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Boris Godunov
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Portland, OR
Aug 2001
time: 00:33
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The only female-only opera worth hearing I know of is Puccini's Suor Angelica. Otherwise, you'll likely have to endure some male voices (though I personally think you're missing out, since basses and baritones are the best parts of opera).
Many baroque operas (esp. Handel) are female-heavy, but that's because the main male roles were originally written for castrati and are now commonly sung by women. These operas are predominantly Italian.
The best French opera is easily Bizet's Carmen, but the opera's best tune goes to the baritone (the ubiquitous Toreador song). Still, it's a great vehicle for any mezzo-soprano. Denise Graves is the current favorite in the role, but my favorite recording is the one with Tatiana Troyanos (which also features notables such as Placido Domingo, Jose van Dam and Sir Georg Solti conducting).
Other French operas of note are Gounod's Faust (but you'd have to endure large tenor and bass roles), Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande, Bizet's lesser-known Les Pechers des Perles, and Saint-Saens very tuneful Samson et Delila. For something a bit modern, Charpentier's Louise fits the bill. Then there is a slew of Baroque ones by Lully and Rameau and such, usually based on classical mythology, but they're all pretty forgettable. Gluck's classical works are well-regarded, but I find them dry and rather cold.
The only other French opera composer who was famous was Delibes, but he was a far better ballet composer. His sole opera that endures today is Lakme, but it's a pretty awful piece of faux-oriental kitsch.
Italian opera is a whole subject unto itself. I suppose it depends if you want early classical or late romantic or something in between.
For baroque Italian, can't go wrong with Monteverdi, who is (erroneously) credited with starting the whole opera thing in the first place. La Favola di Orfeo and L'incoronation di Poppea are his most famous works. The latter features the incredibly moving farewell scene of Seneca, but since that's sung by a bass, I guess you won't care.
Later baroque/early classical Italian operas are dominated by Handel and Haydn. Handel's Xerxes and Giuio Cesare are recommended. Haydn's operas are all forgotten these days, because they were pretty unremarkable.
Classical Italian opera was really the domain of the Austrians, oddly enough--and by that, I mean Mozart. Any of his Italian operas is grand musically. Of course, so are his German ones. Le Nozze di Figaro is the comic masterpiece, while Don Giovanni is the overall best. Cosi fan Tutti has gorgeous music, but the plot is abysmally dumb. His "serious" operas, such as La Clemenza di Tito, are also musically sumptuous, but the stories are typical opera seria stuff that bores me to tears.
After Mozart, you move into the high classical period, and that's the domain of three Italian masters--Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini. Bellini's Norma is all you need of his works. Donizetti has many fine pieces, but the best of the bunch are 2 comedies (L'elisir d'amore and Don Pasquale) and one tragedy (Lucia di Lammermoor, his undoubted masterpiece). Rossini's most famous work is Il barbiere di Seviglia (the Barber of Seville for you cretins!), which is probably the funniest comic opera you will find. His most famous serious work is Guilliame Tell, which is hideously long, even by most operatic standards.
Moving on to the mid-19th century Italian scene, you'll find it the almost exclusive domain of one Giuseppe Verdi. His earliest work worth mentioning is Nabucco, which features the unlikely operatic hero of Nebuchadnezzar.
The "big three" that made Verdi an iconic figure in Italy, however, are the holy triumverate of Rigoletto, La traviata and Il trovatore. Rig has the best plot of the three, albeit pretty melodramatic. Trav has a wonderful soprano part in the hooker Violetta, so you might really appreciate it. It's a tear-jerker. Trov features the worst opera plot in history, but the music is perhaps the best of the three.
Later Verdi works get longer, more political and somewhat more Wagnerian. Don Carlos is considered the epitome of Grand Opera, but with 5 acts comes in at 5 hours+. Simon Boccanegra is hopelessly mired in renaissance Genoan political intrigue that is hard to care about, and the best song in the opera is written for the bass anyway. La Forza del Destino has Verdi's best overture, but it's rather downhill from there (excepting the magnificent baritone role of opera's villain).
