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Re: I may go see an opera! (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Hiya beebuzby,
You'd just made my day right there! :o) Opera is really much more accessible today than it was a few decades ago. Hope you will enjoy yourself at the opera and perhaps come back and tell us about it here on in Writer's Corner, ay? ;o)
Thanks a bunch for stopping by!
Cheers,
Smorg :o)
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Sep 12 '07
10:57 pm PDT
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I may go see an opera! (Reply to this comment)
by beebuzby
I listen to opera music occasionally, but reading your review has me considering actually going to see one!
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Sep 11 '07
12:13 pm PDT
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Re: ! (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Hallo Jan,
Thanks, mate! :o)
O... It's been a long time since I last saw Philadelphia. I think there are a few opera numbers in that show's soundtracks (I remember that hit aria 'Ebben? ne andro lontana' from Alfredo Catalani's La Wally in one or two scenes).
But you're probably thinking of the scene when Andy explains a searing operatic scene to Denzel Washington's character... If I remember right, I think the piece used there is 'La mamma morte' from Umberto Giordano's André Chenier.
It used to be a standard repertoire opera a few decades ago, but not performed much nowadays because it requires good dramatic voices (they're rare these days). The scene happens toward the end, with Countess Madeleine recounting how her mother was burnt to death in a house fire that was set by the mob (the opera is set during the French Revolution), and how her maid Bersi had to prostitute herself to support her fallen mistress, etc. Nobody sings Madeleine better than Maria Callas (if you're looking for a recording). ;o)
It is so cool that you remember the opera scene in the movie, mate! :o) I wish the films that use opera music would identify them more. Now that you've mentioned it, I think I'll write my next non-review essay on opera music in movies. :o) Thanks!!
Cheers,
Smorgy :o)
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Jul 18 '07
2:21 am PDT
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! (Reply to this comment)
by jankp
Wow, very helpful indeed. But what's the gorgeous opera piece in the movie Philadelphia? I've wanted to know for so long. You'll be happy that I'm reviewing opera you didn't mention and might never have heard of!
Jan
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Jul 17 '07
8:58 pm PDT
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Re: The problem... (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Kalimara Vasilis! :o)
No worries, mate! I love the late messages, really. Sometimes I wish the messages would space out a bit more. I get pretty flustered sometimes when I check on my new post and find 5 or 6 unanswered messages in a row.
Hope it has cooled down a bit in Cyprus! I heard Middle Europe is having a heck of a heat-wave. Not an uneventful summer you guys are having, ay?
Thanks a bunch for stopping by, bro!
Cheers,
Smorgy :o)
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Jul 15 '07
1:57 pm PDT
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The problem... (Reply to this comment)
by lammet
with arriving late at your gem submissions is that there's nothing left at their comments section to add :o(
Well, possibly my humble thanks.
-Vasilis
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Jul 14 '07
3:17 pm PDT
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Re: You are an awesome ambassador for the opera! (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Hiya Eli,
Thanks, bro! :o) I dunno about being an ambassador for the opera, but wouldn't mind acting like an operatic mosquito, tho. Will bug you guys to death with one opera review after another until I've converted y'all. ;o)
Ack! Yeah, the commenting on the youtube clips really can get ugly nowadays. I try to ignore them, but sometimes that's too trying.
Thanks a bunch for alerting me to the removed 'La Boheme' clip and the period being too close to the URL's, too. I keep forgetting that latter point! Have fixed 'em and keeping my fingers crossed all the clips will stick around at least for a while (a few opera clips on youtube have been removed lately. Seems there's a bit of a war going on there). Anyhow, I really appreciate you pointing those out, bro. Thanks again!
Cheerio,
Smorgy :o)
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Jul 13 '07
6:43 pm PDT
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You are an awesome ambassador for the opera! (Reply to this comment)
by triple_irons
You need to get paid for work like this.
I've been looking at the youtube links. Slapping the haters in line I see lol. Good stuff - La Traviata was interesting, commenting got a little ugly there.
Btw, the Puccini clip was removed for terms of use violation. (I didn't get to see it boo) And you might want get the period away from some of the urls, if you accidentally copy it (the period mark) along with the address (like I did) you get a malformed url. I had to investigate because I wanted to see these clips. Thanks!
