Opera

[The Prince]

I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on what the best Opera would be for first time patrons. I am arranging a trip at work, and I'm not sure. I would appreciate any thoughts on the subject. Thank you. Some of us have been to the Opera before, but many have not and I want them to enjoy it. Thanks.

[~Leslie]

Hi Prince, Did u name yr self as the artist formerly known as the artist? Just curious. <P>Operas, accessible. Hmm. Well LvB only wrote one, about conjugal love, with feminist overtones, and extra overtures.<P>Carmen by Bizet has got some catchy recognizable melodies, such as the Toreador<BR>tune. She was a spoiled little hussy who worked <BR>in a cigarette factory. <P>Figaro, is a classy opera. It is a story <BR>of a feudal class war, with a romantic story<BR>line, and a Duke who simply didn't know<BR>his place. The overture is instantly recognizable, and the melody Non pui andrai<BR>is just lovely. <P>If you like Halloween themes, Don Giovanni's<BR>got it all, with a nasty ghoulish ghost<BR>on par with anything Shakesbeard could conjure. And a guy who couldn't get enough of sampling<BR>all the pretty maids, and then leaving them all <BR>in the lurch. <P>Jmho,<BR>~Les<BR>

[Emster]

Carmen or Don Giovanni (very funny, but a little scary in the cemetary) would be great. I think that a Wagner opera might be a little too heavy for first-timers. Rigoletto was my first opera and remains my favorite. Another Verdi, Aida, is also really great. Avoid Puccinni -- they are lacking in the humor department, which is always nice. Let us know what you choose.

[barfle]

Operas for first timers, huh? Well, my first opera was Mazeppa by Tchaikovsky. Probably not a good show to start on, but it was my only chance to attend the Maryinski theater in Leningrad. One thing I've discovered about opera is that most of the stories are about someone who gets head over heels in love at first sight, and leaves considerable destruction in his wake (Turandot: If ever there were shallow people, you'll find them in the lead characters, but it does have some nice arias.). The stories aren't great drama, so you usually don't go for the story. You go for the way the story is told. In that sense, opera is much like porn.<P>OK, the question asked was "which opera for beginners?" Based on both the story and the music, I will nominate "Prince Igor" by Borodin. Even the uninitiated will recognize the Polovetsian Dances (but not by that name, think "Stranger in Paradise") and it actuall has a story that's worth following. Just make sure the theater has supertitles, or they'll miss the story.

[Peter]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by The Prince:<BR><B>I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on what the best Opera would be for first time patrons. I am arranging a trip at work, and I'm not sure. I would appreciate any thoughts on the subject. Thank you. Some of us have been to the Opera before, but many have not and I want them to enjoy it. Thanks.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Candide! It`ll knock their socks off!!

[shostakovich]

Lots of good suggestions here. I'm stuck on Carmen as the opera to try first. It's got the highest percentage of good tunes. It has spawned many derivatives: Carmen fantasies by Waxman and Sarasate, several suites, orchestral versions, a ballet by Shchedrin. There must be more. <P>I was really pleased to see Prince Igor turn up. Sure enough, the overture, march, and dances are winners, but I think a live performance in this country is a rarity. Good luck finding one. <P>The opera is based on a 12th century poem written by a warrior who actually witnessed the battle that took place in 1185. It seems that Prince Igor of Novgorod-Seversk and Putivl, along with his princely brother, "Wild Bull" Vsevelod of Kursk decided to have battle with some Polovtsians in the region of the Don River. As the old Russian Chronicle explains it, they lost because they were fighting for personal glory as opposed to crusading for the church. <P>For centuries nomadic horse warriors from Asia had occupied the area above the Black Sea. The Polovtsians pushed out their predecessors, the Pechenegs, who had been weakened by battle with Sviatoslav, an earlier Russian warrior prince. He is mentioned in the poem. These people were real, including khans Gzak and Konchak. <P>Borodin picked and chose portions of the poem to emphasize, and others to diminish. Gzak is only mentioned in the opera. The love between Igor's son and Konchak's daughter is built up. <BR>The original epic poem has more than one translation into English. One of the translations is by a scientific writer using the pen name Sirin. Yet if anyone outside of Russia knows of him it's for his Lolita. Who izzit? Vladimir Nabokov.<BR>