#1 October 7th, 2018 03:01 PM

artemesia

Member

Favourite Opera's?

I've had another breakup and I'm escaping into the world of opera and Mozart courtesy of a trash novel I'm reading (it's not really trash, it's a biography of Mozart, but it's safe because there is no suspense and everyone is already dead anyway so I can't get too sad). And I'm really enjoying Cosi fan tutti and Don Giovani. Any other recommendations? Do you think Mozart was heavily influenced by Bach?

I'm also about to go on holidays so please forgive slow replies! Beach bum times for me and hopefully another trashy novel to come

ps how cool would it be to be able to sing an aria, of course one of the one's from the magic flute

mori910a

Guest

Re: Favourite Opera's?

Carmen (Bizet)!

LeoBloom

Member

Re: Favourite Opera's?

Yes, I think the Big Four Mozart operas are among the very greatest human achievements.
I have a special soft spot for The Magic Flute, as I've known it since I was a child, but perhaps the most human of them all is The Marriage of Figaro. It really is impossible to tire of them, or just not be in the mood for them today.

artemesia

Member

Re: Favourite Opera's?

Beautiful! Thank you both for the recommendations! As an aside- beach times did not really work out and now I have to recover from a shoulder injury and motor cycle burns. Sometimes you just can't get a break!

trevor

Member

Re: Favourite Opera's?

Artemesia, I’m very sorry if you are sad about the recent breakup.  The Marriage of Figero is indeed a wonderful work in which to blissfully lose oneself. It’s an opera to be loved for both music and theatre (thanks to the great playwright, Pierre Beaumarchais).  I even am happy randomly listening to any part of the work; it is all so delightful and beautiful in the parts and in the whole.

Another favourite in this regard is Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. It is timeless.  Truly beautiful.  I think it will appeal to you musically and for it’s bittersweet story.  Like Mozart’s Figero, it is about love and sex.  Capriccio, his last opera, is also a delight. More difficult perhaps but emotionally powerful are Wagner’s works; my favourite being Tristan and Isolde; the ending leaves one emotionally drained—it soars to extraordinary intensity and then slowly quietly dies away.  On the light side is Lehár’s the Merry Widow—lyrical, funny, loving and beautiful.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

By the way, I’ve relocated from Rome to Maastricht, a city I call the Ideal City on the Maas.  It is a wondrous place to live, small, culturally vibrant, at once local and international, and not overrun by tourists.  Whilst Italy is a divine place to visit frequently, it is today a stressful place to live.

Much happiness to you in your listening and in life.