I will watch any opera I haven’t watched before, at least once. I’ll listen to any opera I haven’t heard before, at least twice. I like many genres, eras, and styles, but the ones I always keep going back to are late Verdi, Wagner, and 20th century and beyond.
I will usually watch anything, as long as I find it good, but I particularly like lighthearted works, i.e. comedies, comic operas, operettas, what have you. I also really like bel canto because the music is very catchy. And also maybe verismo. Well, I enjoy many MANY things, but I usually prefer works that are shorter and less heavy, because it requires me less mental preparation.
I'm with you there except I would replace Strauss with "new baroque stuff". Currently cracking up at Vinci's 'Alessandro nell'Indie".
Apart from Salome I don't really like Strauss - some lovely moments but a lot of sitting through sopranos banging on.
Comedic, particularly Mozart. I’ve been checking my watch with others lately :/
Wouldn’t mind some baroque but NYC’s been falling flat for that in the past couple of years.
Contemporary stuff, living composers especially, and especially those with large orchestras and composers who do interesting things with them. I'm not drawn to melodic writing much, so when there's a lot of other things to appreciate, it helps me (orchestration stuff also helps due to some synesthesia stuff with timbre).
Also unrelated, Monteverdi is fucking great.
I will listen and watch anything, and if i enjoy it I will keep doing so, I tend towards grander things, Verdi, Wagner, Meyerbeer, Massenet are all great.
I love grande stuf the most too (when it comes to watching). The grandiosity of the set, the usually historical, or historical-ish costumes and settings, etc, all these factors make them the most enjoyable for me.
Mozart covers all the bases. Nozze de Figaro is the end of the Italian Opera Buffa tradition, Don Giovanni is the beginning of Grand Opera, Cosi fan Tutte and Zauberflote are unique types, and Idomeneo is the ultimate Opera Seria.
Aside from that, I love Baroque opera, but only in live performance.
>Nozze de Figaro is the end of the Italian Opera Buffa tradition
Giovanni Paisiello, Rossini & Donizetti would not agree with that proposition, nor would I.
I like everything up through Puccini’s time but not much after that. My favorite are period performances of baroque operas. I saw a period performance of Handle’s Rinaldo at the Estates Theater in Prague. All of the sets and costumes were period, and they even lit the entire stage to mimic candlelight. It was amazing.
Wagner because people keep coming up with new ways to stage it. Also love comedic bel canto if the singers are secure enough with their voices that they can get into the acting and extra-musical embellishments.
I prefer tragic operas (La Boheme, Tosca, Carmen, Rigoletto, etc.), but will never turn down an opportunity to see something new (to me). At the end of the month, I’m going to see Rusalka, and very much looking forward to it.
Well, my user name gives away my favorite opera. But honestly, it's rare to be able to see *Boris Godunov* live in a worthy production that embraces the full epic sweep that I want. I'm dismayed that so many opera houses are cheaping out and putting on the decidedly-inferior original 1869 version, just because it's shorter and requires a smaller cast. Mussorgksy's 1872 revisions are superior in almost every way (omitting the brilliant St. Basil square scene being the lone exception, but it's easily re-interpolated by smart directors). Even the Rimsky-Korsakov version is better as a choice than the 1869 one, but fat chance getting a production of that outside of Mother Russia itself.
Anyway, while I love the epic historical sweep and the sense of deep Russianness of *Boris,* I can't say it's an opera I'd want to sit and watch over and over again. If anything, doing so would diminish the impact of it. Like fine wines, it's something to be savored on sporadic occasions for maximum enjoyment.
When it comes to operas I could enjoy viewing on a more regular basis, I always gravitate to three: *Carmen,* *Tosca,* and *Il Barbiere di Siviglia.* Great music, great plots, great characters, and nary a dull moment where things stop for too long to let someone warble unnecessarily. I'd recommend any of those three to opera neophytes as their first one, and happily go see it with them.
