[woodsyi]

I grew up with operatic music and have stayed with it all my life.  I love the genre.  As an art-form, it really brings so much together in a production.  Late Renaissance Italy is where Opera as we know it started.  From the "gentle" beginning in Baroque Monteverdi to over the top Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk (total work), operatic music, to me, is a  celebration of human spirit and voice.  As Beethoven incorporated human voice as an ultimate expression of human passions in his 9th Symphony; I, as a throwback Romantic in this post modern age, am totally hooked on vocal music.  Opera, to me, is the perfect genre in which I can resonate and emote with the composers in experiencing the often poignant and powerful human emotions.  I really do seek transcendence through music and I get it from Opera.

I am looking for others who might feel the same way as I do about Opera.  We will compare notes on productions, recordings and videos.  It may be an anecdotal experience of an aria or a total immersion in a complete opera.  We will talk about music and staging.  Is music from Opera Operatic without the theatrics?  For example, can someone who has never seen the Opera "get" it if only the music was heard?  etc. etc.  There is much I don't know and I want to learn from you and with you.  I also want to share what little I do know with you.

I welcome those who are just beginning to get interested in Opera.  I want to share with you what I feel about Opera and get you excited about it as much as I do.  And I challenge the indifferent to give Opera a try the proper way by going to see one live (at the least a video).  Then come back and talk about it here.

Then, of course, there is the never ending debates over vocal qualities of the past and present singers.  It's perfectly fine to express preferences (I have them too) -- just don't expect others to always agree with you.  This is much like the cable debates.

Andiamo! (let's go)

[thunderbrick]

OK, here's a question for the Opera Circle.............

Can discussions involve operettas, Gilbert & Sullivan, for example?  How about arias not necessarily tied to an opera?  I can think of several works (Pie Jesu, and various choral works) that may in fact, be from operas but my operatic background isn't deep enough to know the source.

Or do the opera experts just yell "PULL" and blast my clay questions out of the sky?
 
 

[woodsyi]

Operetta is a short opera.  I love them.  I couldn't do without Merry Widow on New Year's Eve.  I welcome them here.

I also welcome music from Gilbert and Sullivan, Kurt Weil, and Gershwin.  Good stuff there but I am not sure Erik Satie's Socrate could be considered as anything operatic.  We can discuss this if you feel otherwise.

As for the other stuff, I am negotiating for those to be covered here. 
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=68422.new#new

[geezer]

OK, here's a question for the Opera Circle.............

Can discussions involve operettas, Gilbert & Sullivan, for example?  How about arias not necessarily tied to an opera?  I can think of several works (Pie Jesu, and various choral works) that may in fact, be from operas but my operatic background isn't deep enough to know the source.

Or do the opera experts just yell "PULL" and blast my clay questions out of the sky?
 
 

It's always hard to decide questions like this if a line needs to be drawn. I can tell you the limits of my interest: 'Grand opera', of course; 'comic opera', surely. Then you get into genres that are not well defined, and that merge into each other: light opera, Broadway musicals, etc., where my interest flags a bit.

On the other hand, consider 'Fiddler on the Roof.' It was born as a Broadway musical, but if someone wanted to classify it as opera, I'd be hard put to construct a convincing opposing argument.

Gilbert and Sullivan's works are, in my view, above musicals, and into (or near) the comic opera category. But they are unique in a way that the typical opera is not, and therefore difficult to categorize. I don't think it's possible to translate them into other languages without doing them serious injury, because the humor is the essence, and is so  interwoven with the complex idiosyncracies of the English language. (Thus, the DVDs I've seen don't have subtitles.)

I don't know how others feel, but I love the G&S works, and I think they should be fair game here.

[lonewolfny42]

        "'O sole mio"


        Che bella cosa e' na giornata 'e sole
        n'aria serena doppo na tempesta!
        Pe' ll'aria fresca pare gi? na festa
        Che bella cosa e' na giornata 'e sole

        Ma n'atu sole,
        cchi? bello, oje ne'
        'O sole mio
        sta 'nfronte a te!
        'O sole, 'o sole mio
        sta 'nfronte a te!
        sta 'nfronte a te!

        Quanno fa notte e 'o sole se ne scenne,
        me vene quase 'na malincunia;
        sotto 'a fenesta toia restarria
        quanno fa notte e 'o sole se ne scenne.

        Ma n'atu sole,
        cchi? bello, oje ne'
        'O sole mio
        sta 'nfronte a te!
        'O sole, 'o sole mio
        sta 'nfronte a te!
        sta 'nfronte a te!

Good luck with the new circle Rim....

[bunky]

I think the AC Opera House is a fine addition to the Audiocircle.i dont own any opera recordings but i have listened to it several times at Woodsyi's house and I thought it was pretty interesting.Cheers!....WCW III

[goldlizsts]

Hi,

Suddenly I thought of this proposed Opera Circle from months back.  I remember I kicked in a couple of postings.  So I thought, what happened?  How come I never came across any postings after I last read of the voting, etc......  So, postings in here don't show up under A/C listings?  I usually just access www.audiocircle.com.  So..... that's why I never saw any recent threads, etc.....?   May be it's accessible under Circles?

As with others, I like vocal music in general, but have stayed pretty much aloof of opera for a while because my local opera friends have abandoned me (moved away, etc....).  I'd still like to read opera/vocal postings, and occasionally post, as I initially indicated.  What's the thread/link?

[woodsyi]

You should be able to see it under circles.  You could also add it to your favorite.  Here is a link to the AC Opera House  if you can't see it otherwise.  Post away, man.   

[Levi]

Congrats on the new circle!

Watching a good opera is something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. Living in New York surely is a treat for Opera afficionados! 

--Levi

[shandy]

I have just found this wonderful forum and was even more excited when I saw this sub forum! I have loved Opera since a child and in particular Wagner!

I am though, very un-educated about Opera. I have just chosen music which stirs my soul rather than through knowledge. Wagner really strikes a note with me but I do listen to other composers as well.

I have two complete ring cycles lossless on my portable system at the moment (source,iPod classic/Algorythm solo.Amp, Meier Corda stepdance with external 15v battery supply and a choice of Etymotic ER4S's or my lovely Audeze LCD2's, the last of the 1st edition ones). The '67 Karl Bohm Bayreuther and the Met James Lavine as well as all the other Wagner Opera's!

I am very much looking forward to being educated on Opera here.
All the best.
Ian

[woodsyi]

Welcome to AC and the Opera House, Ian.  Music and Opera in particular is all about moving your soul.  Tell us about the '67 Bohm cycle.