Eli
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Jul 13 '07
5:36 pm PDT
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Re: ^ (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Hiya T,
Thanks a bunch, matie! :o)
O, 'Pelléas et Melisande' probably isn't as hard to 'get' if you already liked the French music from the Late Romantic Period before you hear it, or if you play classical piano, I think. Those not familiar with the style will likely find it very abstract (though some may like that, too). I put it in the 'non-rec' because more often than not newbies don't enjoy it (thinking it boring... no easy, hook-ful arias to stick around in their head, etc). :o)
And thanks a bunch for all the great opera reviews you wrote that give me such great pleasure to link to, too! Looking forward to your next piece already. :o)
Cheerio,
Smorgy
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Jul 12 '07
6:09 pm PDT
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^ (Reply to this comment)
by virtuelle2
Another marvellous opus here, Smorgy! What a wonderful primer for the opera newbie. I concur with a lot of your recommendations (and anti-recs), although I must really be a strange bird for liking 'Pelleas et Melisande' at once! Like your Opera Commandments, this should be distributed to novices to the art form as well.
And thanks much for the links to my posts as well - too kind of you!
Merci beaucoup,
~ T. ;)
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Jul 11 '07
2:25 pm PDT
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Re: *smiles* (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Arrrggghhhhh! Where's Anna Russell when I needed her? ;oP
Ya' know, mate, you can just hum Götterdämmerung instead of all 4 of them. I mean, Wagner was so insistence of recapping all the story at the beginning of that thing any how, the redundancy is astounding (though when a Birgit Nilsson or an Astrid Varnay as the Brünnhilde, I don't mind the length of Götterdämmerung so much). ;o)
Thanks a bunch for stopping by, bro.
Cheers,
Smorgy :o)
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Jul 10 '07
10:56 pm PDT
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*smiles* (Reply to this comment)
by dolphinboy,  in Music
*hums the entire Ring Cycle*
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Jul 10 '07
7:07 pm PDT
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Hiya K & Regina (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Thanks for stopping by!
Hey, I hope so, K. There're so many misconceptions about opera that keep a lot of folks from checking it out, I think. But I'm not giving up yet. If Paul Potts could win a popular TV talents show by singing opera arias, then the music really must have at least some popular appeal, ay? :o)
Ya, know, Regina. I had never thought of it that way before. Very apt analogy, imho. :o)
Thanks again for dropping in, mates. Hope your stereo is playing great music!
Cheerio,
Smorgy :o)
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Jul 09 '07
11:00 pm PDT
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Excellent suggestions! (Reply to this comment)
by reginafug
Liking Opera is like eating sushi... you must start with nothing raw in it, and gradually become more adventurous and try the more complicated ingredients!
Before you know it, you're a sushi/sashimi addict (comme moi)... same with Opera... the more I listen to it, the more my ears become accustomed to the singing!
As usual, another great write-up!
Regina
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Jul 09 '07
9:40 am PDT
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i studied music in college (Reply to this comment)
by fishifishi
and we went through a required opera phase. most of the ones you mentioned were ones we touched on, and i loved them! then again, i love all music, but this was a great review! hopefully it will get more people out there giving opera a chance.
~k
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Jul 09 '07
6:33 am PDT
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Hiya Stephen, Jay, Mike, Andy, Letta, C, Diane, George, & Julie! (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Thanks a bunch for stopping by!
Ack! I wrestled between expanding on either Mozart’s Figaro or Magic Flute for the 10 indeed, Stephen. :o) Figaro is indeed longer, but Magic Flute is so prone to weird staging these days (I really don’t like the latest fancy Met staging of it, for example) and the story is a bit harder to understand than Figaro (with all the Freemason motifs thingy).
I haven’t heard 4 Saints in 3 Acts before, actually. Must give that a go.
I have trouble understanding sung English in opera, too (though the DVD of Portman’s The Little Prince is a good one). I think the English vowels pronunciation makes it one of the hardest language for opera singers to sing it, since they have to shift the voice back and forth in the mouth so much. With the difficult French vowels, at least they can keep it ‘forward’ all opera long. Hey, have you heard Heggie’s Deadman Walking yet? I have only heard a few songs from it, but not the whole thing. Anyhow, must go back and add Aida and Tosca to the list indeed. Thanks, bro! :o)
Don Giovanni is another great choice indeed, Jay! :o) I was just listing them by the whim of the moment and was determined to not dig into more than 10 (did include Don G in the ‘others to check out’ part, tho). I think it a darker work and might not attract newbies as much as Figaro would. Though some of my all time favorite arias and trios are from Don G.
