Opera

Considering the way in which contemporary classical music and braindance seem to have been converging a bit of late, and the interest some of you take in stockhausen, ligeti, reich, scelsi and so forth, I wonder if opera is still a bit... middle class. Recently I was talking to someone who had written an opera for Glyndebourne and was trying to promote it to younger trendier types than the usual audience of merchant bankers and their bored wives. I thought he was approaching it in the wrong way by ignoring the growing interest in contemporary art music from idm people, he held the opinion that that enthusiasm would only extend so far and that opera was a bit beyond the pale.

Anyway just a shallow pretext to share a couple of clips from possibly my favourite piece of music ever written:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPmhnvS-hl8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJhhgRCAthw&feature=related

Not only would I go see one, I've performed in one :)

Cool, which?

Seen a few operas. Ballet is cooler. Modern ballet.

  On 1/20/2011 at 10:04 AM, jim said:

Cool, which?

the one which is looked down upon as common melodrama by many music critics, but because I performed in it, I love it. "Tosca". I was only in the chorus, but it was my first paying gig :)

Nothing wrong with a bit of melodrama, that's kinda what the medium is all about imo, even Bartok, Berg and Prokofiev hammed it up a bit for their operatic works.

Dammit, thread about to sink without a trace.

Ok, here's a real freakshow of a production of Ligeti I saw about a year or so ago at the English National Opera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP3DvIjcpi0

Nah

never seen one, but I probably would go see one if I was offered.

also:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN6_Nn29ujM

I would go if the tickets were bought for me and a guaranteed fuck after.

I saw the Makropulos Case a couple months ago. I think it was in Czech. Not bad, but I should make a point not to read the program guide before I see it.

When I was in highschool, the theatre dept. wanted to perform the opera version of Les Misérables. I was first chair bass in the orchestra, but I didn't bother learning it since the second chair was going to do the performances [i did the Fall musical, he was supposed to do the Spring one]. Well, he didn't show up, so I got called in from work to sight read the mother fucker on a 5 string bass that I had never touched before.

Good thing I had my chops up back then, cuz no one could tell I was sight reading. That was stressful.

Sang in many operas; highlight of my male soprano career was as one of the genies/boys in Die Zauberflöte. What a lot of fun that was, plus I was too young to really grasp how good the adult singers were at the time, but I was very lucky to get the chance to sing with them.

Nixon in China and Einstein on the Beach ftw tho.

i would love to see Unsuk Chin's "Alice in Wonderland"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q55oyVKi4Io

attended an operetta some 8 years ago...

  On 1/22/2011 at 7:46 AM, chenGOD said:

i would love to see Unsuk Chin's "Alice in Wonderland"

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q55oyVKi4Io

Yes! What a composer she is. Big festival of her music in London this april, looking forward to that.

You lucky bastard Jim.

I've seen Phantom of the Opera and Dracula in opera form

It was alright, I would probably only go again if I was brining a date or family

  On 1/23/2011 at 2:34 PM, Fishtank said:

I've seen Phantom of the Opera and Dracula in opera form

It was alright, I would probably only go again if I was brining a date or family

Phantom of the Opera isn't really an opera though, despite the slightly misleading name!

One of the easiest and most approachable opera, Nixon in China by John Adams, is the next MET Opera HD telecast all over cinemas. It's a great way for anybody to learn about this music, especially since it's an english libretto.

But a lot of WATMM people are autistic-like when it comes to music that isn't DSPed to death.

I love opera so much I have an Access All Arias card.

No joke

http://www.eno.org/explore/access-all-arias/access-all-arias.php