How to discover opera?

[Henk]

I should have mentioned in my last post that:

After I've learnt an Opera I never return to the cds. I never sit down and listen to an Act or Aria. [Thats not to say that I won't some time in the future]

For me its a total experience so...

...buying the DVD instead of the cds will be a idea worth investigating 

But the DVD's are very expensive, so I first lent them at the library.

Henk

[uffeviking]

Henk, if your library has a good inventory of opera DVDs, you are well on your way, and less expensive than purchasing. And then, after you have found operas you really love, have a desire to watch again and again, and also have decided which version you prefer, then you can start your home library.

Good Luck!

[Henk]

Exactly, but I think many opera´s I want to see are not in the collection. But I think I can profit from it a lot.

[bhodges]

However you get them, Henk (and I know that buying them can be expensive), I agree that DVDs are one of the best things ever to happen to opera.  Aside from the convenience of watching them at home, on your own time, pausing if needed to get snacks  , most DVDs have subtitles, in several different languages, and sometimes a libretto, too.  And you can replay a scene several times, if needed, for whatever reason.  I'm totally sold.

And if you have a fantastic audio-visual system, good opera DVDs can be really quite spectacular.  A couple of months ago a friend bought a new high-end system so I brought over the Netherlands Opera production of Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.  We cranked it up really, really loud--it was fantastic.

--Bruce

[karlhenning]

Yes, I think DVD and opera a great combination.

(Standard disclaimer:  This does not mean that, all things being equal, I hadn't rather witness the music live, in the space.)

[yashin]

I used to collect opera on cd and have accumulated many versions of a whole variety of opera...i have 25 Madame Butterfly cds for example.

But then there was the 'death' of opera on cd which still seems to be the case unless you want something with Bocelli or Villazon/Netrebko.

So i turned to DVD and love them.  I am a big fan of opera but i hardly get to go to the opera as i live in a country where opera is pretty non-existant.  I have a busy job and seem to lack the patience to listen to cds so i prefer to put a dvd on in the evening.

More expensive...?  Some, especially those from Opus Arte....and i am not convinced that we need 3 discs with lots of bloatware and pictures and a booklet in 4 or 5 languages.  What i do like (i have said before)..is Belair Classique DVDs ......great productions from the European continent and an informative booklet with an interview with the director about their vision and ideas.

Some excellent DVDs and some real turkeys....got to read the reviews, look at the director and the year.  I am not a big fan of Met productions from the 80's- they look so dated!  I like modern eurotrash productions which stimulate the mind.

I have just been on a trip and found a shop doing 'buy one get one free' on opus arte and TDK.....so i came away with 14!  Expensive in one go but sometimes there is nothing for months and months.

[LVB_opus.125]

Another question would be, could someone get full enjoyment just listening and not understanding the words? Music is a universal language, but is Opera actually limited by its words? I think that because I have never read along to an Opera before that I instintively prefer other vocal forms of music: masses, oratorios, lieder, cantatas, and so on.

[Tsaraslondon]

Another question would be, could someone get full enjoyment just listening and not understanding the words? Music is a universal language, but is Opera actually limited by its words? I think that because I have never read along to an Opera before that I instintively prefer other vocal forms of music: masses, oratorios, lieder, cantatas, and so on.

My answer would be no. But equally I'd say the words are even more important in lieder and song. How on earth can one appreciate the songs of Wolf, for instance, without following the texts?

[Wendell_E]

Another question would be, could someone get full enjoyment just listening and not understanding the words?

Enjoyment, perhaps, but less than full.

[yashin]

For me the DVD provides the missing link...the interpretation.  I have many versions of the Magic Flute on cd...some singers i like-and some i do not, some speeds of playing i like more than others etc....but i miss the interpretation.  Ever bought a live cd and seen a great looking front cover, terrific photos inside....and wished that you could have seen it?  At least with DVD you get the best of both worlds.

For me, Wagner has been a problem until i started watching the Ring Cycle on DVD.....now i love it.

[marvinbrown]

For me, Wagner has been a problem until i started watching the Ring Cycle on DVD.....now i love it.

  I agree the best way to experience the Ring Cycle is to see it! 

  marvin

[ChamberNut]

Well, due to recent interest in Wagner (specifically Das Rheingold and Die Walkure), I decided to check out my local opera (Manitoba Opera).  The 2008/2009 is the MB Opera's 35th Anniversary.  They only play 2 to 3 operas per season, likely due to popularity, although I'm not sure on that.

Anyways, I was shocked to see that in the entire history of the Manitoba Opera, only 1 Wagner opera ever played, being The Flying Dutchman!    

[Opus106]

due to recent interest in Wagner

You too? In my case, it's as recent as two nights ago. I like the overtures and preludes, and Siegfried Idyll,  that I've been listening to on radio lately, and I was reading the few pages on Wagner from that book I borrowed from library which piqued my interest. 

[ChamberNut]

You too? In my case, it's as recent as two nights ago. I like the overtures and preludes, and Siegfried Idyll,  that I've been listening to on radio lately, and I was reading the few pages on Wagner from that book I borrowed from library which piqued my interest. 

Siegfried Idyll, that's a beautiful piece!  I'll have to get a good book on Wagner as well.

[Siedler]

  That makes two of us  .  Wherever did you find that horrendous production Josquin des Prez??

  Note to Henk: Please please do not let this terrible opera production posted by Josquin discourage you from watching operas on DVD. 

Um, so what exactly was so shocking in that clip? It's not even regie theatre, seems like more HIP performance than usual, LOL.

[jochanaan]

Anyways, I was shocked to see that in the entire history of the Manitoba Opera, only 1 Wagner opera ever played, being The Flying Dutchman!    

That actually doesn't surprise me.  Wagner's operas are very hard to cast--how many Heldentenors these days can really sing Siegfried?--and very demanding for the orchestra (all 100+ members of the orchestra! ).  Unless Manitoba has more and better singers than I think it does...

(Please: I'm not dissing Manitoba.  Opera Colorado doesn't do much Wagner either.)

[Tsaraslondon]

Um, so what exactly was so shocking in that clip? It's not even regie theatre, seems like more HIP performance than usual, LOL.

I agree with you. I thought the days when people were shocked by the naked human form were well and truly over.

[zamyrabyrd]

I used to collect opera on cd and have accumulated many versions of a whole variety of opera...i have 25 Madame Butterfly cds for example.

I thought I had a lot of Madame Butterfly recordings: LP's, CD's, and videotapes.
You win. (Gotta get some DVD's when I can afford them...)

ZB