BocelliOnline

Melodie · Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2003 1:24 pm Post subject: OPERA HATER'S GUIDE TO OPERA

I think this is a very good introduction to the world of opera for those among us who know nothing - or next to nothing - about it, and a bit amusing for you who know EVERYTHING :wink: :

http://www.wrkf.org/ohgto.html

CONTENTS:
Introduction

1. Oh, No! Uncle George is Listening to Opera Again!

2. Does That Come from an Opera?

3. Ready or Not, Here We Go

4. Opera-for-Orchestra as Heresy

5. In the Beginning . . . and Somewhat Beyond

6. That Sounds Like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!

7. Opera's Red-Headed Stepchild

8. A Voice to Meet Every Need

9. Operas In Bits and Pieces

10. Now You're Ready!

11. One More Time?

12. Your First Live Opera

13. Did I Ever Tell You the Story About . . . ?

Let me know what you think! :P

Tina · Moderator Joined: 01 Mar 2003 Posts: 326 Location: England

Good find Mel! Ive added it to my favourites, and i will read in full when i have time! Grazie! Tina x 8)
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La tua voce e come un dolce dolores nel mio cuore! Non c'e nessuno migliore di te!!

Kenzu · Joined: 30 Jul 2003 Posts: 445 Location: Finland

I added it also and like Tina waiting to read it fully. Seems to be worth of studying :wink: :lol: .
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"Ex nihilo nihil fit"

AngelB · Joined: 27 Nov 2003 Posts: 38

Well, I've finally gotten around to reading some of this........it is not only informative but downright fun! I wish the author/teacher, Gerald Lively, would come and spend some time with me.....listening to operas and talking with me about them.

I've only just finished Chapter 9....with Chapter 10 starting to delve into different, specific operas......but these nine chapters were chock full of all kinds of good information. Okay, so I skipped the chapter on operettas even though I have seen H.M.S. Pinafore and enjoyed the music, but I'll read that chapter later.

I had always avoided the opera instrumental recordings, believing that I should be listening to the 'words' so that I would understand the opera better. I realize now that listening to the music first is perhaps better/easier for some of us than trying to decipher what the words are all about. Also, it seems that the soprano voice is the hardest to get used to.....maybe that's why I'm having such a difficult time listening to Maria Callas in Tosca!?!! I do have her Madama Butterfly recording and it is absolutely lovely!

Can't wait to finish the rest.....has anyone else read this? What did you think?
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Angel

Melodie · Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2004 5:52 am Post subject:

Sarah · Joined: 01 Mar 2003 Posts: 276 Location: Leeds, AL

Melodie, I thought I was the only one in the world who can't understand
sopranos and most others for that matter!!!!!! But I keep trying to listen and learn but I haven't even made a dent in the LIKE dept.
I'm doing the best I can : :roll:
Ciao, Sarah

Melodie · Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 5:06 pm Post subject:

Do you HAVE to like it? :roll:

Willma · Joined: 07 Mar 2003 Posts: 863 Location: Boston

I always felt that if we could wipe out all the sopranos in the world we would really reduce the global screech factor and life would be a lot more pleasant. IM- notso -HO
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Although, in his life, he was often called the imbecile from Illinois, history has proven otherwise.

AngelB · Joined: 27 Nov 2003 Posts: 38

hahahahaha......I don't agree with wiping out ALL of the sopranos of the world, but certainly some of them! :D I have heard a few that are truly beautiful. I'm still trying to figure out why I don't like Callas as Tosca, but love her as Boheme. :? Possibly because of the music....I think Tosca is musically very dramatic.

