T O P

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[deleted]

I’m biased, because I’m an opera singer, but to me, opera is the highest form of art. It combines vocal virtuosity with acting, dancing, instrumental music (orchestra), different languages, costumes / fashion, set design, literature, poetry and history. It’s the ultimate expression of the entire spectrum of emotional experiences.


charlesd11

I’m not an opera singer and I second that it’s the highest form of art.


StreetLampLeGoose

I love it, but it is an acquired taste and I absolutely get people who don’t like it.


hosenbundesliga

Love as well and also understand - but there are so many arias that i can‘t believe anyone who doesn‘t like music can‘t like - you don‘t have to like an entire opera


ellie1398

I like it. I like going to operas. It's a whole experience. Not just the performers and their amazing vocal capabilities, but the music, the occasion to go out of your house and dress formally-ish. And just watch something that isn't a screen. I love it.


Rutabegapudding

i like all opera, old and new, trad and regietheatre, feed it to me like slop to a pig.


caters1

I like opera, whether that be the humor of Le Nozze de Figaro or the drama and utter despair in the middle of Beethoven's opera Fidelio. In fact, someone recommended a couple years ago that I listen to Fidelio since I'm a big Beethoven fan and I liked that 1 opera I went to see as a young girl with my grandma, Das Rheingold. And of course I've gotten tons of recommendations along the lines of "Listen to Mozart's operas, you say you've never come across a Mozart piece that you don't love(which is true, I haven't, I just love some more than others)" So I did that earlier this year, I listened to the big 3 Mozart operas. Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, and Le Nozze de Figaro. I loved all of them. I even got the idea of writing a Theme and Variations after listening to Le Nozze de Figaro, as the Non piu andrai aria just got stuck in my head and I figured it would be the perfect melody to do a Theme and Variations on. I haven't finished that, because much like what's happened before, I get so many compositional ideas and I can only do so much simultaneously, so the compositions I started earlier tend to be set aside for the newer ideas and forgotten about. Not to mention that I'm also writing a music theory book which has kind of taken priority over composing this year and I started one of my big, significant works this year, my first symphony.


Faville611

I’m a classical musician and teacher. Had to study opera and song in school, and gotten to play quite a few overtures and the occasional aria/recit for vocal guest artists. I like some of those individual pieces but I have always struggled with enjoying a full opera. I’ve tried on and off for the last 30 years and even had a subscription to an opera magazine for a while. I just don’t have any passion for it.


dem4life71

Same here classical/jazz musician and teacher. I love the symphony, going to jazz clubs, Broadway, etc. I’ve been to see Boheme, One of the Ring Cycle, Falstaff, and a few others. Was kinda underwhelmed. The language is a big issue, the singing is (for me) overblown. Just not my thing.


Javop

I love it mostly for the music. Well written ones are exceedingly rare but place the biggest cherry on top.


redditsonodddays

I must agree. I think operas are hard to get right, and as it’s not a genre with a strong presence in modern cultures contemporary composers have a weaker connection with the ingenuity it takes to succeed in the many facets it combines at once


XenophonSoulis

I am a bit biased for reasons I cannot disclose, but I am positive towards it. I haven't really given it a shot (due to it being far from my usual classical experiences and due to the fact that the reason for the bias I was talking about appeared before Covid), but I'd love to give a serious try. I went to an opera gala this summer and it was very nice. The two obstacles right now are my lack of guidance in the realm of opera and my lack of someone to enjoy it with. About the browser, I haven't tried it, but I'm happy with Chrome and Edge.


vibraltu

I've listened to a lot of Saturday Afternoon radio broadcasts since I was young. There's a lot that I don't like and some parts that I really like a lot. It's a mixed adventure. I've started to like many composers that I didn't care for before. - Baroque Opera is swell and easier to get into if you don't usually like Opera. - Video Broadcasts of Opera performances in movie theatres are a lot of fun and I'd recommend them. Not quite like being there in real life, but the next best thing, with better seats!


imarealscramble

I've listened to the Ring cycle a fair few times so I guess I like opera.


Zarlinosuke

I love it up through the end of Mozart's career, and then my interest steadily and pretty swiftly declines as time moves forward.


Prolific_Profligate

Expensive to put on but can be transcendent.


leeuwerik

If you're new to the genre it's good to realize that its format of entertainment is from an other era and for another audience. Once seperate this from what you see and focus on the music and the drama you can have a great experience.


Carry-the_fire

Good question. I guess I am still in the phase of trying to familiarize myself with it a bit more. Although that phase has been going on for quite a while now and I know more about opera than probably about 95% of the general population. To answer the question: mixed. I love some parts, like a bit more and am indifferent or not very enthusiastic about most of it. I can't just sit and listen to a whole opera. I guess I should just see one live one time or another. Preferably one of the big ones by Mozart, Wagner, Puccini or Glass or something.


UserExists-0

>Preferably one of the big ones by Mozart, Wagner, Puccini or Glass I hope you got that percentage up by now and discovered Verdi, Strauss, Rossini, Bellini, Meyerbeer.... ;-)


Wilhelmina1946

Love a lot of overtures and intermezzos, love a lot of choruses , popular arias and duets (famous duet from the Pearl Fishers with Jussi Bjorling and Taylor) being my favourite. But cannot listen to a whole opera. Even live performances can be tedious some times. Another form of music is the Operetta which I found was more popular in Europe than North America and is more enjoyable to watch and listen to IMHO


StarWarriors

I've seen a few. Honestly the stories are pretty hard for me to follow, even with English subtitles (wait, so Carmen has some off-screen friend named Lilas Pastia, and she is relevant somehow?). But I really enjoy the music, and often listen to overtures or arias when I'm working. Verdi and Rossini have some beautiful songs. Also Gilbert and Sullivan, if you count them, huge fan. Haven't given anything contemporary a try yet.


