Can I get some entry-level opera recommendations? - L'amour est un Sonichu rebelle

[Andrew Neiman]

I've been introducing myself to opera over the last several months. Here's what I've seen so far. The only one I really didn't like was "Tristan and Isolde."

The Abduction from the Seraglio
The Barber of Seville
Carmen
Cosi fan Tutte
Don Giovanni
Fidelio
Idomeneo
The Magic Flute
The Marriage of Figaro
L'Orfeo
Otello
Rigoletto
Tosca
La Traviata
Tristan and Isolde
Turandot
The Turn of the Screw

Where should I go from here? I'm especially looking for operas with catchy melodies or other features that will make them easier for a philistine such as myself to appreciate. I'd also especially value any recommendations of entry-level Russian opera.

 

[ZombiefiedFerret]

Are you some sort of homosexual?

 

[Andrew Neiman]

Are you some sort of homosexual?

Only for Isabel Leonard as Cherubino.

 

[Shiggy Diggster]

 

[Andrew Neiman]

Can you give me a little bit of an intro to this? What should I be aware of so that I'm prepared to appreciate/understand it properly?

Edit: I have to say, the first 60 seconds is giving me good vibes.

 

[Shiggy Diggster]

Can you give me a little bit of an intro to this? What should I be aware of so that I'm prepared to appreciate/understand it properly?

Edit: I have to say, the first 60 seconds is giving me good vibes.

It's the story of the development of the atomic bomb. Oppenheimer is the central character, balancing the weight of working on a weapon of mass destruction while living with a wife who is an outright communist and probably a spy.

 

[Shiggy Diggster]

If anyone has a source on The Death of Klinghoffer, I'd love to see it.

 

[cuÞbert]

Cavalleria Rusticana, if only for its Intermezzo. Mascagni apparently threw this piece in the trash and was only due to his wife's pleading that it was reimplemented into the opera. Today its his most popular work.

Pagliacci by Leoncavallo. Yes, the funny sad clown opera memed to death. Except if you look at the translated lyrics of Vesti la Giubba and look at the context within the opera, he has a good reason for being so depressed.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Getting turbo cucked by your obnoxious coworker

Bastien and Bastienne. One of Mozarts earliest operas (composed at age 12)

Tannhauser. Its set during my favorite time period (13th century) and the lyrics for the piece Pilgrims Chorus speaks to me.

 

[Golly]

If you enjoyed Tosca and Turnandot, then you're probably good for the rest of Puccini.

La Boheme has 'Quando men vo':

La Rondine has 'Ch'il bel sogno di Doretta':

Gounod is also responsible for memorable arias. Grand opera, so more acts.
Romeo et Juliette has 'Je veux vivre':

Faust has 'The Jewel Song':

 

[Positron]

I've been introducing myself to opera over the last several months. Here's what I've seen so far. The only one I really didn't like was "Tristan and Isolde."

Great. I loathe T&I too.

As for suggestion, I think you may like to have more Baroque operas, such as Handel's Giulio Cesare and Serse. Serse has the ultra-famous "Ombra mai fu" (better known as "Handel's Largo") almost at the beginning and as a whole is wicked fun. But emotionally Giulio Cesare runs deeper, and you need no more evidence than the duet at the end of Act I:

If you don't mind a little fooling around, Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges and L'heure espagnole are both treats, especially the former. Both are very short, with colorful orchestration that will hold your attention:

On short operas, William Walton's The Bear is great fun and is still too poorly known:

As for tragedies, Massenet's Werther is one beautiful song after another (although the story, of course, is as lame as the Goethe novel it based on). Thais has the ultra-famous instrumental interlude "Meditation" but as a whole, both the music and the story is very strong. Same goes for Manon. Although Puccini would later set the same story (as Manon Lescaut), I prefer Massenet: the man had a knack of writing very singable and very listenable tunes.

any recommendations of entry-level Russian opera.

I'd consider any Russian opera mid- to advanced level stuff, with the exception of Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame and Eugene Onegin. Pique Dame is more melodramatic, and Eugene Onegin, on the surface a simple story of doubly-unrequited love, requires a lot of background knowledge on the middle-class culture of 19th century Russia (just as you need to know about the culture of 19th century Viennese middle-to-upper class to appreciate Strauss's Arabella and Capriccio) Try them by all means, but don't be surprised if you find them baffling.

The most European-sounding Russian opera might be Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride. It sounds almost like Verdi.

If anyone has a source on The Death of Klinghoffer, I'd love to see it.

Terrible music and bizarre characterization. Adams and his librettist Alice Goodman tried to "balance both sides" and convince us how both Jews and Palestinians had legit grievances, but ended up pleasing neither. I have the CDs and I've only listened to them once. The opening choruses were turn-off enough. Don't waste your time.

Are you some sort of homosexual?

Worse.

 

[An Sionnach Seang]

Alban Berg, "Wozzeck"
early 20th century Second Viennese School music made accessible with a storyline, and the music makes it all the more vivid
be aware that the ending is very bleak

 

[Bad Gateway]

The virgin opera vs the chad operetta

 

[cuÞbert]

Speaking of Gilbert and Sullivan, I recently discovered Trial by Jury (1875) and I've fallen in love with this song.

Also, Porgy and Bess.

 

[CreamyHerman’s]

I wouldn't consider it a Opera, but here you go:

 

[On a toilet]

Carmina Burana aka the naughty monks opera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEllLECo4OM

The full opera here, but there are multiple better quality versions than this

 

[TheProdigalStunna]

As an opera noob too, you mostly have covered the ones I would already mention. I can understand not getting Tristan Und Isolde, as I didn't really get it my first time either. I definitely think it's a mistake to start with Wagner despite him being so well-known, but if you do want to try him again, start with Tannhauser. The music is absolutely gorgeous and the storyline is a bit more engaging. I do acknowledge Tristan as a masterpiece, and the hour-long duet in Act II is spellbinding if you are prepared, but it's not something I would listen to/watch for fun.

Other ones I'd recommend:
Anything by Puccini if accessibility/catchiness is what you're after
Bellini - Norma
Verdi - Aida (probably his best alongside Otello)
Berlioz - Les Troyens
Gounod - Faust
Henry Purcell - Dido and Aeneas (the aria "When I am Laid In Earth" is one of the most beautiful pieces I've ever heard)
Handel - Rinaldo
Gluck - Orfeo ed Euridice
Smetana - The Bartered Bride
Leonard Bernstein - Candide (an operetta, obviously very accessible. My mom used to play it as a kid.)

The only two Russian operas I've watched were Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky and War and Peace by Prokofiev. Both were pretty accessible, IMO, but the Prokofiev I think would be better. I'd also avoid most modernist opera at this point too.

 

[Henry Bemis]

I'd consider any Russian opera mid- to advanced level stuff, with the exception of Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame and Eugene Onegin. ...Eugene Onegin, on the surface a simple story of doubly-unrequited love, requires a lot of background knowledge on the middle-class culture of 19th century Russia...Try them by all means, but don't be surprised if you find them baffling.

You don't need that much background to find Onegin's Letter Scene stunning, though.

 

[Rap Scallion]

Damnation of Faust by Berlioz, specifically the version that has Nicolai Gedda in the titular role. The last few ending scenes where Mephistopheles whisks Faust off to hell are incredible.

 

[Henry Bemis]

If contemporary opera isn't quite "entry-level," I'll still vouch for most operas with a Royce Vavrek libretto. (Doubly so if Missy Mazzoli is composer.)

 

[L50LasPak]

Following with the Gilbert and Sullivan reccomendations, make sure you check out The Mikado.