Verdi saved his greatest for last, and those are Aida, Otello and Falstaff. Aida is the Egyptian one that was recently raped and pillage by Elton John for a Broadway show. It's highlight is the Triumphal March, where a cast of hundreds will be crammed on stage, often with animals and what not. Otello is the greatest Shakespearian opera, with Verdi virtually setting the play to music word-for-word (except in Italian, and he adds a magnificent solo for Iago). Falstaff has the destinction of being the second comic opera Verdi wrote, the first being his very first opera, Oberto,which was a miserable failure. That had a lot to do with Verdi's wife and daughter dying while he was writing it. Anyway, it's really good, although not a huge knee-slapper.
There's a few other minor Italian composers of note, particularly Leoncavallo (I Pagliacci), Mascagni (Cavalleria Rusticana) and Montemezzi (L'amore del Tre Re). These were all one-hit wonders. Verdi's main librettist, Arrigo Boito, also tried his hand at composing, and at least one, Mefistofole, is worthwhile. Giordano's La Gioconda is famous for the Dance of the Hours, which oddly enough has no singing in it.
The giant that followed Verdi was, of course, Puccini. I already mentioned Suor Angelica, which is a one-acter that is part of Il trittico, a set of 3 operas, the best of which is actually the brilliant comedy Gianni Schicchi. Manon Lescaut has great music and the added bonus that the last scene takes place "In the desert of Louisiana." Heehee, that always makes me giggle.
Then there's La Boheme, which is probably his most popular work. But it's not his best, which is likely the intensely dramatic shocker Tosca. This one features operas greatest villain, the despicable Baron Scarpia. Madama Butterfly is probably Puccini's best music for a soprano. La fanciulla del West is (I swear) a Western, so you'll see a character named Alaska Joe dressed as a cowboy and singing in Italian. Puccini's last opera is Turandot, the last 15 minutes of which aren't his, as he died before completing it. It's pretty awesome, except those last non-Puccini minutes blow.
Recommending particular opera singers at this point is rather futile, since (no offense) you're not likely to know the difference yet.
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Dr Strangelove
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Gianni Schicchi . La Boheme , Aida , La Traviata , and Madame Butterfly have some exceptional solos sung by women.
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Boris Godunov
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Portland, OR
Aug 2001
time: 00:33
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quote:
Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
Gianni Schicchi . La Boheme , Aida , La Traviata , and Madame Butterfly have some exceptional solos sung by women. |
Gianni Schicchi - "O mio babbino caro" - it's actually a token soprano aria thrown in for a character who is pretty minor in the scheme of things. She begs her father, Schicchi, to help the guy she loves sort out his dead uncle Buoso's will so they can eventually marry. She's pretty melodramatic about it, too, as she threatens to throw herself off the Ponte Vecchio if her dad doesn't do it.
The best parts of Schicchi, however, are the rapid-fire scenes of comedy between the conniving family members of the dead Buoso and Schicchi's hilarious playing of them like fiddles.
La Boheme - There's "Si, mi chiamano Mimi" and "Donde lieta[/i]. The former is the more famous, but I think the latter is more emotionally involving. In the first, the destitute seamstress Mimi has gone to the destitute poet Rodolfo's pad to get a light for her candle. Sparks fly instantly, and she introduces herself in the aria. "Donde Lieta" is in Act III, and after a stormy, unhappy romance with Rodolfo, she is bidding him farewell forever. Of course, she comes back in Act IV when she's dying of TB and gets a heart-rending death scene.
Aida - I suppose you mean "Ritorna Vincitor!" where slave Aida laments that she has to watch her lover Radames go to war to fight her father, the king of Ethiopia. I don't find it all that compelling, though the end is sweet. The tenor gets a better number in "Celeste Aida," and Amneris, the mezzo, has her bit at the beginning of Act IV. The best moments in Aida are undoubtedly the spectacular crowd scenes, like the above-mentioned Triumphal March, the "Su! del Nilo" chorus with the King in Act I, the Temple of Phtha scene at the end of Act I (which features a magnificent duet for bass and tenor, plus an awesome choral finale).