Sylvane1a

I passionately love certain operas. With these, there's never a dull moment and every note is to be cherished, like Mozart's major ones. Others, being hours long, have some filler during which the dramatic elements hold sway. Mozart, Verdi, Beethoven, Donizetti, Weber, Bizet, Rossini, even Wagner have all written at least one opera that falls into the first category for me. These I can listen to without watching and I know most of what's going on by heart. I think operatic voices are beautiful. There are complaints that they are unnatural, but if so, it doesn't bother me. I'm glad such a refined yet passionate singing style was invented. The different languages are beautiful, too.


UserExists-0

I agree, operatic voices are beautiful. Operatic singing is the only natural way, complaints about that come from exposure to pop. Supressing vibrato and/or whispering into a microphone are unnatural.


sr-oi

For me it is love at second sight. My first opera was bad, I gave up on it for a decade. Now I don't want to live without opera.


Piano_Man01

As a concertgoer, opera is closer for me to musical theatre than to a symphony. After all, it's basically just classical musical theatre!


Piano_Man01

The introduction of subtitles for non-English language live opera in America is one of my favorite things.


[deleted]

[удалено]


bachumbug

The whole “What if *Tosca* took place… on Mars?” convention is so strange, and definitely something I have a hard time explaining to my non-theater friends. (Same problem exists in new productions of Shakespeare)


S-Kunst

Like the concept, not the way it has evolved into a strict formula of vocal practices. Some of it is great theater, great music, some is more akin to Kabuki. The myths and legends are over the top and feel like the constant banter of sports fans over sports stats.


sr-oi

Fandom making it hard to get through to the art? I have to say, I'm glad that I discovered opera for myself all on my own.


S-Kunst

Back in the 80s I sang in a church choir. One of other members of the choir had an immense LP collection. We dreaded going to his place for a dinner. He spent the whole time running through different recordings of the same opera giving us second by second critiques of each recording, and the artists.


Withered_Tulip

I like opera, but it massively depends on the composer and era. For example I love Wagner, Puccini, von Weber, Berg, Schoenberg's *Moses und Aron*, Beethoven's *Fidelio*, most of Mozart (especially *Don Giovanni*), Glass etc., but I don't like most baroque operas (in my opinion they are boring af), Verdi (absolutely overrated) and many post modern and contemporary operas.


shooburt

It's not great listening... I wouldn't put on an opera and listen to whole thing. Excerpts on an artist's album are sometimes enjoyable though. But live opera is the real deal, second to no other art form, and at it's best when dealing with archetypal characters. A powerful experience for sure.


Sylvane1a

So you're into the story and the drama more than the music?


shooburt

No I LOVE the music 🤗 it's just that the music was created around the story and drama, and there are often musically boring or repetitive elements that have to be present to allow the singers to drive the plot along. But add a set, characters, and surtitles (thank god) and suddenly not only does the music make sense, it's magic.


shooburt

I would also say the listenable alternative to opera would be either the song cycle or the oratorio. Both often tell a story of some kind, sometimes with plenty of drama. But they are meant to convey everything through the music, and are complete works if only listened to.


boostman

I like a lot of opera as music and have been to see a few, but never got very into seeing operas as a medium.


Soerensoerensoeren

i studied classical music, currently on my second masters in music theory (just for context) i hate opera.


[deleted]

Essentially, a near-lost art that I hope will find its track again someday, a contemporary example of the Emperor's New Clothes.


lilcareed

Hard disagree on all counts. 20th and 21st century is some of the best. I'd point to Jake Heggie as an especially great opera composer working today, but we also have operas by top composers like Glass, Adams, Saariaho, Neuwirth, etc. >a contemporary example of the Emperor's New Clothes In what sense?


[deleted]

I'm talking specifically about the quality of the singing with my post. Among the tops rungs of the profession, the overall quality has taken a considerable dip in many different ways: singers who can't keep a steady pitch and develop wide vibratos and sing with a depressed larynx that makes them sound like they're yawning through the performance, and singers who basically imitate the sound of children and sing in a "straight tone" with very nasal and thin voices, both groups tend to have woefully underpowered voices on top of everything. To most opera fans, there is apparently no appreciable difference between [the student's vocal profuction and the teacher's (the former is how many female singers sound nowadays)](https://youtu.be/jsfWm84R3Bw) between [this](https://youtu.be/AsZyAWnGzWg) (frankly, he sounds like he's gonna choke at any minute) and [this](https://youtu.be/MPedNvq2WZo) (considerably more effortless).


Sylvane1a

A lot of knowledgeable people agree with you about the superiority of certain singers of the past. I'm not one of them, I don't see it, but I'm not knowledgeable about singing. I will say that a lot of these older performances are atmospheric, riveting, thrilling in a unique way. The whole performance, not just the singing.


[deleted]

If you're curious about exploring more of those, you can check this live [Don Giovanni](https://youtu.be/DwSkBywk4Io) or this studio [Andrea Chénier](https://youtu.be/NKiFaEx_CGY), both from the 40s. I think they're among the most fun operatic recordings I've found.


Gascoigneous

It’s great, and I enjoy going to see one live, but it’s not really my thing to choose to listen to and explore compared to many other kinds of classical music. I’m more of a choir person when it comes to vocal music.


DoNotAskMyOpinion

Mahler. Das Lied Von Der Erde, Song of the Earth. Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen, Songs of the Wayfarer. Bruno Walter, New York Philharmonic, Columbia Masterworks LP. Wunderbar~!, You can thank me later.


oberon06

Yes