An idiot's Guide to Opera- Page 2

[NYadgal]

Posted: 12/16/04 at 12:23am

PalJoey - that sounds like a magical experience!

[Plum]

Posted: 12/16/04 at 3:00am

I'm not much of an expert on opera, but here's what I'll say from my narrow perspective- don't touch Wagner with a 40-foot pole. I would say don't ever bother with him, but that's unfair. Try him later; I wouldn't wanting you abandoning opera completely because of the guy.

Anyway, I got introduced to opera through Mozart, namely The Magic Flute, which I still love. And The Marriage of Figaro was the first live production I ever saw. The music is glorious and the storylines are really fun, and I'm pretty sure there's multiple movie versions of each. Have fun.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 12/16/04 at 9:56am

I have tickets for Die Zauberflote (aka: The Magic Flute) at the Met in April - the acclaimed Julie Taymor production...

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/16/04 at 10:38am

We saw it last month and it is beautiful--not perfect but beautiful. There are a lot of Lion King-like elements--which she used before Lion King in an earlier production of Magic Flute at the opera house in Florence.

The young singer who played Papageno was delightful--I don't know if he is singing it in April.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 12/16/04 at 10:41am

That's what I heard from friends who saw it last month, also.

I don't know about the casting - I'll have to see if it's listed.
I'm looking forward to it.

[twogaab2]

Posted: 12/16/04 at 11:33am

I caught one of the posts that implied that it was unnecessary to know the what the words mean to enjoy the opera. This is utter nonsense. All the great opera composers (Verdi, Mozart, Puccini) drove their librettists crazy to make sure that they got the words and dramatic situations exactly right. If they were this concered about the words, dosn't that imply that the words are important to get a FULL understanding of the musical dramatic through-line of the individual peice. As for Wagner, he wanted his operas to be performed in the audience's vanacular, so the text could be understood.

Just my opinion, I may be wrong.

[judy_in_disguise]

Posted: 12/16/04 at 12:05pm

L'Elisir D'Amore by Donizetti is a good light opera.
It has your typical romantic comedy love-potion plot so there's not too much to understand. The music is ridiculously light and suits characterization perfectly, as was the style of the classical era. Donizetti was part of Mozart's era, but not as in-depth as Mozart, making him a good introduction to the genre.