What is your favorite opera and why?

[CTyankee]

Here ya go!

19 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Magic Flute
	1 (5%)
	La Boheme
	1 (5%)
	Marriage of Figaro
	1 (5%)
	Aida
	1 (5%)
	Madam Butterfly
	1 (5%)
	Turandot
	3 (16%)
	Other (please name it)
	11 (58%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[mr_lebowski]

1. No opera is my favorite opera ...

[ironflange]

2. The Ring

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. The heartbreaking beauty of the arias and duets in Butterfly...

Not huge on opera, but Madame Butterfly, along with Don Giovanni, probably are at the top.

More of a Shostakovich and Mahler listener myself (for classical - heavy on jazz and ambient too)

[judesedit]

4. I think Peter and the Wolf was an opera, wasn't it?

[fierywoman]

13. No. It's a piece for orchestra with speaker. (Nobody sings.)

[judesedit]

41. Oh. Ok. Thanks. lol. It's been so long since I heard it, but I really liked it.

Sorry. I'm definitely no opera buff, but I do love Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. is Les Mis an opera? Or Fiddler on the Roof? I like them, too

[fierywoman]

51. Peter and the Wolf is an amazing piece! I think Les Mis and Fiddler are musicals (I don't know

why they aren't considered operas.)

[judesedit]

52. Well, thanks for cluing me in. I guess it's musicals I prefer.

[jmowreader]

68. I've never seen Les Miz, but...

...Fiddler is a musical rather than an opera because there is a lot of spoken dialogue in it. An opera has all the dialogue sung.

[fierywoman]

69. But there are lots of operas with spoken words ... Magic Flute, for one.

[unblock]

5. Probably the web browser

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera_(web_browser)

[peacefreak2.0]

6. The first opera I ever saw was

The Magic Flute. It was performed at the Royal Opera House in London. It was only a few years ago. My friend and I have gone to a few others by local companies. I am sorry that COVID got in the way of seeing more.

[unblock]

7. Actually, anything by Gilbert and Sullivan

Pirates of Penzance maybe

[yellowdogintexas]

45. nope it's The Mikado hands down

I would go to a live production even if first graders were performing it

check out the version with Eric Idle as Koko

I rest my case

[Stuart G]

57. I like H.M.S. Pinafore

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. My favorite wasn't listed - Don Giovanni.

But The Magic Flute is a pretty close second. I'm also a big fan of the early Baroque proto-operas like Monteverdi's L'Orfeo and The Return of Ulysses.

[cyclonefence]

18. DG is my favorite, too--for obvious reasons

It's the best opera ever.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

21. The Commendatore scene in the last act is just hair-raising!

Some of the best ensemble vocal composition ever. Nobody did opera better than Mozart, before or since, and Don Giovanni was his best.

[lunasun]

9. Julie Traymore production of magic flute also one of the Ny Mets lastCarmens was quite good IMO

All good
What are some of your favs?

[elleng]

10. CARMEN

The melodies have been with me forever. Here's an example:

Here's the whole shebang:

[yellowdogintexas]

46. Carmen is wonderful nt

[JudyM]

73. Loved that top one!

[fierywoman]

11. Tosca. But it's hard to name just one.

Why? Maybe because it contains all the bat-shit crazy elements opera is noted for ... AND it's got strong political/feminist issues going on.

[Cattledog]

12. Tommy

[cayugafalls]

15. gmta...

I was typing mine up while you posted...lol.

Rock on...

[cayugafalls]

14. Tommy, The Wall, Quadrophenia and Rocky Horror Picture Show in that order.

The Who invented Rock Opera, so of course there are 2 of theirs in the list as they did it best.

Honorable mention; The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Jesus Christ Superstar, Bat Out of Hell (Meat Loaf)

[IcyPeas]

59. can't argue with those.

[BeyondGeography]

16. Traviata

The love story hangs together and there’s never a dull moment. Three absolutely great singing roles Violetta/Alfredo/Germont. The Callas/Lisbon recording for maximum Violetta impact.

Tragedy abounds; ie when father is torn apart by his son’s choices in life:

[First Speaker]

17. Verdi's *Falstaff*...

...just stupendous, overwhelming. Verdi is a genius in Shakespeare's own neighborhood...

[choie]

19. Tosca!

[CTyankee]

26. I lived for life, I lived for love is such a beautiful aria (preceding such a godawful ending!).

[elleng]

28. Played on my radio station today,

a version from La Scala.

