What are some good/your favorite operas? ?

Question

I'm turning into a fan of them, but I've only been exposed to a few.
Strauss II's "Die Fledermaus"
Weber's "Der Freischutz" (My favorite German one so far)
Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen"
Puccini's "Tosca" (my second favorite to-date)
Bizet's "Carmen" (also good)
Glinka's "Ruslan i Lyudmilla" (my favorite opera)
Donizett's "Lucia di Lammermoor"
Rossini's "The Barber of Seville (overrated)
Rossini's "William Tell" (also overrated)
Igor Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress"

And that's all. I know, that's probably a decently-long list, but does anyone have any recommendations for me?

Answer 1

I just went to a performance of Puccini's Turandot last night. The singer playing Liu made me cry so badly.



Anyway, here are my favourites:



Mozart: Marriage of Figaro (still my all-time favourite), Don Giovanni

Strauss II: Die Fledermaus

Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier

Verdi: Otello, Rigoletto, La Traviata

Puccini: Tosca, La Boheme, Turandot

Donizetti: Don Pasquale, La Fille du Regimente (spelling?)

Bellini: La Sonnambula, Norma

Rossini: The Barber of Seville

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin

Humperdinck: Hansel und Gretel

Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann



I would love to be exposed to more Russian operas...especially Glinka and Shostakovich's operas.

Answer 2

A lot depends on the performance...Hmmm - the Barber of Seville overated??? Well, o.k. Thats not good - that is one of the best operas buffa written.

The best opera is Don Giovanni - possibly the greatest opera ever written. But Mozart's operas are all wonderful. Cosi fan Tutte and the Marriage of Figaro are right up there with DG.

I like Puccini esp. Tosca and La Boheme.

Answer 3

Georges Bizet - Carmen

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Le Nozze de Figaro, Die Zauberflote

Engelbert Humperdinck - Hansel und Gretel

Answer 4

Please listen to Gounod's Faust, lyrical, hypnotic, great trios, perfect arias and sublime and stirring choral work. Faust played for something like 40 years, every season at London's Covent Garden.



Look for a Faust recording with Baritone Samuel Rammey, the coolest and sexiest Mephistopheles (Satan) ever. I was lucky enough to see him in person in this role at the Met, great!



Mozart's Don Giovanni, Beethoven called it the best opera ever written!



Beethoven's Fidelio, passionate, soulful and so moving!



And of course an old standby that has stood the test of time, Bizet's Carmen, also Bizet's The Pearl Fishers



Enjoy!

Answer 5

Puccini: "La Boheme" and "Madame Butterfly".



Richard Strauss: "Salome" and "Der Rosenkavalier".



(No Verdi-?): "Aida", "Rigoletto", "Otello", "La Traviata".



Wagner:(you like the Ring, but no others? Strange - it's usually the other way around).



"Tristan und Isolde"(an absolute must).

"Tannhauser"

"Lohengrin"

"Die Meistersinger"



Britten: "Peter Grimes".



With all of the other listings of your responders, you're going to be busy for a while.



Enjoy,



Alberich

Answer 6

If you like Baroque music, then you might like to listen to these two operas by Claudio Monteverdi:



"L'Orfeo" (1607)

"L'incoronazione di Poppea" (1642)



Both are exquisite (subjective opinion, of course!) and both are fine examples of early opera.





Hafwen x

Answer 7

Bellini's "Norma" is my all-time favorite - the music is exquisite.



The Magic Flute (Mozart) is a close second.