Opera Suggestions

[uncletoad]

Gianni Schicchi is the 3rd of a three opera series that is also self contained.
Short, very good accessible music and a funny story.
Puccini is contemporary as far as Opera goes, and his music is superb.
In fact, there is quite a bit of "Puccini Without the Words" out there on CD.

 

[peacefrog]

I'd start with Mozart (Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni), Puccini (La Boheme, Madama Butterfly), and Verdi (Aida, La traviata).

 

[brescd01]

I have to disagree. One doesn't start with complete operas, but with arias, which is the great thing about operas, that they are great but can be enjoyed in extracts called arias.

I have to recommend discs of arias sung by Jussi Bjorling on Naxos Historical. Any are great. They will haunt your child forever and may be the inspiration he needs to become musical. His voice is not-quite human, perhaps angelic.

 

[TromboneGuy]

You might look for Humperdink's Hansel and Gretel. That's a very kid-friendly opera. Bizet's Carmen has some great music in it. The subject matter is a bit out there, but it's in French, so your kid probably won't pick up on the fairly scandalous nature of the story just from a CD.

Oh, some of Offenbach is a blast, too. Maybe Orpheus in the Underworld or La Belle Helene.

I'm looking for stuff that hasn't been mentioned yet. There's a lot of good opera out there. Can't go wrong with standards like The Magic Flute or La Boheme. My two personal favorites are J. Strauss, Jr.'s Die Fledermaus, which was already mentioned, and R. Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. Both of those are fantastic.

 

[amadkins]

So we've discovered that my 19 month old son loves opera. I have a little knowledge from a college class, but would like some suggestions for good CDs.

Buy "Black Sabbath", "Paranoid", "Master of Reality", and "Vol IV" by Black Sabbath and play them at LOUD volumes around him at all times. Perhaps you can nip this opera thing in the bud.

 

[TromboneGuy]

Why would you want to do that? nothing against Black Sabbath - I dig some Ozzy myself.

People that hate opera were either introduced to opera the wrong way, or weren't exposed to the right operas to start off with. I don't know how you can't like Der Rosenkavalier. A girl forced to marry a dirty old baron, two chicks in bed together, drunken servants carrying shouting wenches over their shoulders... that's just fun all the way around.

EDIT: For the record - CDs of operas aren't really worth the effort unless you're too young to grasp the story anyway or you already know the opera. Live performances rock.

 

[Jim]

Thanks for all the great questions. We certainly have enough Wiggles and Doodlebops Tivo'd, so the change in pace is welcome. We were at an Italian restaurant the other night and my son was instantly hooked on the woman singing. She stopped by and sang a song and my son just stared at her with his mouth open. Didn't even blink. At one point a moved in front of him and he pushed me back so he could see her. I've never seen him that way. Now, he could have also been looking at her instead of listening. He does have a thing for the ladies. But we'd like to think it was the music at this age.

A chip off the old block!

The thing for the ladies not the staring with the mouth open not blinking part!

 

[Holton181]

Even being a musican, I can't say that I'm the best at operas, but here are my picks. You can't go wrong with Verdi. Otello is my fav. Wanger is great too for me becasue he uses that instrament in my avatar.

 

[TromboneGuy]

Heh. I like Wagner, I just didn't think it was something a young kid would go crazy for. Wagner has his moments (Ride of the Valkyries, etc.) but he has a lot of really weird, sort of amorphous stuff in his operas too.

EDIT: I really only got into operas once I started studying conducting. Like I said, live performances are WAY more fun than audio recordings.

 

[Holton181]

Heh. I like Wagner, I just didn't think it was something a young kid would go crazy for. Wagner has his moments (Ride of the Valkyries, etc.) but he has a lot of really weird, sort of amorphous stuff in his operas too.

EDIT: I really only got into operas once I started studying conducting. Like I said, live performances are WAY more fun than audio recordings.

I think operas like Die Valkerie are better suited for kids, IMHO, because they sound more like the stuff they hear in movies and such. Wagner's Trilogy in particular have themes that work more like a crazy anime which I think a younger boy would enjoy rather than a solid love story (They made a video game character off of Sigfried in a game that I obssed about in college, Soulcalibur). A kid probably wouln't sit still for four hours on the other hand unless this fantasy opera came with flashing lights and explosions in the background.

This opnion might be fresh off the fact that I caught the Washington Opera's performance last month. It was, to say the least, fantastic. I love that Placido Damingo runs the opera company here

 

[TromboneGuy]

They had a second trombone opening there a couple of years ago. I got a very polite letter declining to invite me to audition, since my resume's still a little light.

 

[ratcheer]

Another tip is that you can pick up decent recordings of many of the best arias from iTunes for 99-cents each.

My favorite aria is the Habanera from Bizet's Carmen. Sometimes it gets stuck in my head for days.

Tim

 

[michaelskar]

I would think a collection of Puccini arias would be nice...I doubt a 19 month old would get really into the recitative...I would stick with the arias...the 'greatest hits" sort of thing...for a 19 month old. but of course I would try out full operas just to see...you never know what will grab their fancy.

 

[JBHoren]

I'll vote for anything sung by the late Elisabeth Schwarzkopf -- right now, I'm listening to her singing Airs_D'Operas_Romatiques, with material from Wagner, Weber, and Smetana, to be followed by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Sings Operetta (all German).

My favorites are "The Nuns' Chorus" and "Lauras Song", from Casanova.

She had a wonderful voice, with a lovely Viennese style in some (appropriate) pieces with the "whooping" vowels. A brilliant career... and the orchestras playing behind her were all top-notch, as well.

 

[Dennis]

I want to know if John's almost 3 year old (now) still like opera.

Dennis

 

[TromboneGuy]

No telling. My sister's cockatoo loves Stravinsky, so who knows?

 

[Nick]

I have to resurrect this thread to puta plug in for Beethoven's Fidelio. Get the version conducted by Otto Klemperer!!

Thank god you did. I totally missed it the first time around, and if I had, I totally would've lost out on this tidbit:

...I have a little knowledge from a college class...

You took a college class... on opera?

But seriously, it's just a phase. Play the kid some Skynyrd, Stones, ZZ Top and Eagles, and he'll snap out of it.

-Nick

 

[DirtyDave]

How about Porgy and Bess? The story may be a bit hokey by today's standards, but so much of the music has become, well, the standards.

 

[peacefrog]

You took a college class... on opera?

Why is this surprising?

 

[sphughes]

Channel 85 on Sirius is the Metropolitan Opera Radio channel. A vey nice channel IMO.

-Scott