I finally finished reading this great little guide....it was fun!! I particularly liked the following quote, and feel it could pertain to us Bocelli fans also:

".......how sorry can you feel for fans whose mental welfare is totally dependent on how well their adored one's vocal chords function on any given evening? What a strange, enchanting group of people - the performers and their fans!"
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Angel

Melodie · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 8:16 pm Post subject:

Anna in NY · Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2005 8:08 am Post subject:

Another very informative book for beginners is "Opera for Dummies" from the "dummies" series of books. it is written with that same sense of humor as seems to be present in the above. (The link didn't work when I tried it.) I purchased "Opera for Dummies" for my son on Amazon.com. I purchased a used, "like new" with cd that was in terrific shape and less expensive. Your library may even be able to find a copy to borrow.
Keep singing!,
Anna

Anna in NY · Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2005 7:43 am Post subject:

Wilma wrote:
"......I always felt that if we could wipe out all the sopranos in the world we would really reduce the global screech factor and life would be a lot more pleasant. IM- notso -HO"
Hi Wilma,
The conductor of our Chorale has similar sentiments about some of the sopranos rehearsing for Requiem right now. LOL. "They only think of themselves and go too far over the top.." she told me.
Be well,
Anna

Scarpia · Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 27 Location: Canada

[quote="AngelB"]hahahahaha......I don't agree with wiping out ALL of the sopranos of the world, but certainly some of them! :D I have heard a few that are truly beautiful. I'm still trying to figure out why I don't like Callas as Tosca, but love her as Boheme. :? Possibly because of the music....I think Tosca is musically very dramatic.

As an opera fan since I was 14, and now a theatre historian, I'd first like to say that your points are well taken. Callas could either sound like an angel or more like the opposite. Sometimes it depended on her mood. She was the most temperamental singer of her time and frequently fought with managements, directors and the press. That didn't do her voice any good.

But more important, she had vocal weaknesses in her upper register that she never resolved. Initially she kept them under control. But over time her psychological problems proved fatal. In addition to her public feuds, she gradually abandoned everyone who cared about her and could have helped her, including her mother, her devoted husband, and the conductor, Tullio Serafin, and directors, Luchino Visconti and Franco Zeffirelli, who had nurtured her talent. There was also her disastrous affair with Aristotle Onassis, who treated her cruelly.

All that contributed to destroying her voice. By the mid 1960s it was in shreds, and a once great career came to an end. Supreme artistic gifts have often been mixed with self destructive tendencies. Callas lived a tragic life.

Therefore to appreciate Callas' real greatness it is essential to hear her at those times when her voice was still at its best and her performances were not erratic. That's not always easy.

My favourite recordings are the following. I don't know if they're currently available because I've had my copies a long time:

1. Tosca: I suspect you have the stereo recording she made around 1964. This was Callas at her worst, with all the shrill, ugly high notes. If you could find her 1952 recording, conducted by Victor De Sabata on HMV/Angel you'd be amazed at the difference. This was Callas in her prime and in all her vocal and dramatic glory. With an inspired cast, it's one of the greatest opera recordings ever made. It's in mono rather than stereo, but that doesn't matter: the sound is excellent.

2. Lucia di Lammermoor: This recording was made around 1956, conducted by Serafin, and with a great tenor, Giuseppi di Stefano, also at his best. They're terrific together.

3. La Traviata: This was one of her greatest roles. The version music critics most rave about is a live recording made at the Teatro Licea in Barcelona. Don't know the label. I'd love to have it myself.

4. The Barber of Seville: This was also on HMV/Angel label and was recorded in stereo. It's not often remembered that Callas was as good in comedy as in tragedy. So was her co-star here, Tito Gobbi, another great singing actor, who was also memorable in Tosca.

Anyway, these are the recordings I'd most recommend, along with the Boheme you already have, to anyone who wants to appreciate why this extraordinary artist remains one the legends of opera. Hope I've been of some help to you, and perhaps to others.

Cheers!

BTW,I just recalled there's also a wonderful 90 min. documentary on Callas, hosted by Zeffirelli, that I saw on PBS. It's available on video from the Bel Canto Society (http://belcantosociety.org/index.html) You can see her in action.
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"If music be the food of love, play on"-Shakespeare.