I've never been to the opera

[Cycleops]

If you can go and see an Opera I'd urge you to go, for the right opera its an unforgettable experience.

A little while ago when I was living near Stansted airport they were offering very cheap flights to Latvia, I booked a flight to Riga. They have a state Opera company which is subsidised. I saw Verdi's Nabucco and a couple of others for £5 a seat(in a box)! It was almost an out of body experience, just fantastic. Its nothing like watching on the telly. I think Italian operas are more interesting, German and Russian tend to be a bit heavier although everyone loves 'Ride of the Valkyrie's' from Mozart.

View: https://youtu.be/2F4G5H_TTvU

If you think it might be too much start off with some operetta like G&S, the nautical ones are very enjoyable.

 

[srw]

Although a long-time "classical" fan, only recently started going to opera proper, usually at the ENO in london(we're from out of town so make a weekend of it). I like the modern accessible stuff - Philip Glass: Ahknaten, and Satyagraha, ditto Adams "Death of klinghoffer" and "Gospel According to the other mary", Offenbach "Tales of Hoffman". also like the early stuff eg Montiverdi. I'd not care to sit through the overblown Wagner or Italia opera to be honest.

For the "novice" - can't go wrong with Mozart, early music like Montiverdi or Purcell, or Carmen or Offenbach.

Great dvd version of Powell & Pressburger's movie of Tales of Hofman with Robert Helpman as the villain - some of us will have been terrified by him as the Child Catcher in chitty chitty bang bang. Another good dvd is of Rameau's Indes Gallantes - the William Christie / Artes Floresstan version - and if you do get this watch it to the very end for the post credit bit.

Worth a few Dvds to check it's your thing

Crikey. That's a whole new definition of "accessible". My tastes are very similar - Carmen is the only 19th century opera I've ever been to see - but I'd be the first to acknowledge that they run to the obscure.

 

[Electric_Andy]

What did you see?

I can't remember It was in 2004

 

[Profpointy]

Crikey. That's a whole new definition of "accessible". My tastes are very similar - Carmen is the only 19th century opera I've ever been to see - but I'd be the first to acknowledge that they run to the obscure.

They are musically accessible, tunefull if you like, albeit less well known maybe. Wagner or even the Italian bel canto stuff is less accessible and more of an acquired taste arguably. It's also a list of stuff I happen to have seen.

Echo what someobe upthread said G&S well done is better musically than a lot of "serious" music - Mikado, Pirates, Pinafore and Yoemen of the Guard are all superb. Add a dose of clever lyrics and biting satire just as valid today, and they deserve their enduring popularity

 

[Milkfloat]

What did you see?

For me it was Mozart's “Marriage of Figaro" at the Lyric. I had a bit of a numb bum by the end.

 

[DaveReading]

I've been to a few opera-cum-picnic-on-the lawn affairs (not Glyndebourne, I hasten to add), including one Butterfly where the principal ended up looking like a drowned rat, it was so wet.

Only other time was when we were in Sydney and we got a couple of cheap seats (well standing, actually) for Pearl Fishers at the Opera House, which was a great experience.

 

[Mugshot]

Thank you for all the replies so far. I appreciate that there's no substitute for seeing something live, but is there NO substitute. I don't really want to watch one on the tele and thought a cinema screen would be at least more immersive and offer a resonable alternative. Travelling to London for a show would be really difficult, it's a 4.5 - 5hr drive for me and making a weekend of it is not really an option as I work 7 days a week. Cardiff or Swansea would be doable.

 

[MontyVeda]

That's the idea really, give it a go and see if it grabs me.


Yes I'd read that Carmen was a good one to get going with, the problem is I'm limited to what they're showing and it aint a lot, HERE's the list for the next 6 months.

Madam Butterfly I reckon... although The Nutcracker could be good, just for the score alone.

 

[swee'pea99]

I got invited to the Opera in Chicago last year and almost enjoyed it.

Wow - the critics rave!

