The Top 55 Most Performed Operas

[springrite]

If this is any consolation, the number of performances is no indicator of quality.

For me, for the most part, the popularity ranking is within reasonable range. We can all state our own personal preferences, but the popularity ranking is not about any one person's personal taste, and one needs to take into account casting, cost of production, etc. Once a production is made, it is less costly to repeat it later.

[zamyrabyrd]

If this is any consolation, the number of performances is no indicator of quality.

I could not agree more. Also to add, lavishness of a production, gimmckry (various stages of undress, kinkiness), the pomp and circumstance of going to view "opera" as a cultural fix, the problem of language--the confusion of having two going at the same time, the original (sometimes garbled by locals) and a running text translation to be dutifully read (educational value!), a lot of bad singing (but most people don't know the difference anyway), which allegedly necessitates bringing in big names to attract attention but carries a huge bill, and last but not least, the musical and social irrelevance of operas (on the list precious few, if any, from our own time) that when composed had some relevance and resonance of current social values whether the Court or outside it--all this and more causes me to question this huge dinosaur of opera the way it is still presented in the 21st century.

ZB

[Homo Aestheticus]

Also to add,

1. Lavishness of a production, gimmckry (various stages of undress, kinkiness).

2. The pomp and circumstance of going to view "opera" as a cultural fix,

3. The original (sometimes garbled by locals) and a running text translation to be dutifully read (educational value!)

***

Indeed...  And the above 3 are always exasperating in my opinion.

[springrite]

Somebody please get Daniel Barenboim on the phone so he can slap some sense into Stern!! 

That will make Danny Marvin's Sung Hero.

[ChamberNut]

Marvin,

Long time no see!  Good to hear from you. 

[marvinbrown]

Marvin,

Long time no see!  Good to hear from you. 

  I have been travelling a lot on business and have been absent for some time from GMG.  It's good to be back to discuss opera, Wagner of course, Verdi, Puccini etc al.   Puccini's Turandot is playing in London and I believe there is an English spoken (yes I know I am not thrilled about that!) production of La Boheme to start soon.  I'll have to see about getting tickets  !!

  marvin

[Bulldog]

  Asked by a reporter whether he had any plans to program the operas of Richard Wagner in Tel Aviv, David Stern answered in the negative. "I don't think it's such a great loss to Israeli audiences," he added. "I still conduct Wagner in other places around the world, but there are many other things that are worthwhile to conduct here."

Warning: my reaction to the above quotation is bound to upset some GMG members but I write this with all honesty:

  What?? either David Stern is deaf (which I am quite sure he is not) or he is just a two faced liar and a cheat!  So he doesn't think that the ban on Wagner in Israel is "such a great loss to Israeli audiences" !Well Mr. Stern, I would like to ask you then why are you bothering to conduct Wagner elsewhere?   His statement is insulting to all opera fans and especially those in Israel who know what GREAT opera music is!  Not a great loss to Israeli audiences?? Please!  David stern knows that Wagner wrote the greatest operas in the repertoire and yet he panders to Jewish extremists set out to vilify Wagner!  Somebody please get Daniel Barenboim on the phone so he can slap some sense into Stern!! 

  Apologies are in order if this post has insulted anyone  !

  marvin

I don't feel insulted, but I do think that Marvin's views are a little over-the-top (likely due to his passion for Wagner's operas.  Whether no Wagner is a great or small loss to Israeli audiences is an opinion; there's no basis for referring to Stern as a liar and cheat. 

[marvinbrown]

I don't feel insulted, but I do think that Marvin's views are a little over-the-top (likely due to his passion for Wagner's operas.  Whether no Wagner is a great or small loss to Israeli audiences is an opinion; there's no basis for referring to Stern as a liar and cheat. 

  I can always rely on Don  for the sensible approach.  Perhaps I have been over the top in my criticism of Stern but here is a great opera composer, (albeit controversial) whose works have been sensored because of his very bad reputation.  I am just against all censorship especially when great works of art are at stake.  Let the Israeli public decide what they want to see and hear that's all I am saying.  When Daniel Barenboim asked the Israeli audience if they would like to hear Wagner the majority said yes. So let the public decide and let those who feel offended leave given prior notice.

  marvin

[Bulldog]

  I can always rely on Don  for the sensible approach.  Perhaps I have been over the top in my criticism of Stern but here is a great opera composer, (albeit controversial) whose works have been sensored because of his very bad reputation.  I am just against all censorship especially when great works of art are at stake.  Let the Israeli public decide what they want to see and hear that's all I am saying.  When Daniel Barenboim asked the Israeli audience if they would like to hear Wagner the majority said yes. So let the public decide and let those who feel offended leave given prior notice.

  marvin

That sounds most reasonable.  Israel certainly has an extreme reaction to Wagner, probably due to the nation's "survival protection" mentality.  Hopefully, its citizens are able to enjoy Wagner's music through recordings.

[Tsaraslondon]

  Wagner wrote the greatest operas in the repertoire

  marvin

Well that is a debatable point, Marvin. Some of the greatest operas in the repertoire, I warrant you, but, in my opinion, and the opinion of many others, Monteverdi, Handel, Mozart and Verdi wrote some that were at least as great.

Nice to see you back by the way.

