Just Opera!

Alban Berg

Alban Berg

Banned
Well...I am an opera lover and would like to speak with you about your tastes.

I love mainly Russian opera...It is (IMHO) in between Italian and German opera....the two main branches...

I'm not here to say What is good and what is bad...we have our opinions...and I'm sure I can learn from other people...and maybe you can learn a little bit from me...

Let's speak about that.

Sincerely,

Martin

:)
 
Alban Berg

Alban Berg

Banned
Wow!

Alban Berg said:
Well...I am an opera lover and would like to speak with you about your tastes.

I love mainly Russian opera...It is (IMHO) in between Italian and German opera....the two main branches...

I'm not here to say What is good and what is bad...we have our opinions...and I'm sure I can learn from other people...and maybe you can learn a little bit from me...

Let's speak about that.

Sincerely,

Martin

:)
Click to expand...

A big success! Nobody has come until now...I am not an ogre...

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

:banghead:
 
White Knight

White Knight

Spectral Warrior con passion
Martin, I don't partcipate in this part of the forum because I have never liked opera in all my life. I took a girl once to see Der Fliedermaus {spelling correct?} at Lincoln Center and that was more than enough. She broke up with me shortly afterwards. Mere coincidence? I think not! :banghead: :shake:
 
Alban Berg

Alban Berg

Banned
LOL

White Knight said:
Martin, I don't partcipate in this part of the forum because I have never liked opera in all my life. I took a girl once to see Der Fliedermaus {spelling correct?} at Lincoln Center and that was more than enough. She broke up with me shortly afterwards. Mere coincidence? I think not! :banghead: :shake:
Click to expand...
=========================================
Don't worry!

Martin
 
Alban Berg

Alban Berg

Banned
my wife doesn't like opera

White Knight said:
Martin, I don't partcipate in this part of the forum because I have never liked opera in all my life. I took a girl once to see Der Fliedermaus {spelling correct?} at Lincoln Center and that was more than enough. She broke up with me shortly afterwards. Mere coincidence? I think not! :banghead: :shake:
Click to expand...

But I like many other things about her...The basis of a relationship is respect and tolerance...I give that and I ask that too.

Martin
 
White Knight

White Knight

Spectral Warrior con passion
Alban Berg said:
But I like many other things about her...The basis of a relationship is respect and tolerance...I give that and I ask that too.

Martin
Click to expand...

Hi, Martin. I was only kidding about us breaking up because of that--or any other--opera. We just weren't "meant for each other" and so we both moved on with our lives. I heard that she married a very successful man, and I'm glad for her. And you're absolutely right about the basis of a good relationship--kind of like the "Golden Rule" concept transposed to a secular setting. Congratulations on finding your soul mate.
 
JHC

JHC

Chief assistant to the assistant chief
White Knight said:
Martin, I don't partcipate in this part of the forum because I have never liked opera in all my life. I took a girl once to see Der Fliedermaus
Click to expand...

Actually there is some great music in that opera, not the deep intelligentsia kind of stuff that opera buffs like, but fine melodies.:D
 
White Knight

White Knight

Spectral Warrior con passion
Colin, do you really think a peasant such as myself would even know the difference? I do remember it being very "lively", if that's the right term. It was in 1977 or '78 that I took my girl to see it.
 
JHC

JHC

Chief assistant to the assistant chief
If you get a chance listen to some of it. The overture (in any opera) is always worth listening to as it usually covers all the main melodies etc also try "The Flying Dutchman" I think you will be pleasantly surprised as you are not new to classical, come on be a devil give it a go
 
Contratrombone64

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
The Dying Flutchman is certainly a fine overture (there are two versions of it, however, a Dresden and Paris) one leaves out the harp and makes the violins scurry about ever MORE than the other. Love it. Shame the rest of the opera is so silly.
 
Alban Berg

Alban Berg

Banned
In order to start liking opera it is interesting for you to be attracted by the story...Once you know the story quite well and if possible you have a DVD with subtitles and you can follow the action...it becomes more accessible if not pleasant. La Boheme, Aida could be a very good start.

To be followed.

Martin
 
Alban Berg

Alban Berg

Banned
I had an idea....(how to start enjoying opera)

Well...Martinovsky's theory about how you can stat enjoying opera...


