Monday, October 17, 2011

First opera for those looking to be initiated

Those who are new to the art form of opera might want to take a look at this so as to get initiated with a good introduction. So, what is a good first opera? There are many opinions on this matter. I would say that a good first opera should be three hours or less for the most part. There should be a lot of action which is quick moving, and memorable. There should be beautiful arias. That is a must, because that is what people who are new to opera are going to expect to be hearing. Chances are that newbies are going to be more familiar with sopranos and tenors then the lower voices. Before I was familiar with opera, that was the case for me. The story needs to be easy to follow. It does not necessarily need to be happy per say. How many operas have happy endings anyway? Most of the time someone freaking dies at the end. That is the nature of the beast. I will name a few operas that could be a good starting place. It may result in a new hobby. Who knows, right? Carmen is certainly a good one. The overture is from the TV show "The Bad News Bears.". Also, the Toreador song is so famous, that people will probably recognize it. The arias and ensembles are easy to listen to, and the action keeps moving and is easy to follow. La Boheme and Tosca are two other good starting points. La Boheme features great arias, duets and ensembles, it is easy to follow, and the music has an awesome simplistic beauty to it. The ending is heartbreakingly sad though. A good introductory opera none the less. Tosca has famous tenor arias which are well known. Tosca has a dark plot with murder and suicide. The music is sublimely beautiful, and this opera is one of the most popular of all time. For children I would recommend the Magic Flute or Hansel and Gretel. In my personal experience of doing both these operas for children, the children responded more to Magic Flute. Both of these are good for adults too. Rigoletto and La Traviata are the final two I will recommend. I am recommending these two simply because they are so famous. Both are relatively short and easy to listen to. The tenor in Rigoletto sings the aria "La Donna e mobile", which is a very famous aria. I used to sing it myself aloof with Pavarotti when I was a little kid. For those new to opera, I hope you got something out of this posting. Remember, opera is a play set to music. Singing is a supported form of talking. Also, do not be intimidated by the foreign languages. Think of it as a foreign film with subtitles. The subtitles are right in the theatre. At the Metropolitan Opera House they are right in front of your seat. If you see an opera at the Met, check out those chandeliers. They are pretty cool looking. They go up to the ceiling right before the conductor comes out and takes a bow.

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