[marvinbrown]

Well that is a debatable point, Marvin. Some of the greatest operas in the repertoire, I warrant you, but, in my opinion, and the opinion of many others, Monteverdi, Handel, Mozart and Verdi wrote some that were at least as great.

Nice to see you back by the way.

  Yes Mozart and Verdi are also personal favorites of mine. But I view their operas differenly than those of Wagner.  Wagner's works are titanic works of art, and admittedly not very easy to digest nor stage for that matter,  which leads to fewer productions- but there is so much high quality music in practcally every opera Wagner wrote it saddens me that performances of his operas are not as many as they should be.  I find myself having to rely on DVD recordings of Wagnerian works which is a shame.  On the other hand you live in the UK it is quite easy to find a Verdi, Mozart, Puccini opera playing in theater near you!!

  PS: It's good to be back  !
  marvin

[Guido]

Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serial is no.12? What the hell?

[Wendell_E]

Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serial is no.12? What the hell?

I imagine that includes performances at lots of small German theatres.

[False_Dmitry]

Face it, man.  Pelléas et Mélisande is just too modernist for most folks.

And too dull.  Synopsis - "nothing happens, but it takes 2.5 hours to happen".  Lovely music, undoubtedly.  Great on disc.  Box office poison.

I'm not at all surprised by the list at all,  although I might have expected Janacek to have scored more highly.  What the public will come to in the theatre,  and what cd-buyers will purchase are two very different things.  Collectors will buy opera rarities to try them.  Audiences can rarely be tempted to theatres on the same basis. 

When I worked at ENO, George Harewood famously said "If all we want is full houses and that's our only criterion, then do BOHEME, TRAVIATA, DUTCHMAN, AIDA, MAGIC FLUTE, PORGY & BESS, FIGARO, and PATIENCE.  We'd need extra box-office staff to cope.  But we don't work like that, do we?"

[The new erato]

Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serial ...

Does that mean escape from the serial killer in English? No wonder it draws people at the box office!

[kishnevi]

I imagine that includes performances at lots of small German theatres.

There was a production here in Miami a couple of years ago; one of those that's shared with other opera companies around the country, so think of several performances in seveal American theatres.  Perhaps that's reflected in the figure.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Does that mean escape from the serial killer in English? No wonder it draws people at the box office!

Especially since it's written in a totally serial idiom.

[Superhorn]

   Blaming Wagner for WW2 and the holocaust makes about as much sense as blaming Christ for the Spanish Inquisition. It's not his fault that Hitler appropriated him and his music for his nefarious purposes.
  Although Wagner disliked Jews and Judaism,it should be remembered that he never advocated genocide against them or any other group of people. His anti-semitism, as reprehensible as it was, never came remotely close to the maniacal evil of Hitler and the Nazis.
  It's understandable that Wagner's music is unofficially banned in Israel. There are still some holocaust survivors   there who heard Wagner's music blasted constantly from louspeakers during their horrible confinment, and it brings back unbearable meories to them.
  But Wagner is not to blame for this.
   And you should remember that Wagner's immortal Ring of the Nibelungen is NOT a glorification of Nazi ideology. Far from being this,it shows how Wotan and the gods are destroyed by lust for power and riches.

[Franco]

   Blaming Wagner for WW2 and the holocaust makes about as much sense as blaming Christ for the Spanish Inquisition. It's not his fault that Hitler appropriated him and his music for his nefarious purposes.
  Although Wagner disliked Jews and Judaism,it should be remembered that he never advocated genocide against them or any other group of people. His anti-semitism, as reprehensible as it was, never came remotely close to the maniacal evil of Hitler and the Nazis.
  It's understandable that Wagner's music is unofficially banned in Israel. There are still some holocaust survivors   there who heard Wagner's music blasted constantly from louspeakers during their horrible confinment, and it brings back unbearable meories to them.
  But Wagner is not to blame for this.
   And you should remember that Wagner's immortal Ring of the Nibelungen is NOT a glorification of Nazi ideology. Far from being this,it shows how Wotan and the gods are destroyed by lust for power and riches.

While I would not go so far as to blame Wagner for Hitler, I also do not give him a complete pass for his ideas.  Wagner could have been a Nazi had he lived during that period and I certainly have no need to excuse him this toxic character flaw merely because he wrote some good operas.

[DavidRoss]

What is it about Wagner that attracts such devoted proselytizers?  I cannot ever recall having seen, here or elsewhere, fans of any other composer making such vigorous efforts forcefully convert others to their faith as seems routine with a significant subset of Wagner lovers.  I swear that many of them seem quite willing to use the same tactics Hitler used with Poland if only they could! 

(Whoops.  I momentarily forgot about "E L G A R" and a similarly deranged Schumann fan on another site I used to frequent.)

The typical posts (or blog entries!) go something like this:  Wagner's the greatest ever, period, it's self evident, everyone with any sense knows it, and if you don't agree then you're just stupid--with tin ears!  It's hard to imagine those who greatly admire the music of Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Sibelius, Brahms, Debussy (well, that's a bit iffy!), or Poulenc going on in similar fashion (though, come to think of it, I have encountered two or three fans of the Darmstadt school who seem to be copying the Wagner fans' playbook).

Any ideas why this should be so?  (Note that I don't believe it has anything to do with anti-Semitism among Wagner's devotees.)