera live, but I think opera looks stupid on DVD. Its a big art form; opera singers look silly in close up. Better to listen to a CD and follow a libretto. In fact, I used to do that always (and sometimes still do) to prepare for going to a live performance.
I'll leave it to the opera experts on this site to give you chapter and verse, but as somebody who came into classical via a similar route to yours and struggled for years to come to terms with opera, I'll just make one point.
I believe the biggest barrier for folks like you an me is one of buying into the genre, with all its unwritten rules, entrenched practices, format oddities and specialized language. If you approach it wanting a form of video or story-telling that mimics life, you'll struggle because it's a highly stylized, mostly unrealistic art form. Many great opera librettos call for a suspension of belief, cancellation of one corner of our critical faculties. Melodrama there is in abundance, two or one-dimensional characters even in the best works. Most librettos are not meant to reproduce everyday speech, action can be condensed to the point of suggestion or almost intolerably drawn-out. Opera gets us to look at ourselves and life in new ways but the mirror it holds up is a distorted one.
I can't recall when I managed to overcome these 'barriers', somewhere around when Pavarotti was new on the scene I think, and falling in love with his voice I had to buy in to the genre. Once bought-in, I found I'd gained admission to whole new, incredibly rich world, arguably one of the greatest art forms. Now, I can't imagine my life without it.
Keep trying, and good luck!