Hey, thanks for lots of interesting tidbits I didn’t know about, Mike! :o) Yup, Gluck’s Orfeo was still referred to as the first real opera as recently as a decade ago. I think we all have Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Richard Bonynge, and Marilyn Horne to thank for the resurrection of the Baroque and the Bel Canto opera. We even get to hear some Baroque roles sung by the counter-tenor voice nowadays! They don’t sound like the castrati did, but they are interesting to hear nonetheless.
The name Henze popped up in my head (along with the torturous experience that was my first hearing of his L’Upupa und der Triumph de Sohnesliebe... from the Salzburg Festival DVD), but I didn’t mention him since his opera aren’t staged much. I think the trouble with Händel’s opera is just that they are so darn long! ;oP
O, yep, La Battle is also to be treated just like everyone else, imho. Which also means that her colleagues and employers (and fans, also!) shouldn’t have to put up with her inconsiderate acts. I’m very partials to the singers since I think they have a very stressful life-style, but that doesn’t give them a free pass not to behave decently toward other folks. :o)
I’m still acquiring the ears for the atonal works, Andy. I love Strauss’ Elektra now, especially when sung by Astrid Varnay, Leonie Rysanek, or Birgit Nilsson.... I think I’m liking Le Rosignol more now (especially after hearing Natalie Dessay singing it, but the 12-toners really don’t agree with my systems. ;o)
Hey, thanks for putting up with my ramblings on opera even though you aren’t familiar with the genre, Letta! :o) You made my day right there. If you are anywhere near Houston, tho, the Houston Grand Opera is one of the best opera houses in North America, I think (and Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico is another one). I bet the opera voice instructor would be really thrilled to meet someone interested in his genre, right in his hometown! ;o)
Thanks C, Diane, and Gdawgster for your ‘kudos’, too! :o) Hope Baby Visdo will enjoy the early exposure to opera, mate! I wish my folks had exposed me to the genre earlier... but then they probably didn’t want me to start imitating the mad diva when I don’t get things my way. ;oP
Hey! Hope you’re enjoy Rinaldo and Orphée aux enfers, Julie! I wish I had tried Rinaldo before I did Giulio Cesare in Egitto as my introduction to Baroque opera. Neither will cause deafness, I think, since they’re rather lightly orchestrated in order to showcase the singers. A Strauss or Wagner opera, on the other hand, can really drown out the Rheinfall! ;o)
Thanks again for dropping by, folks! Hope the week has started well your way!
Cheers,
Smorg :o)
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Jul 08 '07
10:08 pm PDT
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Geez... (Reply to this comment)
by cmaw63
Alright, already...you win! I have HÄNDEL: Rinaldo and OFFENBACH: Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld) on the way. I will learn opera or go deaf trying. :)
Very nice review,
Julie
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Jul 08 '07
7:17 pm PDT
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Thanks (Reply to this comment)
by George_Chabot
for taking us through the complex labyrinth that opera is. I only know a little but like Carmen, Aida, and Offenbach's Orpheus you mentioned. Great job, Herr Smorgmeister, on a compelling read. :>
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Jul 08 '07
4:50 pm PDT
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Re: Re: Thanks for this discussion, Smorg! :-) (Reply to this comment)
by henry_thoreau, in Music
"The music for "4 Saints in 3 Acts" is engaging."
Hmmm. I'm not so sure the masses would warmly agree with you there, but since it's been several years since I last listened to Virgil Thomson's opera, perhaps I'd like it better this time around. [I might try it again soon. To be fair, maybe I was having a bad day when I last played it. And no argument about the relative accessibility of the lingo per se!]
I, too, frequently don't understand sung English, which, incidentally, is why it would have been nice if the DVD release of the Mackerras/ENO (c.1990) production of Handel's Xerxes had included subtitles (albeit the latter still couldn't fully compensate for Ann Murray's excessively wobbly voice.) ;-) Yes, Handel's an "acquired" taste, but well worth the reasonably modest time and effort required.
"For novices, 'Porgy and Bess' is surely a better bet than Handel...."