La Traviata - You'll find no better example of stratospherically spectacular soprano singing than Violetto's Act I aria "Sempre Libera." The courtesan is beguiled by the young Alfredo, but resists the temptation to date him because she is "forever free." The final cabaletta is monstrously difficult for sopranos, but extremely rewarding. But again, it's not the best part of the opera! The Act II baritone-soprano duet between Alfredo's father Germont and Violetta is the best such duet Verdi ever wrote (in it, Germont pleads with Violetta to ditch his son, as her previous occupation as a prostitute is causing major scandal for the family). The finale to Act II is a masterpiece, taking place at a Paris party where Alfredo confronts Violetta over leaving him, throws money in her face for their "time together" and then gets royally chewed out by his dad for the bad behavior. It's a gripping, emotional scene. And of course, Act III's death scene of Violetta is heart-breaking.
Madama Butterfly - Personally, I think Cio-cio san's Act II "Un bel di vedremo" is Puccini's best soprano number. It's gorgeous, heart-rending and will leave you a little drained. See, in Act I she married American sailor Pinkerton. He knocked her up and then went back to the U.S. In the aria, 3 years later, she explains to her maid Suzuki how one day he will return and live happily ever after. But it reeks of desperation. Her later aria "Che tu madre" isn't as tuneful, but it still packs a huge Puccini wallop.
Too bad much of the overall opera is rather dull (The Act I finale always makes me snooze). On top of that, it's rather offensively ignorant about Japanese culture, so one could easily think Puccini was a racist boor. Anyway, the best moment is the Act III trio between Suzuki, Sharpless and Pinkerton, in which the two Americans sneak in to let Suzuki know that they have come to take the child. Suzuki cries for Cio-Cio-san, Sharpless berates Pinkerton for his cravenness, and Pinkerton agrees that he is a total ****. Operatic drama at it's best!
There are, of course, tons of other big female numbers out there. I wish I could find the opera thread in the archive from a few years ago... 
Last edited by Boris Godunov on 14-03-2005 at 00:54
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Boris Godunov
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Portland, OR
Aug 2001
time: 00:33
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quote:
Originally posted by nostromo
Boris, I noticed that you rarely suggest contemporary music. You rarely, if ever, suggest 20th or 21th century composers. How come? Because you don't like it? Or because it's a bit too advanced for us barbarians?  |
Well, to be fair, Puccini was a 20th century composer (he died in 1924). There are also a host of 20th century composers I'd recommended, including Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Bartok, R. Strauss, Shostakovich, Holst, Orff, Britten, etc.
You do get into a bit more...difficult music when you get iinto the 20th century. I wouldn't recommend Schoenberg, Webern or Berg to anyone just looking for enjoyable music to which to listen, as it is predominantly atonal. Berg's operas Wozzeck and Lulu are dramatically terrific, but you won't find much pleasing in the music (IMO). Then there's a slew of others such as Scriabin (whacko!), Messaien, etc. that I'm just not familiar with and whose work doesn't interest me.
These days, there isn't much going on in terms of really great operas being written, although Corgliano has made some valiant attempts. Musical theater seems to have taken over the public's interest in that regard (shown by the enormous popularity of "pop operas" such as Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, etc.) They aren't considered proper operas, however.
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Dr Strangelove
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quote:
Originally posted by Boris Godunov
Gianni Schicchi - "O mio babbino caro" - it's actually a token soprano aria thrown in for a character who is pretty minor in the scheme of things. She begs her father, Schicchi, to help the guy she loves sort out his dead uncle Buoso's will so they can eventually marry. She's pretty melodramatic about it, too, as she threatens to throw herself off the Ponte Vecchio if her dad doesn't do it. |
Yes, that's the song one of the auto companies used in one of their commercials several years ago. It featured footage of their car gracefully cruising through the mountains as the young women sings of her intention to cast herself off of a bridge. I often wondered how the ad was received in Italy. quote:
La Traviata - You'll find no better example of stratospherically spectacular soprano singing than Violetto's Act I aria "Sempre Libera." The courtesan is beguiled by the young Alfredo, but resists the temptation to date him because she is "forever free." The final cabaletta is monstrously difficult for sopranos, but extremely rewarding. But again, it's not the best part of the opera! The Act II baritone-soprano duet between Alfredo's father Germont and Violetta is the best such duet Verdi ever wrote (in it, Germont pleads with Violetta to ditch his son, as her previous occupation as a prostitute is causing major scandal for the family). The finale to Act II is a masterpiece, taking place at a Paris party where Alfredo confronts Violetta over leaving him, throws money in her face for their "time together" and then gets royally chewed out by his dad for the bad behavior. It's a gripping, emotional scene. And of course, Act III's death scene of Violetta is heart-breaking.
