Opera Librettos

[mortalterror]

M'appari tutt'amor is my favorite of the ones you posted, even more than Ave Maria.

[stlukesguild]

I was just playing the Wunderlich excerpt on YouTube again and came across the comment suggesting that this song, from the Flotow opera, Martha, may have been a source of inspiration for Paul McCartney's Martha, My Dear from the Beatles' White Album... possible?

[Albion]

I love many operas and Callas is superb in some. But, Pollopicu, she does have a superior in Angela Georgiou. Actually, that is the wrong name: it should be Angela Gorgeous. There is a wonderful film of hers with Roberto Alagna, of course, that you should see.

Händel is often, but wrongly, underrated these days but must be one of the topmost composers who have ever lived. I am not keen on Mozart. I saw Die Zauberflöte in the marionette theatre in Salzburg and loved it; but it does not retain its charm with repetition. Furthermore, the libretto is poor and offers an unpersuasive story. Its only redeeming feature is the Queen of the Night aria.

Because Eugene Onegin is in Russian, I can't offer a judgement on the quality of the text (although I have read the Pushkin poem in translation and found it fascinating). The story is immensely attractive, however, offering love, cynicism, duty and rejection. Tatiana's letter song is superb and Tchaikovsky's music greatly endears this opera to me much more than his several other neglected (with the exception of The Queen of Spades) operas.

Puccini was the last great Italian composer as was Strauss the last great German composer. My favourite Puccini is Tosca: convincing, dramatic, tuneful, with evil, love and death, too. What a pity Puccini did not apply himself to a greater number of works. Strauss was a worthy successor to Wagner (and a very productive worker): almost none of his works can be resisted (he also set lieder beautifully).

Verdi is, of course, tremendous, particularly with his numerous baritone and bass roles eg Simon Boccanegra or Don Carlo (but that is not my favourite): I also like the poetry of La Traviata (particularly Germont, pere); but Wagner outstrips them all. Not only is his music beautiful to listen to but was tremendously influential upon other composers, too. He also wrote all his own texts and chose different styles for each opera (sorry, music dramas). They are also extremely poetic eg (about the trial song) "It sounded so old, yet was so new/ like birdsong in sweetest May" and the poetry lasts for hours. In another place, I have suggested that Wagner be placed among the great poets of German literature.

When selecting my favourite work, I am torn between Die Meistersinger, a work of unsurpassed humanity, and Die Valküre, which offers the bonus of being almost two operas in one. The former is a beautifully constructed love story with happy end achieved through the benevolent aid of a master poet; but the former is a revelation of deep psychological understanding and revelation of inner thought presenting rounded arguments for and against human relationships. Untutored critics often gibe that Wagner did not write melody. They should listen to Valküre and Meistersinger more attentively. Hearing the music and knowing the text also offers depth to ones own personality. Try Tristan (but only the second act) and gain an added dimension to humanity.

For those who are new to opera, I suggest starting with Tosca and then, say Madame Butterfly (with the most detestable "hero" in all opera) or La Boheme. Do not plunge into Wagner without preparation: you need acclimatisation to his music first; and it would add considerably to understanding if you were to read the texts at least in part.

[stlukesguild]

I love many operas and Callas is superb in some. But, Pollopicu, she does have a superior in Angela Georgiou. Actually, that is the wrong name: it should be Angela Gorgeous. There is a wonderful film of hers with Roberto Alagna, of course, that you should see.

Gheorghiu is certainly among the best today... although I lean toward Rene Fleming, Anne Sophie von Otter, and Magdalena Kozena myself... but I would not place her in Callas' category. Callas brought an intensity of emotion and drama to opera that was a revelation... especially to a body of operatic literature that was often dismissed as lightweight. Undoubtedly there were those who had a better voice... were blessed with a better instrument. Joan Sutherland (La Stupenda) must be first among these. It is what Callas did with her voice that made her something spectacular.

I would recommend again that anyone coming to opera for the first time might to best to explore the highlights in the form of the arias, duets and other pieces often collected in the manner of a recitals by leading performers. Among the female singers I would look especially for:

Maria Callas
Rene Fleming
Magdalena Kozena
Veronique Gens
Anne Sophie Von Otter
Janet Baker
Cecilia Bartoli
Gundula Janowitz
Kirsten Flagstad
Elizabeth Schwarzkopf
Emma Kirkby
Lucia Popp
Magdalena Kozena
Montserrat Caballe
Sandrine Piau
Elina Garanca
Anna Netrebko
Katherine Ferrier
Joan Sutherland
Natalie Dessay
Leontine Price
Victoria De Los Angeles
Renatta Scotto
Kathleen Battle
Beverly Sills
Christa Ludwig
Kiri Te Kanawa
Fredericka von Stade
Renata Tebaldi
Birgit Nilsson
Dawn Upshaw

Among the male performers I'd recommend:

Beniamino Gigli
Fritz Wunderlich
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Jussi Bjorling
Luciano Pavarotti
Placido Domingo
Thomas Quasthoff
Bryn Terfel
Andreas Scholl
Philippe Jaroussky
David Daniels
Hans Hotter
Kurt Moll
Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Roberto Alagna
Léopold Simoneau
Matthias Goerne
Jose van Dame
Franco Correlli

There are plenty more, but these are a good starting point. The ratings (star system) used on Amazon.com are pretty descent when it comes to classical music. You can use this to get an idea of the best recordings by a given artist... even if you purchase it elsewhere.

After an introduction to the highlights through such an approach, the next best step (to my mind) is to actually witness an opera in person. As Albion suggested, I would not jump into the deep end with something by Wagner... or Strauss or Mussorgsky or Stravinsky or Britten. You would so well to begin with something by Mozart (The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte, or the Magic Flute), Rossini (Cinderella, The Barber of Seville, etc...), Verdi, Donizetti, Bellini, or even Gluck or Handel... or Bizet's Carmen. I would actually avoid Puccini for the very reason that his operas are clearly modeled on Wagner's "musical dramas" as opposed to the earlier tradition where there is a clear differentiation between dialog, recitative, and arias/duets/choruses, etc... It makes sense to get a notion of the traditional form of opera before exploring Wagner and post-Wagnerian opera where the earlier forms are quite remade.

[kostaglatov]

hello all, interesting thread. Its impossible for me to concider a libretto without thinking about the music. I do not suggest that i am a musical scholar, but most, though not all librettos contain atleast some element that demands we sort of set a side our logical analysis and simply believe whats going on. And, it is the music which helps us do that. Do we believe that a man will sing goodbye to his coat, of course not, but we dont care. I love most everything by Verdi with the exeption of Falstaff, Ive never been able to sit through it. He should have quit after otello But i do not go to the opera bercause of the story line, i go because of the music, of perhaps i dont go because of the singers. I will tell you that my favorite opera is Rigoletto, perhaps because it was my first opera, and I happen to be partial to the baritone voice.. If i had to choose one aria that is my favorite, it would also depend on who is singing. I probably do not have one. But almost anything sung by Lawrence Tibbett, is in my opinion unmatched. If i were pressed I would say that his recording of the Cortigianni is the single most thrilling aria ever recorded. have a great day