LOL (This is not entirely serious, but I really think it can work!).

a) First of all. You have to accept human voice as an instrument...Indeed, many opera non-lovers say that they hate human voice...I'll discuss about this later on.

b) We can start by a nice ouverture as Carmen...

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQI5LtRtrb0

After we can try to solve (a): a nice Aria good for your ears...just to accept human voice a little more...

Try this, PLEASE!!!!

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzym2T0CJRo

I love Renée Fleming and I saw her at the theatre 2 months ago, she's very pretty too.

If we can't go on, just rewind...listen to 1 and 2 again...

If we can go a little bit on, listen to this now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF5QONMTaA8

But is better to know the story...I'll make it short for you. Carmen is a gipsy who works in smuggling...Don José, a military-peasant is very in love with her and accepts to help her...but she doesn't care and she falls in love with a bullfighter...she decides to leave Don José and he, blinded, stabs her.

Here she's speaking about love as a free bird...

Next step...is there a next step? You buy the DVD? and you put the subtitles? while watching it?

I wish you the best...I'm not guaranteeing you that it works, but I made my best. Good luck. But please follow these steps, you have absolutely nothing to lose.

Friendly

Martin
 
Florestan

Florestan

New member
Alban Berg said:
In order to start liking opera it is interesting for you to be attracted by the story...Once you know the story quite well and if possible you have a DVD with subtitles and you can follow the action...it becomes more accessible if not pleasant. La Boheme, Aida could be a very good start.

To be followed.

Martin
Click to expand...

Yes, this is how I like to do it. Read the synopsis, watch a DVD with subtitles until I am familiar enough that the CD recording makes sense to me.

I just got into my first Russian opera, Boris Godunov, and am loving it like crazy. Bought the Gergiev set with both 1869 and 1872 versions. I much prefer the 1869. I also bought two videos, one of the 1869 and one of the 1872. One in the mail, the other I just started watching. I did see it once in the 1980s live, but never came back to it until a couple weeks ago when i watched a You Tube of a production with English subtitles.
 
John Watt

John Watt

Member
What I'm reading here only confirms something I've thought all along.
There is a huge, untapped market for opera that has been translated into English.

Now, I can see cultural outcries in all the original languages as being traditional,
but coming from the clan system that brought you the Holy Bible in English,
it's more than possible and practical for me.
Look at the success of the Hollywood movie "Amadeus".
He still has too many notes, and his music has too much of an eternal reach,
but even North Americans and the Oscars loved him.
I think it came out with a Spanish, or it that Latino, translation.
Dubbing in flamenco dancers was unfortunate, for me, but they were okay.
 
Florestan

Florestan

New member
I do have some opera in English, but generally also like to have it in the original language. I don't listen to my operas sung in English as much because they usually are more beautiful in the original language. Often, when sung in English, it is still hard to understand what they are saying, one exception being a very nice Martha set (Flotow) in English that I can understand much of the words in.
 
John Watt

John Watt

Member
Florestan! I can only agree with what you say about English being not as beautiful as a native language.
English isn't a native language. It was defined by Sons and Daughters of the Gael, a pre-Scottish people,
using it to create the Holy Bible in English.
Proper English uses all the sounds and facial movements of humans around the world,
with some other mammalian and creature vocalizations thrown in.
I could say Bay-an-uck-let to you, blessings on you, and that's a little Gaelic.

But you have to admit, English has caught on as the global language,
and the font for computers, more than any other, and it's use is growing.

For opera, with such intricate melodies and lyrics,
you would need to rewrite the content without changing the intent,
if you want to get any kind of poetic rhyme as translated into English.

Please don't feel that you have to subjugate yourself as speaking English.
There was no England, being the Roman and then Holy Roman Empire,
everyone speaking Latin for over five hundred years.
There is a lot of Latin in the English language, and I'm sure there is some of yours.

If there's one language that is so strong with cultural character,
it loses the most being translated into English, it's the language of the Rus, or Russians.
 
Florestan

Florestan

New member
Yes, Russian! Give me Boris Godunov in pure Mussorgsky orchestration and sung in Russian, preferably sung by Russians. I'll take a sung-in-English version if the price is right, but only as a curiosity.
 
JHC

JHC

Chief assistant to the assistant chief
Русский язык является фонетическим :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top