Opera

» Smorg - First time going to the Opera

In response to First time going to the Opera posted by evilfathomer:
Hello!
Good to hear you and your friend are interested in trying opera. :o) I'd suggest these as beginner-friendly works:
1. Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)
2. Mozart: Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute)
3. Puccini: La Boheme
4. J Strauss: Die Fledermaus
5. Gluck: Orphee et Eurydice
6. Offenbach: Orphee aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld)
7. Wagner: Tannhauser
8. Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)
9. Verdi: La Traviata
10. Verdi: Il Trovatore
Works you should avoid (at least for now) are:
1. Berg: Lulu
2. R Strauss: Salome
3. R Strauss: Elektra
4. Berg: Wozzeck
5. Wagner: Ring Cycle (Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried, Gotterdammerung)
6. Debussy: Pelleas et Melisande
7. Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame (The Queen of Spade)
These are good opera, really, but not friendly even for some seasoned fans. The opera by Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg are atonal (no tune you can hum to), Wagner's Ring Cycle opera are about 5 hrs long each... and the others just don't make for happy listening experience.
If you decide to go see the opera live for the first time, you might find this article helpful (www.epinions.com/content_5013610628)
Good luck! And have fun, too! :o)

-- posted by Smorg