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I cant believe so many people admitted to the world they listen to that stuff. I would find it embarrassing to admit to my friends if I did have some sort of liking for it.
Which reminds me of a friend of mine, a fine jazz trumpeter, who passed away recently. As he was being taken to the ambulance by the paramedics, they asked, "Is there anything you can't take?" He repled, "Country music". He went out in style! I got a huge laugh, although I actually like some country music.
desertsun41: You need to listen to the right operas and open up your mind!
I realize that opera music is often viewed as "stuffy" or "elitist" (God forbid!)...I am a classically trained soprano & have been singing since I was about 14 years old. I have only had the opportunity to attend one opera though & that was Rigoletto when I was 17, I have sung at many events since that time though & have not gained "primadonna" status (LOL!)
Anyways, if anyone on C-D does listen to opera? Which operas do you prefer? German, Italian, French? Wagner, Puccini? Who are some of your favorite performers & some of your favorite operas?? I'm interested to hear in what some of you have to say...I know that as someone in my twenties, opera is not very highly regarded as far as popular music goes but it is still something very near & dear to my heart.
Thanks for your responses!
I studied it for four years...appreciate it, but don't listen to it for fun.
That is getting kinda old though. I come across so many who hate country but most speak of old country. You know...the old sheet kicken dirt eating red neck twanging stuff.
Todays country is the most popular music out there. It's the only music out there. No one plays rock anymore. Wrap and other timed poetry dont even count as music. So many rockers have gone country because it is being played on the radio. It's the only concerts going on these days too. Much of todays country sounds more like rock and some of it would have gotten airplay on a rock station had it been released 30 years ago.
Had this thread not been anonymous I suspect it would not have gone 20 posts. I dont think I ever met a younger under 60 who admitted to listening to opera.
I adore Opera and have been going to Opera since I was a child. Some Operas are much better than others though... I am a big fan of Wagner ( "The Ring" in Bayreuth is something magical) , Bizet, Verdi and of course Verdi and Puccini. I still cannot watch "La Boheme" or "La Traviatta" without a lump in my throat.
We go to a lot of open air operas in summer ( we are lucky to have some excellent companies) and treat ourseves to the Royal Opera House or the ENO once or twice a year but nothing, absolutely nothing has ever come close in quality to the National Estonian Opera. We were in Tallinn a couple of years back and exchanging homes with the Musical director and were treeated to two superb performances ( "Cavelliera Rusticana" and " "Pagliaci" and " Carmen") and were blown away by the sheer quality of the entire cast from the soloists to the choir. Stunning.
Estonians apparently sing from an early age and believe me it shows. They have a National Singing "bowl" as opposed to a National Stadium and their recent Revolution was called the singing Revolution.
Opera to me can be the most beautiful and moving music in the world but some can leave me a bit cold.
I know everyone adore Mozart but he does nothing for me. I find him too frivolous and light the Opera equivalent of Pop Music I suppose. He wrote beautiful , lovely tunes but nothing to really stir my soul the way Verdi or Puccini does. To me Mozart is like beautiful technically perfect model with no character. I know, I know, throw me to the Lions and be done with me.
I also like Stauss , Massenet, Borodin, Rossini, Korsakoff, Janacek and am a big fan of Operetta ( which I find more "honest" than Mozart in its frivolity) so people like Offenbach and Gilbert and Sullivan.
Sadly I cannot sing at all so I just gaze in wonder at Opera singers whose voices can render me aquiver with emotion...
Last edited by Mooseketeer; 06-24-2009 at 04:44 AM..
I cant believe so many people admitted to the world they listen to that stuff. I would find it embarrassing to admit to my friends if I did have some sort of liking for it.
Why ? I love all kinds of music from Opera to Heavy Metal and most things in between. What is so embarassing about loving beautiful music , sung by extremely talented people which stirs and moves the soul ?
Music is music. It is either good or it isn't. I don't care what the label attached to it is.
Many modern musicians ( including heavy metal ones) are inspired by classical music .
I cant believe so many people admitted to the world they listen to that stuff. I would find it embarrassing to admit to my friends if I did have some sort of liking for it.
A true friend would not ridicule you for your musical tastes.
Did you like Tommy?
I remember watching Mister rogers' operas when my kids were little.
I think it was back then that I really got an inkling of what opera was all about--and I am not ashamed to admit it.
Also as a young adult I went to see an opera with my aunt, I am sorry to say I do not remember which one it was.
I just remember being so caught up in the emotional sight and sound, the high drama, all while trying to keep up with the libretto.
A true friend would not ridicule you for your musical tastes.
Did you like Tommy?
I remember watching Mister rogers' operas when my kids were little.
I think it was back then that I really got an inkling of what opera was all about--and I am not ashamed to admit it.
Also as a young adult I went to see an opera with my aunt, I am sorry to say I do not remember which one it was.
I just remember being so caught up in the emotional sight and sound, the high drama, all while trying to keep up with the libretto.
Friends do ridicule friends. Worse yet, kids can be real cruel. Im of the Woodstock era but still have a solid memory what it was like to be a kid, unlike most parents who forget real quickly. I will tell you the truth here. If a kid went into his school and started playing some opera he would have gotten the pulp beat from his head. I suspect that is not the case today. But I still wonder what would happen today if a gang of thugs are booming their wrap crap and some kid walked by playing opera on his boom box.
Granted I give opera the seal of talent approval unlike that timed cursing poetry trash. I just cant listen to it.
I'm a classically trained singer (soprano) but I didn't do much actual opera, though over the years I was in many choirs where we sang sacred music and performed at places like botanical gardens, upscale malls (particularly at Christmas), "old folks homes" (that's what we called it then; I don't know if there's a more PC term for it now), hospitals, etc. The summer I turned 17, I studied at Tanglewood in the Vocal program and started to get more of a taste for opera then I had before. I had the privilege of singing onstage (in the chorus) with Leonard Bernstein and the Boston Symphony orchestra, and we did Haydn's Nelson Mass our summer, conducted by Seiji Ozawa. I wish I appreciated it then the way I would now. Music was my life so all of that seemed normal and natural but now I realize how extraordinary those experiences were.
My favorite opera is La Boheme. My favorite tenor is Roberto Alagna (I have everything he's ever released - I just checked my iTunes and have 196 of his songs, though a lot are probably repeats). My favorite sopranos are Judith Blegen and Renee Fleming.
My Favorite Arias:
"Che gelida manina" (La Boheme - Puccini) sung by Roberto Alagna
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