[CTyankee]

31. I visited laScala and saw part of a rehearsal (from afar, not down close). I was there under

unfortunate circumstances. I was traveling in Northern Italy and my passport got stolen so I took a train to Milan where there is an American Consulate to obtain an emergency passport. At the time it cost $100 (in dollars, no Euros and no checks or credit cards!). I learned some things on that trip about what NOT to do again!).

I was surprised that LaScala was so small (maybe I was expecting Lincoln Center!).

[elleng]

34. I remember those days!

Glad I didn't lose my passport; spent junior year of college in England, and traveled to the continent a few times (including Moscow, in the bad old days; had a keeper, and did get to the ballet.)

[CTyankee]

35. I still want to gt to Barcelona with my daughter. I hope Europe will have us again once Biden is

in office and we get the pandemic under control.

[elleng]

37. I hope so too!

DID visit Barcelona, with family, a side-trip from trip around France, when kids were young, daughter entering kindergarten.

[choie]

79. I'm a mezzo soprano and

I remember torturing my mother at 16 years old trying to sing Tosca while playing the piano. Uffa!

[ProudMNDemocrat]

20. Anything by Mozart...

Cried during Act 4 of The Marriage of Figaro.

My second favorite was Puccini's TOSCA.

[mia]

22. The Pearl Fishers

[CTyankee]

24. I love that duet altho I have never seen the opera. It's wonderful!

[Tanuki]

63. My local opera company (Nashville) presented The Pearl Fishers

a few seasons ago. I loved it!

[FM123]

23. Madama Butterfly.

I found it hauntingly beautiful, I wept....

[CTyankee]

25. Un Bel Di is such a lovely aria. And I adore the opera.

[elleng]

27. The ONLY aria in that opera worth my time, imo!

[FM123]

38. Yes, just beautiful. When she sings about what it will be like when he returns I cry and cry.....

[broiles]

29. Tosca followed closely by Carmen.

[Lunabell]

30. Jesus Christ Superstar.

Last edited Mon Nov 30, 2020, 01:22 AM - Edit history (1)

Contemporary and brilliant. I've known this Opera backwards and forwards since it first hit the scene. I was a born again Christian then, atheist now. But the story, the dance and the message swept me away when I first saw it live.

[choie]

83. Me too Lunabell!

If I ever start losing my memory (god forbid) I know the one thing I'll remember is the lyrics and music of "Heaven on their Minds"!

[frazzled]

32. I'm kind of a 20th century fan

From Berg's Wozzeck and Lulu to Schoenberg's Moses und Aron. And even into the 21st century with John Adams's Dr. Atomic. This aria sung by the baritone Gerald Finley (based on John Donne's "Batter My Heart, Three-personed God" ) is absolutely heart-rending in person. The doubt and guilt of having created the atomic bomb.

[Chipper Chat]

33. Tosca

The duets send chills down my spine.

[MyOwnPeace]

36. Coraggio!...................

"Mimi!!!!!!! Mimi!!!!!!!! "La Boheme"

However, the SINGLE, most AMAZING piece from any opera, anywhere:

the "Quartet" from "Rigoletto"

But, there's THIS (Magic Flute) - just the most AMAZING aria!

I'm sorry - but it is just SO unfair to as for a "favorite!"

[CurtEastPoint]

39. I don't know much about opera, but Turandot, simply for this....

and the money shot is at about 2:28

[DoBotherMe]

61. Shivers

And tears

[RobinA]

77. One Of My

all time favorite pieces of music,

[Celerity]

40. Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini

Pumeza Matshikiza - O Mio Babbino Caro

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

49. Suor Angelica, also part of Il Trittico, includes what I think is Puccini's best aria:

This one just kills me.

[Harker]

42. Tosca.

It starts with a bang, 'Recondita armonia' being sung shortly after the beginning...

Loathesome villain in Scarpia, artistic, loyal heroine in opera singer Floria Tosca... 'Vissi d'arte' one of my favorite Puccini tearjerkers, and he gets me at least once every time.

Cavaradossi working to undermine a despotic regime...

'E lucevan le stella', a powerful testament to the desire to live life with love...

Art, love, drama, tragedy - all in one beautiful, precious composition.

[CTyankee]

47. Out the window...what a way to go!

[Harker]

53. It's a fair drop from the ramparts of Castel Sant'Angelo.

There's a thousand ways to go in opera.

[CTyankee]

54. All the better!

[MrsMatt]

75. was present during

a production where the singer missed the mattress and fell to the stage floor. Fractured her pelvis.

