A Beginner's Guide To Opera

I received a nice note from a young man who was interested in learning more about opera but didn't know where to begin. I thought I would share my response with you.

Dear Opera Lover In Training,

Thanks for your letter and your interest in opera. Opera is huge, of course, but I will try to give you a little guidance as you begin exploring it. First, here is a bit of trivia you can use to impress your friends. The word "opera" is a plural noun. The singular is "opus" which means a single work of music. Therefore an "opera" is a collection of musical pieces. In practice, this collection of arias (songs for a soloist), duets, trios, and recitative (freely rhythmic, barely melodic, sung speech) is unified by a plot. The plots of operas are notorious for being silly and far-fetched. In many cases they make a typical soap opera look like a documentary. Opera is redeemed, of course, by the breathtaking beauty of the music. My advice is to rent or buy DVDs of the following operas to get started:

The Magic Flute

There is a lot of great opera before Mozart (1756-1791) but you would likely find the plots (usually derived from Greek myths) and the music (very Baroque and heroic) to be hard to understand. So don't try Monteverdi's Orfeo or the tragic operas of Scarlatti just yet. Start with Mozart's The Magic Flute (called Die Zauberflöte in German). Great fun. Great music. The story is even interesting in that it involves symbolism from the Masonic lodge. Another trivia fact: The Magic Flute is really not an opera, it is a singspiel. The singspiels of Austria were lighter in tone than the operas of the day. Sort of like late 18th century Broadway musicals. The tunes were usually based on folk and popular idioms of the day. Good stuff.

The Barber of Seville

Rossini's The Barber of Seville was the pinnacle of Italian opera buffa (comic opera). Rossini lived from 1792 to 1868. Comic opera featured plots about everyday life. Opera Seria (serious opera) tended towards tragic, religious, and mythological themes.

Bel Canto

For a good example of the Italian bel canto (beautiful singing) style, Bellini (1801-1835) and Donizetti (1797-1848) are the most noted composers. Bel canto flourished from approximately 1805 to 1830. Bellini's Norma and Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor are good choices.

Verdi

Verdi (1813-1901) is a really big name in Opera history. Watch a DVD of Aida. It is a grand opera based on a story of ancient Egypt. Costumes are lavish, the music is grand and soaring. Not to be missed.

Madame Butterfly

Puccini (1858-1924) is more sentimental. Everyone loves Puccini. See Madame Butterfly but see it alone so you won't be embarrassed when you start crying at the end. 8-)

The Consul

A great taste of modern opera is The Consul by Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007). I loved this opera when I saw it in college. It is political in plot, existential in temperament, and the music is glorious. So there you go. Rent or buy DVDs to explore these operas and you will have a good start.

Learn More

See the Opera History Timeline for more info on the history of opera.

Enjoy,

Dr. Steven Estrella