The email discussion on opera isn't exactly taking off, so I thought I'd try to get us talking about it here.
I suspect part of the reason for the silence is that not many of us in today's world have a relationship with opera at all. Despite isolated new works over the last 50 years, opera, as a living art form, is in trouble. What I would hope is that we could talk about some reasons that might be the case. If you disagree, please weigh in with that opinion, too!
What is it about opera, in general, that works for you?
What doesn't?
Is the problem just a matter of cultural distance, that it is a kind of music too far from current popular culture for most of us to feel connected to it? Is it, in other words, the same set of problems facing classical music in general?
Or is there some other, deeper problem that is particular to opera itself?
Is there some essence to the idea of opera that you think could work if it were just "done properly"? If you were to create an opera of your own, what would you do differently? (Olivia, for one, must have something to say about this...)
Do you know of examples of opera produced, say, in the last 50 years that you regard as being successful as contemporary dramatic works? How about older works that you enjoy hearing or seeing?
If there are operas that you like, is it important to you that you see as well as hear them?
What can we learn from opera about the presentation of a narrative?
5 comments:
This is Alan... Sorry I haven't left a post yet... I have been out of town... In regards to Opera... I actually learned to like Opera during my adolescent years... for some reason - at least for me - it seemed like the natural progression from the rock music that I liked then... I've always loved the virtuousity of guitarists and drummers... so when I first heard Horowitz play Mozarts 23rd Piano (I think that was what it was), it was amazing to hear his fingers flutter over the keyboards. Opera was naturally one of the extension of this discovery. I remember first seeing Pavarotti at the park... even at that time, he had a wonderful quality to his voice... a sweetness... and I was hooked. I loved Opera early on. There was something magical about it... especially in the performance of it... the ritual of going to the Opera House... seeing the crystal chandeliers and the Chagall that is hund on the wall... and then the chimes ringing you to your seats in preparation for the overture. Opera is the ultimate usage of media, with full orchestral pieces accompanying the singers who are acting. There are usually ballet dancers in some of the scenes and the spectacle of set design and lighting. It is all very magical. As for the narrative, it gets right to the point - like when Rudolfo touches Mimi's hand... and in the aria, "Che Gelida Manina," they fall in love (really cutting to the chase)... the story is never really that complex... the better ones with more universal ideas and stories. Boy meets girl, girl upsets boy... boy finds out that he cannot live with girl, and then girl dying of TB... you know, the usual story.... Unfortunately, Opera isn't something that I have been keeping up with in the last five to ten years... Working abroad here and there, Opera was a casualty of moving... But back home again, I'm starting to listen to it again.
I'm glad we have a real opera fan here! Alan, what are your favorite few operas?
I cannot say that I have a favorite Opera in it's entirety... There are bits and pieces that I loved... Cherubino singing "Voi Che Sapete" in Figaro... (I even learned how to sing it, which may be a first for a non-soprano)... Verdi's La Traviata is always good... The main theme and overture in Tanhausser has an amazing way of making me feel uplifted... (strangely very Germanic, which may not necessarily be a good thing?) Obviously La Boheme... I cannot say that I really like the Magic Flute... the story I've always found to be weak, but the performance when watched is like eye-candy (plus the aria from the Queen of the Night, aria from Papageno and the duet with Papageno and Papagena... But like I said, it has been a while since I truly kept up with the Opera world.
I'm a very music-oriented person as well as very much into theatre and acting, so those aspects, along with the emotional elements of opera work for me.
I would say that the only thing about opera that "doesn't work" for me is that I had never really been exposed to it until fairly recently. So it's still relatively new to me, and like a fine wine, I think it'll take a little while for me to fully appreciate it.
As I'd already mentioned in my email to Chris, I have had little or no exposure to opera unfortunately so at this point my contributions to this discussion would be of limited value. In response to Chris's question, I would certainly like to both 'see' and 'hear' opera as I imagine it to be both a performance (actors) as well as a musical (orchestra).
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