[CTyankee]

76. Oh, dear. Where was this?

[MrsMatt]

78. St. Paul, Minnesota

https://apnews.com/article/d199dc48430c974120d5cc07a47ae1ad

It was quite eerie, when the opera's finale concluded, the curtain remained closed. No curtain call, and then the house lights came up, and we were informed to exit the theatre.

[58Sunliner]

43. La Traviata. Amazing singing roles.

[johnp3907]

44. Boris Godunov.

Because it sounds like a Dostoevsky novel.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

48. There is a wonderful recording of it, came out in the '80s,

with Martti Talvela as Boris. It's by far the best recording I've heard of this magnificent opera, which is the Russian-est music I know of.

[hurl]

50. Einstein On The Beach

by Philip Glass. This one probably drives most people nuts, but it changed music for me.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

62. I like Glass' Satyagraha, too, and John Adams' Nixon in China.

[hurl]

65. Satyagraha is just gorgeous, one of his most emotional works. Akhnaten is cool!

Definitely, and 'Short Ride in a Fast Machine' is another great Adams piece.

[Aristus]

55. Wagner's "Das Rheingold".

I know it's just supposed to be a preliminary to the main Ring operas of "Die Walkure", "Siegfried", and "Gotterdammerung". But it's significant for introducing many of the musical motifs that will grow and develop throughout the four-opera cycle.

The impossibly grand and majestic Valhalla theme.

The mournful "Renunciation Of Love" motif. Retired Seattle Opera General Director Speight Jenkins calls it the "Embrace Of Destiny" motif. It's first introduced by Rhinemaiden Wellgunde when singing about the renunciation of love, the condition by which someone can forge an all-powerful Ring from the Rhine gold. But a number of other characters later in the drama sing the theme in situations not related to the renunciation of love.

That brief, heartbreaking moment when Fasolt sings of having the Goddess of Love, Freia, in his household; accompanied sweetly by the oboe, it reveals the tender heart beneath the rough exterior, and makes the audience sympathize with him, in opposition to his evil brother, Fafner.

The sinister, atmospheric hammering of the Nibelungs on their anvils, a reminder that the once carefree metalsmiths have been enslaved by Alberich and his Ring of Power.

There's a lot of incredible stuff packed into two and a half hours.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

56. If you're a fan of Das Rheingold you would probably appreciate this:

[IcyPeas]

58. Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahogonny

I saw this when I was about 18 years old and never forgot it. it's a satire of a society’s obsession with money, its shallowness, and its hypocrisy, lust and greed. A topic that is understandable in today's world as it was in Brecht's 30s Germany.

[Iggo]

60. Lakme.

Here's why...

[Laffy Kat]

64. Carmen.

As I'm most familiar with the music. I had a good friend who was in the Colorado Chorus and gave me free tickets to the rehearsals for many seasons, so I've seen quite a few. I also really like "Samson and Deliah" because it was such a fun production.

[Baltimike]

66. Der Rosenkavalier.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

67. Porgy and Bess

If only for the collection of classic songs.

[jmowreader]

70. Britten's "Peter Grimes" is my favorite opera

And sadly, it's for the most pedestrian of reasons: Peter Grimes is in English. I don't have to sit there with a translated libretto trying to figure out what the hell is going on, because I can't speak any French or Italian and my German and Russian are limited to military terms. If you want to order an artillery barrage I can fix you right up, but if you want to order lunch...well, once we get past "bol'shoj Mac, kartofel i pivo, pozhalusta" I'm pretty much screwed.

[Glorfindel]

71. I love "The Marriage of Figaro"

the plot is light-hearted and effervescent and the music is utterly enchanting. A close runner-up for me is Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel." It's really not just for children!

Thanks for such an interesting question, CTyankee.

[CTyankee]

72. Thanks. I feel so uptight all the time about politics that a brief foray into opera world is welcome

I am mentally exhausted by the administration. Music brief tho it may be, always saves me.

[yellowdogintexas]

80. couple Marriage of Figaro with Barber of Seville

I love that two composers with distinctly different styles made use of the same characters in two wonderful works.

[MrsMatt]

74. Norma

worked for an opera company and once attended a rehearsal where the two singers performing "Mira, o Norma" were in such perfect harmony, I got goosebumps. Doesn't happen often.

[yellowdogintexas]

81. for sheer hilarity and bawdiness you can't top "Lysistrata"

I saw it live several years ago and nearly killed myself laughing

[CTyankee]

82. I knw the story and it's perfect for opera! Who wrote the opera? which century?