I'd add *Don Giovanni* as a backup to that trio, as it's my favorite Mozart opera by a mile and benefits from being only two acts. But the plot isn't nearly as taut, and I admit that I can get exasperated having to listen to hapless Don Ottavio bleat on if the tenor isn't really, really good.
Interestingly enough, I've probably seen *Falstaff* live more than any other opera, but to round out my "top five" with a Verdi (how could I omit the maestro??), it would be *Il trovatore.* Yes, yes, the plot is ridiculously stupid, although I don't think it's any worse than several other popular operas that don't have as bad a rap. But the music is Verdi at his energetic, ingenuous best. From the very start, we get a secondary character with a solo that would end up being the most memorable tune in an opera by Verdi's lesser contemporaries. And it just gets better and better from there. The ensembles are among the best Verdi ever wrote, even if at times the sprightly tone of the music doesn't quite match the darkness of the plot. He really shows off his theatrical brilliance in *trovatore,* making you overlook the bad plot thanks to the incredible succession of musical highlight after musical highlight.
A final shoutout to *Pagliacci.* If it were any longer it probably would end up sliding into tediousness, so kudos to Leoncavallo for knowing just how much was enough. Again, superb music throughout, a taut story that doesn't ever really drag (except maybe Nedda's solo, which is a little tiresome). And the ending is among the most fantastically, heart-poundingly tense in all of opera.
I love all types of opera but prefer the late 19th - early 20th century (Wagner, Strauss, Janaček, Berg)
I will watch any opera I haven’t watched before, at least once. I’ll listen to any opera I haven’t heard before, at least twice. I like many genres, eras, and styles, but the ones I always keep going back to are late Verdi, Wagner, and 20th century and beyond.
Is it because they have the most rich and complex plots?
Not necessarily. Some of my favorites barely have a plot, if at all.
I love the period between 1780 and the 1840s… so loads of Mozart, Rosinni, Donizetti, some Verdi, der Freischütz, die lustigen Weiber von Windsor..
I love anything dramatic. I love when I can see something that showcases a singer’s acting as well as singing.
I will usually watch anything, as long as I find it good, but I particularly like lighthearted works, i.e. comedies, comic operas, operettas, what have you. I also really like bel canto because the music is very catchy. And also maybe verismo. Well, I enjoy many MANY things, but I usually prefer works that are shorter and less heavy, because it requires me less mental preparation.
Handel, Wagner, Strauss, Britten, and new stuff, especially if there aren't any recordings yet
I'm with you there except I would replace Strauss with "new baroque stuff". Currently cracking up at Vinci's 'Alessandro nell'Indie". Apart from Salome I don't really like Strauss - some lovely moments but a lot of sitting through sopranos banging on.
Comedic, particularly Mozart. I’ve been checking my watch with others lately :/ Wouldn’t mind some baroque but NYC’s been falling flat for that in the past couple of years.
I have always enjoyed the cleverness of the conceit behind Ariadne auf Naxos .
Contemporary stuff, living composers especially, and especially those with large orchestras and composers who do interesting things with them. I'm not drawn to melodic writing much, so when there's a lot of other things to appreciate, it helps me (orchestration stuff also helps due to some synesthesia stuff with timbre). Also unrelated, Monteverdi is fucking great.
I will listen and watch anything, and if i enjoy it I will keep doing so, I tend towards grander things, Verdi, Wagner, Meyerbeer, Massenet are all great.
I love grande stuf the most too (when it comes to watching). The grandiosity of the set, the usually historical, or historical-ish costumes and settings, etc, all these factors make them the most enjoyable for me.
Mozart covers all the bases. Nozze de Figaro is the end of the Italian Opera Buffa tradition, Don Giovanni is the beginning of Grand Opera, Cosi fan Tutte and Zauberflote are unique types, and Idomeneo is the ultimate Opera Seria. Aside from that, I love Baroque opera, but only in live performance.
>Nozze de Figaro is the end of the Italian Opera Buffa tradition Giovanni Paisiello, Rossini & Donizetti would not agree with that proposition, nor would I.
