I love opera. I'm sad to say I've only seen two of them live. I've seen The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro performed by the San Francisco opera company. I've seen quite a few opera's on tv because PBS is awesome, and because Bravo and A&E used to be awesome. Gods...remember that? When Bravo and A&E were awesome networks that showed just endless operas, musicals, ballets, and plays. Or the making of certain productions. Anyway... Love opera.

Sometimes it's not that an opera is bad so much as a production of it is bad. Like I've seen a few dozen versions of The Marriage of Figaro and in some cases it feels like that cast has forgotten that it is in a comedy. So much of a production depends on the level of acting combined with singing to make the story stand out. Then again some operas are just sort of boring. Though some of that can also be a lack of knowledge of a viewers part. I've found that because of the language difference, and because some staging can get to be...er... very modern, it can help to do a little research on the story before watching to fully understand what's going on (or what the historical implications of the opera held at the time).

Once when I was in high school I stayed up super late and caught the tail end of an English opera about vampires. I'm not sure if it was a modern Dracula or what.

One of my biggest pet peeves with opera happens a lot with The Magic Flute which is a fun opera for beginners in which the German is replaced with English. It really bugs me when this happens, if only because of the way the words are sung means you end up needing a translation or subtitles anyway, so why even change the language to begin with.

And speaking of love of opera I think my love for it started when I was little and watched this very bizarre stop motion animated orange on Sesame Street sing an aria from Carmen. Also, Placido Flamingo was pretty epic.

I adore quite a few operas, and operatic modes in a more general sense, but I don't want thorough characterization or arch development in my opera. I want fugues. Big goddammed fugues of emotion and sensibility and swells of motion and resonance.

But, then, I think Urinetown is a great musical and millenial Queen Emeraldas four-parter is a crowning achievement in animation.

It does seem to be harder to justify opera as a separate mode, these days, even if you veer to "everything is at the service of the music" as a qualifier, in the same way that verse plays and concept/story albums in character are increasingly just tools in the bag, not bags unto themselves.

I like it and actually took a course on it in College. I got to see Don Giovanni on a simucast type deal and sections of Fedillio and la Traviata.

Last edited by gpink (03-01-2014 01:41:52 PM)

Oh my goodness, the things to say about opera...

Let's start with the goods: Opera is a magnificent medium, with singers that can make you wet yourself with glee, resonate in your soul and bring forth feelings you didn't think you could convey. The sets are usually marvelous, and you truly get what you pay for. Sometimes the directors can make wonderful new tellings of the same old stories, which still impresses me to this day. The casting is usually pretty good, though sometimes chorus members can be... interesting.

Sadly, now, for the bads: I will attempt to convey all that I have seen behind-the-scenes and as a patron.

I have performed for a couple well-known operas in the States, and, for the most part, enjoyed it when a light actually shown on my face. The crew treats the supernumeraries (non-singing actors) like shit; any comments, questions, or concerns will be ignored. The pay is atrocious and, quite frankly, insulting. If you aren't doing things precisely the first time, the director will yell and berate you in their language of choice (I learned very quickly the usefulness of the word 'entschuldigung'). The leads won't even say 'Hello' to you. You are beneath them. A small roach under their grossly overweight figure.

The critics have usually agreed on the greats and the train wrecks in performances. Several I was in got great reviews for the leads, but beat the shit out of the director for lack of true vision, anything intriguing, worthwhile of spectacle, which I do appreciate. It is unfortunate, though, as it then makes a little blotch on your record, should anyone remember it well.

The chorus can be just as bad, sometimes. Their acting skill often rivals that of a inbred goat. Most of them are unhappy to be chorus, but go through the motions all the same. Any stage combat they have is dramatically slowed down, as they can barely keep up. While some of the leads are guilty of this, as well, it's a bit rarer for them.


As far as shows go, there are usually good tracks I nab from some. Most, though, is bleh to me. Especially since I can't remove the poor, poor acting choices of some of the leads that I laugh about to this very day. Stop the Face Petting 2014.

I will hold that my favorite opera is "Faustus" until my brain gives out. I saw it performed in French, and it was truly phenomenal. I also quite enjoyed an English version of "Le Petit Prince," which had some pretty damn good settings and acting.

I don't know how quite to end this rant, so I'll just stop here.

Yeah, plot (and everything else) has to be at the service of the music in opera. Otherwise, it's just a musical or a play with songs.

And, to follow up on the rhetorical 50s question, even in musical theater, yes, there's some grand stuff from the 50s. Guys and Dolls is from the 50s, Candide, The Triumph of St Joan.

Last Saturday (one week ago), I went to a production of HMS Pinafore, because one of my friends was in it. I'd say it qualifies as an opera, even if only narrowly, because it has a ludicrous plot twist that would never be acceptable in any other genre (SPOILER!): [The captain and an ordinary sailor both want to marry outside their class, which is of course not done. They are sad. Then, Little Buttercup reveals that, many years ago, she was a wetnurse to two babies, one high-born and one common, and that she mixed them up, and that the common-born baby grew up to become the captain, and the noble one grew up to become the common sailor. Upon hearing this, the captain and the sailor immediately switch uniforms and assume each other's stations, happy that they may now marry their sweethearts.]

I was not feeling very happy that day, due to some drama of my own making (mostly), and HMS Pinafore cheered me up considerably.

Yesterday on PBS they showed the 2013 Metropolitan Opera's production of Verdi's Falstaff (basically The Merry Wives of Windsor). It was hilarious and a great deal of fun, but also just musically sublime. I really like when comedies are done well. It was set during the 1950's which was an acceptable modern setting, and the costumes and sets where great.