You know what, with some of great talent we have here, I think we can write a great opera.
there a number of threads with a very operatic flair to them :)
song aria, same thing. Una Furtiva Lagrima is very pretty. You may even recognize it, I've heard it a couple of commercials and as background music in a couple of movies. The opening bars are very melancholy and get sampled a lot.
the talky bit between the arias (set pieces) is called recitative. Spring that on your wife and surprise her :)
If I like this one, I'll might even try few more.
Since you are an opera regular, can you give me your 3 favorite ones?
my favorite keep changing but there are a number I like on a pretty regular basis. Many of my favorites are darker and more brooding with powerful music.
Cavalerria Rusiticana is a great opera for a newbie. The title means Rustic Chivalry. Woman's reputation ruined by ex-lover who won't make her an honest woman so she is excommunicated. Meanwhile ex-lover is sleeping with the wife of the local teamster who is moonlighting as village psychopath. Ruined woman in a fit of anger lets psycho know whassup and within seconds realizes it wasn't a good idea. Psycho knifes loverboy, opera ends. All this set on Easter so you get some juicy crucifixtion metaphors and some great church music. Lots of good music with not that much recitative so its a lot like a classical music concert. It's also one act and is done in an hour <g>. If you saw Godfather 3 this is the opera that is being performed in the background during the last half of the music.
Il Pagliacci You have to laugh any opera that inspired Smokey Robinson to write a pop song (Tears of a Clown). A lot like Cavalerria except in this one the cuckcolded psycho husband knifes the wife, not the other guy. He does it during a play so the villagers who are his audience thing it is part of the play and cheer him on. Also very short and is usually performed as part of a tandem performance with Cavalerria which has led to them being frequently referred to as Cav/Pag. Lots of great weepy music and emotionally satisfying if you are annoyed with your significant other.
Tosca This is my current favorite. I've been playing this on my car CD for two months straight (no joke). Really powerful music with a really evil character. Florian Tosca is a beutiful singer in love with a young artist. She is incredibly jealous and thinks he is cheating on her. In fact he is helping the local revolutionaries. The evil police chief is also in love with Tosca. He plays on Tosca's jealousy to get info on rebels. He gets his hands on the young artist and tortures him for info on the rebels. In an attempt to kill two birds with one stone he tells Tosca he will kill Mario (the artist) unless she agrees to bump uglies. She agrees in an exchange for a pass that will allow her to get Mario out of Rome to safety. He says sure but we need to fake a firing squad so people don't thing I'm getting soft. He gives her the letter and she then gives him a knife in the gut. What she doesn't know is that his instructions in the letter of free passage include a secret message not to fake the execution, a double cross from the grave. Mario gets shot. Just then Scarpia's (the evil cop) men finf him dead and come chasing after Tosca. She stands on top of a castle wall and shouts, Scarpia I'll meet you in hell and then Jumps. As the opening night reviewer said, having killed all the singers Senor Puccini decided to conclude the opera. Incredible music, really beutiful. And an easy story to follow.
Rigoletto possibly one of the most sexist, women demeaning operas going (not why I like it). Some really great arias that you will instantly recognize from Bugs Bunny cartoons. The story is about an Italian Duke who gets his kicks ruining as many women as possible. He has a group of fawning syncophants that egg him on. One of whom is Rigoletto and ugly and twisted hunchback who is his court jester. The only bit of beauty and love in his wretched life is his daughter. You guessed it, the Duke gets on her trail. Long story short, Rigoletto tries to head him off and tries to warn his daughter off. Fails on both parts. Daughter falls in love with pig. Rig hires town psycho to knife Duke (notice a common operatic theme). Gilda (daughter) discovers plot and disguises herself as Duke so psycho will knife her and he love will be spared. Psycho dumped body in sack and brings to Rig so he can gloat. Rig gloats gloriously and then hears Duke in distance whistling La Donna e Mobile (you'll recognize from Bugs Bunny). He then opens sack to see who's in the bag, opera ends to much weeping. Great music, easy plot to follow.
Hope this didn't go to long.
p.s. thanks for the birthday wishes :) |