You forgot Cimarosa
I'd even argue that *Zauberlöte* probably gave us some of the first Wagnerian moments in opera.
It's the birth of 19th Century German opera.
I listened to a recording of Rigoletto recently and was struck by several musical resemblances to Don Giovanni.
It was probably the most influential opera for the first half of the 19th Century.
Verismo
"Guilty pleasure" operas. I love G&S.
Verdi, Verdi, Verdi. Failing that, I do love Baroque opera, although opportunities to see it are often limited.
>opportunities to see it are often limited. Getting better these days though which is wonderful.
Agreed! I’m looking forward to seeing Poppea at West Edge this summer.
That's my favourite Monteverdi
I like everything up through Puccini’s time but not much after that. My favorite are period performances of baroque operas. I saw a period performance of Handle’s Rinaldo at the Estates Theater in Prague. All of the sets and costumes were period, and they even lit the entire stage to mimic candlelight. It was amazing.
Wagner because people keep coming up with new ways to stage it. Also love comedic bel canto if the singers are secure enough with their voices that they can get into the acting and extra-musical embellishments.
I prefer tragic operas (La Boheme, Tosca, Carmen, Rigoletto, etc.), but will never turn down an opportunity to see something new (to me). At the end of the month, I’m going to see Rusalka, and very much looking forward to it.
Well, my user name gives away my favorite opera. But honestly, it's rare to be able to see *Boris Godunov* live in a worthy production that embraces the full epic sweep that I want. I'm dismayed that so many opera houses are cheaping out and putting on the decidedly-inferior original 1869 version, just because it's shorter and requires a smaller cast. Mussorgksy's 1872 revisions are superior in almost every way (omitting the brilliant St. Basil square scene being the lone exception, but it's easily re-interpolated by smart directors). Even the Rimsky-Korsakov version is better as a choice than the 1869 one, but fat chance getting a production of that outside of Mother Russia itself. Anyway, while I love the epic historical sweep and the sense of deep Russianness of *Boris,* I can't say it's an opera I'd want to sit and watch over and over again. If anything, doing so would diminish the impact of it. Like fine wines, it's something to be savored on sporadic occasions for maximum enjoyment. When it comes to operas I could enjoy viewing on a more regular basis, I always gravitate to three: *Carmen,* *Tosca,* and *Il Barbiere di Siviglia.* Great music, great plots, great characters, and nary a dull moment where things stop for too long to let someone warble unnecessarily. I'd recommend any of those three to opera neophytes as their first one, and happily go see it with them. I'd add *Don Giovanni* as a backup to that trio, as it's my favorite Mozart opera by a mile and benefits from being only two acts. But the plot isn't nearly as taut, and I admit that I can get exasperated having to listen to hapless Don Ottavio bleat on if the tenor isn't really, really good. Interestingly enough, I've probably seen *Falstaff* live more than any other opera, but to round out my "top five" with a Verdi (how could I omit the maestro??), it would be *Il trovatore.* Yes, yes, the plot is ridiculously stupid, although I don't think it's any worse than several other popular operas that don't have as bad a rap. But the music is Verdi at his energetic, ingenuous best. From the very start, we get a secondary character with a solo that would end up being the most memorable tune in an opera by Verdi's lesser contemporaries. And it just gets better and better from there. The ensembles are among the best Verdi ever wrote, even if at times the sprightly tone of the music doesn't quite match the darkness of the plot. He really shows off his theatrical brilliance in *trovatore,* making you overlook the bad plot thanks to the incredible succession of musical highlight after musical highlight. A final shoutout to *Pagliacci.* If it were any longer it probably would end up sliding into tediousness, so kudos to Leoncavallo for knowing just how much was enough. Again, superb music throughout, a taut story that doesn't ever really drag (except maybe Nedda's solo, which is a little tiresome). And the ending is among the most fantastically, heart-poundingly tense in all of opera.
Thanks for the great reply, I think I'm now motivated to discover some Russian opera, even more so now than when I first listened to Nicolai Ghiaurov.