 

[srw]

They are musically accessible, tunefull if you like, albeit less well known maybe. Wagner or even the Italian bel canto stuff is less accessible and more of an acquired taste arguably. It's also a list of stuff I happen to have seen.

I saw Klinghoffer at ENO and loved it. But tuneful it is not. Verdi, for all his many faults, could write a more hummable tune than Monteverdi - Poppea is a great opera but you have to wait for 3 hours for the first thing that most people would recognise as a tune. It's a glorious tune, and one of my favourites - even if the pedant in the room would want me to acknoweldge that it's quite possibly not by Monteverdi.

 

[Profpointy]

I saw Klinghoffer at ENO and loved it. But tuneful it is not. Verdi, for all his many faults, could write a more hummable tune than Monteverdi - Poppea is a great opera but you have to wait for 3 hours for the first thing that most people would recognise as a tune. It's a glorious tune, and one of my favourites - even if the pedant in the room would want me to acknoweldge that it's quite possibly not by Monteverdi.

Was it the Barbican Poppea you saw? We seem to be going to all the same gigs.

Verdi does do a good tune, I'll give you that. The 'Otelo' film is pretty good and I'd not then seen the play.

 

[srw]

Was it the Barbican Poppea you saw? We seem to be going to all the same gigs.

Verdi does do a good tune, I'll give you that. The 'Otelo' film is pretty good and I'd not then seen the play.

No - Danielle de Niese at Glyndebourne. Don't tell @DaveReading, but we're members, having fallen in love with the place when we were taken for Mrs W's 40th birthday a number (ahem) of years ago. We now go three or four times a year.

Unlike other, inferior, summer opera seasons, it has a perfect opera house, books internationally great singers and almost always fantastic productions. And because there's a roof, no-one gets wet when it rains.

 

[srw]

Some of the purists will wrinkle their nose at the suggestion but it's worth taking a trip to whatever Raymond Gubbay has on. There's normally one big opera production at the Albert Hall each year, as well as some regional productions. They're very accessible - and not too spendy.

Just to keep you and @jonesy happy...

HARRUMPH.

Everything I've ever heard about them suggests you'll be better off staying at home with a DVD - lousy acoustic, mediocre singers, canned orchestra, show emphasised at the expense of subtlety.

 

[srw]

Thank you for all the replies so far. I appreciate that there's no substitute for seeing something live, but is there NO substitute. I don't really want to watch one on the tele and thought a cinema screen would be at least more immersive and offer a resonable alternative. Travelling to London for a show would be really difficult, it's a 4.5 - 5hr drive for me and making a weekend of it is not really an option as I work 7 days a week. Cardiff or Swansea would be doable.

We saw an "as live" production of Pirates of Penzance from ENO in a local cinema. Sound quality was excellent, production for video not at all intrusive, and overall the experience was several notches above sitting at home watching the telly or a DVD. I'd certainly be happy to pay decent money to do it again, and recommend the experience as an introduction to opera.

Of the ones listed, I might suggest La Traviata rather than Madama Butterfly, because it's a less artificial story and, to me at least, better music. (This site: http://www.theopera101.com/operas/traviata/ looks like something to explore). If you enjoy that, Otello at the end of the season (Shakespeare's Othello) will be good - starring Jonas Kaufmann (king of the tenors) and conducted by Antonio Pappano (Royal Opera House and a very intelligent conductor).

All of the shows will be very professionally staged - the Met in New York is the most famous, and one of the most traditional places in the world for opera. You could also do worse than switch on Radio 3 on a Saturday evening, where they always broadcast a whole opera live or as live.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

First opera I ever saw (maybe fifteen years ago) was Rigoletto. It was fantastic, way better than I'd expected, to the point I had to stop myself from shouting out warnings to Rigoletto! That had me converted and I've seen a few more since and enjoyed them all. The location helps though, so if you're ever in Verona and can spare a summer's evening, get yourself along to L'Arena for a real treat.