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Yes, the opening of Act III is particularily beautiful.
Frankly I like the ending of Turandot. The final song is one of the most inspirational numbers ever included in an opera.
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nostromo
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Montréal, Québec
Mar 2002
time: 00:33
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quote:
There are also a host of 20th century composers I'd recommended, including Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Bartok (...) |
Yes, they're amazing. A friend told me that The Turn of the Screw by Britten is very good. I also like Debussy and Ravel, not sure if they're considered 20th century composers though.
quote:
You do get into a bit more...difficult music when you get iinto the 20th century. I wouldn't recommend Schoenberg, Webern or Berg to anyone just looking for enjoyable music to which to listen, as it is predominantly atonal. Berg's operas Wozzeck and Lulu are dramatically terrific, but you won't find much pleasing in the music (IMO). |
I agree, its more difficult, but ultimately it depends where you come from. If you're used to pop and classic rock, you will find Stockhausen and Varèse difficult to listen to. The same thing if you're used to Mozart and Haydn. Karl Popper, for example, said that what Webern, Berg and Schoenberg were doing wasn't even music. And he even studied under Webern for a while. According to Popper, after Mozart, it all went downhill.  Otoh, if you listen to experimental techno, experimental rock or industrial music, you will probably enjoy contemporary or actual music a lot more. Brian Eno, for example, said once that Mozart bored him to tears.
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Dr Strangelove
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I think that to some degree classical music lives on, chiefly in movie scoring. I'm certain that some purists will disagree with me, but I contend that if you search you'll find numerous examples of decent symphonic musical scores produced by the film industry every year. This type of music however is not generally published in the form of symphonioes, concertos, and etc. as was classical music in the past.
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nostromo
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Montréal, Québec
Mar 2002
time: 00:33
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quote:
I'm certain that some purists will disagree with me, but I contend that if you search you'll find numerous examples of decent symphonic musical scores produced by the film industry every year. |
A lot of people who listen to classical music are snobs: they would dismiss movie scores without even listening to the music. But a music lover with an open mind could probably find some gems.
But I guess a lot of good classical music is being made outside of the movie industry. Its just that we don't know about it. One example that comes to mind is John Zorn. Now most of his music is very experimental and can't be called contemporary classical music. But some of his work, like the music he made for chamber ensembles, could be called contemporary classical music. And it's pretty good too.
Contemporary classical music is often weird and hard to listen to. That's why most people who listen to classical music don't listen to the contemporary stuff. And sometimes it doesn't even sound like classical music. For example, electroacoustic music doesn't sound like anything done before: there's no melody, no rythm, its just sounds and noises. It has more affinities with some forms of techno than anything else. No wonder electroacoustic music had an influence on techno.
Last edited by nostromo on 14-03-2005 at 07:27
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Dr Strangelove
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I admit that most of the guys listed on wikipedia, except for Phillip Glass, I've never heard of. I have little love for avante garde or minimalist versions of classical music.
Film composers who sometimes create pieces that might be considered classical would include John Williams, John Barry, James Horner, Daniel Elfman, and I'm surer that there are others. I might note that Phillip Glass seems to have abandoned the minimalist camp.
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nostromo
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Montréal, Québec
Mar 2002
time: 00:33
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quote:
I admit that most of the guys listed on wikipedia, except for Phillip Glass, I've never heard of. |
Me neither. I know 3 of them: the others, I've never heard of.
Some of the musicians listed made music for movies, or their music was used in movies. For example, remember the weird choir in "2001: A space odyssey" when humans got near a monolith? That's György Ligeti.
John Williams is a good example. He wrote a lot of memorable themes for movies. But I don't know how his work would assessed by music critics. Irc, Boris pointed out, for example, that the Imperial March was ripped off from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.
Last edited by nostromo on 14-03-2005 at 09:34
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13-03-2005 07:37
) In italian and French.
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