"It ain't necessarily so," Stephen [forgive me!]. ;-) But, yeah, it's probably so! ;-)
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Jul 08 '07
3:49 pm PDT
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Clap! Clap! Clap! (Reply to this comment)
by sunpot71
Clap! Clap! Clap! -- Diane STANDING
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Jul 08 '07
2:27 pm PDT
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Re: Thanks for this discussion, Smorg! :-) (Reply to this comment)
by Stephen_Murray, in Music
Henze, indeed.
The music for "4 Saints in 3 Acts" is engaging. Stein's words are less puzzling than a language I don't understand (though I frequently don't understand sung English...). "When this you see, remember me" is accessible musically and verbally. For novices, "Porgy and Bess" is surely a better bet than Handel, whose operas are very much an acquired taste (as are those of Donizetti IMHO).
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Jul 08 '07
11:15 am PDT
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Perfect! (Reply to this comment)
by elvisdo
The soon-to-be Baby Visdo will need some aural stimulation. The sooner, the better I say. You do the opera and I'll work on the comic books.
~C
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Jul 08 '07
10:50 am PDT
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Inrteresting (Reply to this comment)
by grandgram
Sorry but this was beyond me but I found it very interesting. Being a naive middle American now Texan my education and lover of opera is far removed from your great review.
It is just not much available in these parts but we do have an opera voice instructor and his wife who are part of our community Chorus. Maybe I will get it sometime. :-)
Letta
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Jul 08 '07
10:41 am PDT
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You... (Reply to this comment)
by Andydammit
...should get this published. Excellent. Although I do love atonal music. It adds an odd spice to life.
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Jul 08 '07
10:09 am PDT
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Re: ?!? (Reply to this comment)
by henry_thoreau, in Music
"(Probably my choice of "4 Saints in 3 Acts" would puzzle some making tentative approaches?"
There ain't no "probably" about it, Stephen! That one could drive your average newbie away from opera forever. ;-)
"And Puccini and Verdi (Tosca and Aida, in particular) are more common routes to becoming opera enthusiasts than Bellini (favorite of mine though he is) and Donizetti. (Rossini's Figaro, however, is an apt choice)."
I agree on all counts!
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Jul 08 '07
7:54 am PDT
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Thanks for this discussion, Smorg! :-) (Reply to this comment)
by henry_thoreau, in Music
"Get this, Händel lived in the late 17th to 18th Century, and his music is still performed regularly today."
Of course, when it comes widespread appreciation for Handel’s operatic music, things have gotten much rosier in the last two or three decades. As a reminder of how public/critical consensus stood before that, consider the following quotation from the 1962 book The World of Opera by Wallace Brockway & Herbert Weinstock:
"Still, it seems unlikely that any Handel opera will soon banish Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice (composed only three years after Handel's dath in 1759) from its honored place as the oldest serious opera still often professionally staged."
Accordingly, when it comes to great recordings of the operas of my favorite composer, the era of my childhood (the sixties) was assuredly NOT "the good old days"! Things had really improved by the advent of the nineties [On the other hand, POP music was often much better in the sixties and seventies than since the advent of the nineties! That's no opinion, that's FACT, hee hee!]
Re "OPERA TO AVOID" (not only "when you’re just starting out" but perchance forever), I would add the name Hans Werner Henze. Verily, I love the sound of fingernails across chalkboards better than the singing in (virtually any of) his operas.
Re operatic singers being "human beings just like us, and [deserving to] be treated as such," did that fully apply to Kathleen Battle at her worst (years ago)? ;-)"
What a fine and Very, er, Most, Helpful piece you've provided all us operatic ignoramuses, Smorgy! Brava!
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Jul 08 '07
7:41 am PDT
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?? (Reply to this comment)
by jay1051971
What about Don Giovanni?!
That is a great one....
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Jul 07 '07
6:39 pm PDT
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?!? (Reply to this comment)
by Stephen_Murray, in Music
I think that "Figaro" has too many notes--despite its very dubious libretto, surely "The Magic Flute" is (and has been for many people) a better point of entry.
And Puccini and Verdi (Tosca and Aida, in particular) are more common routes to becoming opera enthusiasts than Bellini (favorite of mine though he is) and Donizetti. (Rossini's Figaro, however, is an apt choice).
Someting in English (Porgy and Bess?) would remove one impediement. (Probably my choice of "4 Saints in 3 Acts" would puzzle some making tentative approaches?
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Jul 07 '07
6:35 pm PDT
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