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Opera for Dummies

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thunderbrick

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Opera for Dummies
« on: 7 Mar 2010, 03:48 am »
OK, I have never been to an opera, but it is on my "bucket list" for one day.

I know that many people just don't "get" opera, but from time to time I stumble on one piece (an aria? damned if I know!) that burns into my memory, Nessun Dorma being at the top of the list.   :drool:

Now to my point..............a while back I found a double CD called "The Best Opera Album in the World...Ever!" that lives up to its billing. It's on the Virgin Records label, and compiled by Circa Records, has 38 cuts, and the recording and performance quality is very good on the great majority of the songs.  Orchestras are discreetly in the background, some halls are very reverberant and deep.  The singers don't seem to be just trying to show off, and the choruses are beautifully recorded, well behind the soloists.  Wide soundstage, you name it.  I've been listening to it for the last few days on my Maggies and it is a great combo.  Disc #1 is the better of the two, but the voices are great.

Highly recommended!      :thumb:
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no1maestro

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Re: Opera for Dummies
« Reply #1 on: 10 Mar 2010, 03:25 am »
Congratulations; you have probably listened to more opera than most folks with the exception of those of us who got hooked in our early life. You are starting out in a good way. Opera is an acquired taste and isn't for everyone. I know folks out there who have never enjoyed stage plays and probably never will. Enjoyment comes in little steps and you have takes several. In my case, it started out with an eighth grade music teacher assigning me to read about the Ring Cycle and it has been a study of mine ever since. Puccini is a great place to start with interesting stories and great melodies such as Nessun Dorma as you have discovered. It is a matter of taste so don't be surprised if you love one and hate another. I could never walk out of a Puccini opera and couldn't sit through a Handel opera. Keep on it!
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woodsyi

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Re: Opera for Dummies
« Reply #2 on: 10 Mar 2010, 02:20 pm »
I probably have that CD -- I got a shelf load of the best of one thing or another CDs.  These are great when you just want to listen to familiar songs, especially when you are doing mindless chores and can really sing along.

Now, if you want to get the drama then you listen to the whole music, but Opera is not just singing.  You have to see the acting and the staging.  I recommend this La Boheme in Blu-ray.  It's beautiful and you will recognize many arias.  It's a movie and not just a stage production which means the singing is perfect and they can add interpretive elements for you to enjoy.  It's well done and the singing is great.  :thumb:
Anna doesn't look bad either. :wink:
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Rob Babcock

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Re: Opera for Dummies
« Reply #3 on: 27 Mar 2010, 10:27 am »
Well, duh! :lol:  If you're getting a video, then you gotta have one with Ms. Netrebko!  But gorgeous as she is, her voice is at least as beautiful.
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Audiovista

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Re: Opera for Dummies
« Reply #4 on: 27 Mar 2010, 01:39 pm »
Quote from: woodsyi on 10 Mar 2010, 02:20 pm

Now, if you want to get the drama then you listen to the whole music, but Opera is not just singing.  You have to see the acting and the staging.  I recommend this La Boheme in Blu-ray.  It's beautiful and you will recognize many arias.  It's a movie and not just a stage production which means the singing is perfect and they can add interpretive elements for you to enjoy.  It's well done and the singing is great.  :thumb:
Anna doesn't look bad either. :wink:

Another great opera DVD by the same singers.

http://www.amazon.com/Verdi-Traviata-Anna-Netrebko/dp/B000F3TAOE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1269696851&sr=1-2

And I just ordered LaBoheme :)
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roymail

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Re: Opera for Dummies
« Reply #5 on: 15 Jun 2010, 04:55 am »
I'm not an opera buff, but I do enjoy this cd by tenor Richard Leech singing Italian arias from Puccini and others.  Great tenor, and great recording on Telarc.

http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Italian-Arias-Neapolitan-Songs/dp/B000003D1Z/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1276577367&sr=1-1



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goldlizsts

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Re: Opera for Dummies
« Reply #6 on: 15 Jun 2010, 02:10 pm »
Quote from: Rob Babcock on 27 Mar 2010, 10:27 am
Well, duh! :lol:  If you're getting a video, then you gotta have one with Ms. Netrebko!  But gorgeous as she is, her voice is at least as beautiful.

That's the selling point of Ms. Netrebko.  I should say 1 of the selling points, as she also has a voice to go with the body, not an everyday thing in opera.  Think Nilsson when it comes to sopranos who are/were the trump cards of the major opera venues.  To be able to carry the voice in such voice-murdering houses like the Met (5,000 seats?), you'd have to have the stamina to do it.  To have the stamina and the voice, you'd have to have body mass most of the time, IMO, so you can cut through the oftentimes drowning sound of the orchestra.  Nebtrebko is a rarity, with body, face, and voice. :eyebrows:  One must say that in recent years those female opera singers are sexier than ever.
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