Favorite Opera??

Question

I love Le Nozze Di Figaro, Faust and Carmen.

Any suggestions with operas to look into? I'm kind of new with all of this, and I've only listened to a few. But I love it.

Favorite pieces? Favorite singers?

Thanks to all who answer! :)

Answer 1

I dig Carmen a lot.

Habanera is my favorite song.

Answer 2

Carmen in Seville

Answer 3

The Magic Flute = RAWK! Try to catch it with Diana Damrau as the Queen of the Night... she plays the character to the fullest, not only singing the part but acting it too.

My favorite aria ever is Der Holle Rache, from The Magic Flute... I know, how cliche... but how can you help it? That F6 is so *thrilling*!

Favorite to sing is Venite Inginocchiatevi from Figaro, because I'm just starting to learn to sing opera and it's the easiest one for me.

Favorite female singer is Cecilia Bartoli, a rockin-cockin coloratura mezzo.

Favorite male singer is this guy: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fus...

But you'll never hear him in anything. He's an ex of mine who is the most amazing tenor and falsettist anyone has ever heard, hands down. Feel free to message him and demand that he start recording again.

Answer 4

Try Rossini (La Cenerentola, Barber of Seville, William Tell, etc), Donezetti (Lucia de Lammemoor, L'Elisir D'amour, etc.) and Verdi (Il Travatore, Aida, Don Carlo, La Traviata, Otello, etc) especially if you are new to this. Later go on to Wagner and Richard Strauss. And you are right - Le Nozze de Figaro is a wonder. So is Cosi fan Tutti. Hey, and don't forget Puccini. Madam Butterfly's final aria will tear your heart out, and one of my favorites, O Mio Bambino Caro, is from his Gianni Schicchi, but that particular opera as a whole is way less than great.

As for the latest tenors - surprising powerhouse Rolando Vilazon from Mexico, and the exquisite Juan Diego Florez from Peru. Sopranos: I am not too up on the younger ones, but Edita Guberova is still going strong and so is Dolores Zajick (mezzo). Oh yes, how could I forget the glorious Anna Netrebko. In fact, you can find her on CDs with Vilazon. Quite the pair.

Opera is such a delightful feast, isn't it.

Answer 5

"Carmen," especially when the title role is performed by Risë Stevens. There's so many great operas:

- "Cavalleria Rusticana" is one of my favorites too.

- "La bohème" (Puccini)

- "Madama Butterfly"

- "Faust"

- "Rigoletto"

- "Il trovatore"

- "Tosca"

- "Eugene Onegin"

- "Boris Godounoff"

- "Don Giovanni"

- "La Juive" and many more.

Favorite singers include:

- Risë Stevens

- Jan Peerce

- Robert Merrill

- Richard Tucker

- Licia Albanese

- Ezio Pinza

- Grace Moore

- Richard Crooks

- Roberta Peters

- Anna Moffo

- Beniamino Gigli

- Tito Schipa

- James Melton

Answer 6

I LOVE Le Nozze di Figaro. It's still my favourite opera after watching many different ones.

Try these:

Die Fledermaus - Strauss

Cosi Fan Tutti - Mozart

Don Giovanni - Mozart

The Magic Flute - Mozart

Il Barbiere di Siviglia - Rossini (it's sort of like a 'prequel' to Le Nozze di Figaro, even though it was written later)

Hansel und Gretel - Humperdinck

Rigoletto - Verdi

Madama Butterfly - Puccini

Tosca - Puccini

La Sonnambula - Bellini

La Traviata - Verdi

Otello - Verdi

Der Rosenkavalier - Strauss

I've a lot of favourite arias from operas (too many to be listed here), the top ones being all the arias (duets, trios, everything) from Le Nozze di Figaro. For the rest, most of them are from these operas that I've listed. I also love 'O mio babbino caro' as a stand-alone aria, but am not too fond of the opera itself.

My favourite singers:

Kiri Te Kanawa

Edita Gruberova

Mirella Freni

Maria Callas

Renee Fleming

Frederica von Stade

Cecilia Bartoli

Anne Sofie von Otter

Kathleen Ferrier

Marian Anderson (these 2 were contraltos, so there's not much repertoire written for them in operas)

Luciano Pavarotti

Placido Domingo

Jose Carreras

Hermann Prey

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

Vladimir Chernov

Nicolai Ghiaurov

Answer 7

If you're just starting, check out (ideally live or on DVD) these most frequently performed operas (in North America):

1. Madama Butterfly

2. La bohème

3. La traviata

4. Carmen

5. The Barber of Seville

6. The Marriage of Figaro

7. Don Giovanni

8. Tosca

9. Rigoletto

10. The Magic Flute

11. La Cenerentola

12. Turandot

13. Lucia di Lammermoor

14. Pagliacci

15. Cosî fan tutte

16. Aida

17. Il trovatore

18. Faust

19. Die Fledermaus

20. The Elixir of Love

Personally, one of my favorites is JENUFA.

If you're short on cash, go check out the Met Broadcasts on the radio or at a local movie theater.

EDIT: And if you ever see Netrebko in the street, run the other way... :)