How can I become a better opera listener?

cjm85: How can I become a better opera listener?
I’m really wanting to get into operas, but I’m not sure where to start. I’ve heard an occasional opera on NPR, but I want to expand. Can anyone recommend me any operas to listen to and what I need to look over to understand the history of opera? I figured that somebody would know something here.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Mad Roy
I always found I enjoyed opera better if I read a synopsis or looked at the libretto while I listened.
Aida is a great opera for the music and the spectacle. La Boheme (which I sang in) is a wonderful show with gorgeous music. Die Walkure is my favorite Wagner piece althought Das Rhinegold is pretty cool too. Many good operas are now available on DVD with subtitles (see Netflix and look up Opera). I liked them a lot. Learn as much as you can about the show before you watch/listen; it will greatly add to your enjoyment and understanding.
Good listening from a fellow opera fan.
(Don’t forget Webber’s Phantom of the Opera musical which is pretty close to opera itself).

Answer by lynndramsop
along with the suggestions posted above, look out for “coffee table” books on the subject of opera.
( You can find several in used book stores, I would imagine, if not your local library.)
Getting ahead by knowing the story is always best. the more so when the piece is in a language you aren’t absolutely fluent in…
Among the top 10 are easy-to-get-to-know works like
The Marriage of Figaro ( Le Nozze di Figaro) by Mozart
Madama Butterfly by Puccini
Aida by Verdi
La Boheme by Puccini
The Magic Flute ( Die Zauberfloete) by Mozart
and Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck. ( Not the Vegas singer, the actual composer who had the name first 1854-1921)

Netflix is a great option for DVDs. Most CDs will have a multi-lingual booklet ( libretto) in the case, so that you really can follow the text.

Start on some of these before you branch off to the very heavy-duty composers such as Wagner or Richard Strauss. they take some time to get used to. If you find you like vocal fireworks ( known as coloratura), you will want to further investigate the operas of Rossini ( chances are you already know the overture to William Tell), Bellini, and Donizetti.
If you like the French language, look up Carmen by Bizet, Lakme, by Delibes, and Werther by Massenet.
If you like German, and as a foretaste of what happens with Wagner, listen to Fidelio by Beethoven or Der Freischuetz by von Weber.
these are all standard works in the repertory, and there are new and exciting pieces being written in this day and age. Once you get your feet wet, you might want to dive into modern opera, but that’s advanced work.

Enjoy your selections. Take the time to listen. One of the really positive things about recordings, is that you can go back immediately to a number that you like, or that you haven’t quite understood before moving on to the rest of the story. Please be aware, the stories of operas are not always realistic. ( Harlequin romances come to mind…) suspension of disbelief is a good habit to get used to.

Answer by Alberich
“lynndramsop…” has given you some very good pointers: one in particular, familiarize yourself with the story-line/plot/scenario/libretto of any opera you plan to listen to or see, before hand – always a good idea.

Here’s an online article – from English Wikipedia – which will give you a broad over-view of the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera

To have English sub-titles available for any viewed opera – live performance or DVD – is also a good idea. And I would start with the most popular operas; usually the most accessible for neophytes such as yourself.

My list of a few: Giuseppe Verdi: “Aida”
Giacomo Puccini: “La Boheme”
Georges Bizet: “Carmen”

A You Tube clip of my favorite scene from “Aida” – [the “Judgment” scene – Act IV, Scene I]:

Although the heavy German opera – by composers such as Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner – are usually best left to later exposure of any new to the genre, one I think can easily relate to some of the excerpts from them.

One being this, the intro. to Act III of Wagner’s “Die Walkure”; it’s concert version is known as “The Ride of the Valkyries”:

Welcome to the world of opera,

Alberich

Answer by Luca Maggi
I would start with Puccini. People tend to like it because it sounds like film music and you can understand what is going on without seeing it. There are many DVD’s of opera. There is a wonderful “Ring des Nibelungen” by Wagner on DVD by the acrobat group La Fura dels Baus which combines opera with techno/Star Wars type innovation. The book.”A Short History of Opera” by Donald Grout may help. Enjoy!