Just out of curiosity. Do you listen to them in one sitting, one act at a time (I usually do it this way over several nights), or one disc at a time? Oh, and just for the record, I generally referring to multi-act operas as one-act operas such as Das Rheingold or Salome I'll listen to in one sitting.
Whether I want to do an immersive listen - (i.e. following along with the libretto while listening to the album) or a more casual listen - (having the recording play as I read/use the computer/etc.) it all depends on how much time I have and how much of the work I want to listen to in one sitting.
Not too long ago I bought the Chandos/Hickox "The Pilgrim's Progress" by Vaughan Williams and was so enchanted by it that it was difficult to save the remainder of it for the next day. On the other hand, with Wagner one needs to take several intermissions!
Speaking of Vaughan Williams, I came to the conclusion a few months ago that the Brits wrote the best 20th-century operas. I found some productions of Britten works on YouTube (primarily Glyndebourne 1960s-70s filmings of Albert Herring, The Rape of Lucretia, The Burning Fiery Furnace, et al) that are riveting, both musically and production-wise.
I discovered many, many years ago that the best way for me to listen to an opera is to open a bottle of a fine cabernet sauvignon and turn the lights down (lighting candles is preferred).
I often use a libretto, so I need to be able to see it to follow along.
I discovered many, many years ago that the best way for me to listen to an opera is to open a bottle of a fine cabernet sauvignon and turn the lights down (lighting candles is preferred).
I often use a libretto, so I need to be able to see it to follow along.
I'll try Ron's suggestion. I love the form but lack the time these days to properly focus. All or nothing, only way to fly.
Thanks to horror films of the 80's, I slowly developed a love of Verdi & Puccini....with dabbles in Prokoviev, Mozart, Delibes & of course, Maestro Korngold.
A darkened room and the libretto...only way to fly. I truly love opera but its 180 from pop or scores - complete focus needed in excess of 3hrs most of the time, not a real "random" genre.
P.S. my local radio used to simulcast Met Opera on Saturday and for awhile in the 90's I played along. Not ideal to listen along on the radio sans libretto, but interesting at the time to be exposed to new work, I didn't have the dough, then, to take chances on.
Ron P. , welcome back!!!! & any suggestions beyond Italian standards you recommend for a lay-opera-person? I love that corner of the form, but am always seeking new ideas.
LIVE, in Aix-en-Provence there is an international opera festival every summer not far from my place of work and sometimes small incursions of the performers in the auditorium of my library.
I only really like baroque opera, Handel, Lully & Rameau, & the plots are always bonkers, usually from some Greek mythology (they couldn't use a new story, or their enemies could say that the plot was a veiled dig at the royals, so they played safe). Anyway, I just listen to the arias & bits of music I like. I have no idea of the plot of any of my favourite operas.
One of the reasons I enjoy opera: pictorial music untethered from the constraints of the edit.
From (the almost forgotten) Franz Schreker, beginning with the prelude to his "Der Ferne Klang" (1912):
Now, I'm sure some (many … most) will just run to the hills from this (caterwauling), but it's the descriptive, rhythmically attentive, score which really captures my attention here, from Act 1, Scene 8. Liegt ein schönes Kindchen in Moos!:
And no one can tell me this duo from Berlioz's "Les Troyens" isn't simply ravishing (and stick around for the end for a stellar bit of "filmic" visualization of ancient Troy circa 1856:
Or the lovely, "Mesicku na nebi hlubokém" (Song to the Moon) from Dvorák's Rusalka:
And, oh man, I'll never forget first hearing this bit of gothic epic-ness from Bartok:
But, yes, you have to have the time and, more importantly, be in the mood to commit yourself to 2+ hrs of sitting or reclining to a single music experience.
