One thing I heard about Mozart was that he is apparently the "record holder" for MOST MILEAGE TRAVELED IN A CARRIAGE WITHOUT SUSPENSION ... which is quite an achievement for not having had a long life.
This was great! More classical reactions please! There's literally so much from the big three Moz-Bet-Bach to many others like Schubert or Mendelssohn or Chopin or Brahms. Classical music hides thousands of wonderful jems, apart from the typical famous ones
Mozart's sister-n-law, whom he did not like, was to sing the part of the Queen. Mozart wrote the Queen of the Night aria (Holle rache) to be as difficult as possible (while still being singeable, just to spite her.) Mozart had a wicked sense of humor.
Die Zauberfloete (The Magic Flute) was compos’d by Mozart between April & July 1791 with some additions such as the overture and the March of the Priests which was added in September after the emergency-opera ‘La Clemenza di Tito’ was hastily written (between 22 July to 4 Sept 1791) for the coronation of Leopold II in Prague - the character of Papageno was originally perform’d by the comedic tenor Schicaneder the owner of the barn-opera house ‘teater an der Wien’ - who also wrote and rewrote and rewrote the German libretto text to this ‘Singspiel’ (= German opera) where spoken dialogue replaces ‘recitativi secci ed accompagnati’ half sung dialogue as would occur in Italian opera … This libretto contains overt references to Freemasonry (Mozart join’d the Masonic lodges after a near-death experience (31 August through 3 Sept 1784, from renal failure due to a streptococcal infection which left him in a coma for 2 days) it was a Freemasonic doctor who sat by his bed until he recover’d … the ‘three knocks’ of the ‘entered Appretice’ is heard throughout the Overture in E-flat major (3 flats making it a ‘Freemason key’) and the character of Sarastro as symbolic of the Illuminati Founding Grand-Master Adam Weishaupt-the Queen of the Night (written for Mozart’s sister-in-law the soprano Josefa Hofer) representing the enemy of the Freemasons (I.e. the Catholic Church, who feeds Papageno ‘bread & wine’ in exchange for captur’d birds) and other deep symbolism (e.g. when the sunlight of Illumination rises with Sarastro at the end of his ritual at the very end of Act II the Queen of the night is ‘cast into the darkness of the Abyss’ and Pamina & Tamino are finally join’d in a sacred alchemical marriage after undergoing trials ‘of fire & water’ … whole books have been written about the Freemason connexion to this opera -and 6 weeks after it’s premiere on 30 Sept 1791 Mozart was dead at the age of 35 years & 10 months from a streptococcal infection caught on 19 November 1791 following a Masonic lodge meeting causing speculation that the freemasons poison’d Mozart for revealing secret Masonic rituals in his opera - which was later prov’d to be false … Mozart himself began composing music at the age of 4 and died a young man with new compositions playing in his head - what a loss for the musical world !
My favorite overture from Mozart! Love this! That was also my first opera that I watched completely live in theatre. So happy!!! Most people should listen to this music!
Aria di Papageno is the topically German folk music from 18s .Did you noticed that usually in Italian style of opera 99% of operas written in time of Mozart have music going on during dialogue or recitativo and here is without music .Also using German language is something really revolutionary because opera's were written in Italian in that period .
@@0GreatMerlin Sorry, but I don´t agree! in the link you send - there´s Diana Damrau singing BUT here she isn´t 1. it is particularly noticeable in the speaking part: when the singer of the nightqueen speaks, she has an accent. You have to listen very good - but she has an accent. Diana Damrau is a german native speaker ergo... 2. NOT the same face - first I thought she maybe has lost weight, but I´m convinced it isn´t the same soprano. This singer is also GREAT. The same level, but not D. Damrau
I absolutely adore opera. The Magic Flute is phenomenal. The Queen of the Night aria is mind-bending! Who could not love The Marriage of Figaro? Try Don Giovanni! When I was little, my parents would sing the duet La ci darem lo mano and I thought it was the most beautiful and romantic thing ever. Just for the horrible fun of it, listen to Florence Foster Jenkins sing The Queen of the Night. You'll be glad you did.
Actually, the core to the "story" of the Magic Flute is very simple: forces of Light and Forces of Darkness and the things they do in order to get humans onto their sides.
I've seen this opera mmaybe 10-15 times and I still don't quite know what it is about. But i love. I would say it is the easiest and most fun opera to introduce to people who aren't opera people. I t is like a fresh summer rain.
The best version of this opera I've ever seen (or the most original production) was in Albuquerque, NM back in the mid 90s. Instead of being set in the traditional Egyptian Temple, the whole thing took place in a 1930s hotel. It was fantastically done. However, my favorite traditional adaptation of this opera is the film version by Ingmar Bergman. There's something about the characters in the film that makes them feel like old friends. You just fall in love with them... especially Papageno.
The costumes of the actors/singers are dependent on the production designers' interpretation of the opera. Remember this opera was composed in the 18th century so takes place in a fantasy world. I have seen different productions of this opera all different. The music is amazing! I'm an avid opera fan. Mozart is one of the greatest composers who ever lived.
agree, Diana's face leaves an impression on you. almost Glenn Close-ish, blending a theatrical presence with a world class voice. her version is hands down the best.
This is my favorite opera. I love the aria - the night Queens and Papageno voices/songs so much. I have learn german in school.... so I enjoy this opera very much. The opera is full of humor, romance, danger etc. Love it. I also enjoy: I love Saint Saéns - Animal Carnaval - For a new comer to classic music - this is good. It presented U for different animals and Use the music - to describe them: There is Lions, swan, fish etc. I gry when the swan arrive - is a OBO playing (My father is a OBO player and Professionel). Edward Griegs - Per Gynt - take U on a journay to foreign lands and Norways Landscape. Love it. My father is a: TENOR, My mother: ALT. And I have friends who is: SOPRANS.
If you are going to take a couple of women to their first opera you ought to chose something like La Boheme or Madama Butterfly because like there are girl movies and boy movies, there are girl operas and boy operas. Something with a tragic love story like Boheme makes for a great girl opera and it needs to have what most modern performances do, supertitles of a translation of the words projected over the stage so they know what’s going on since, unlike regular opera fans, they won’t know the story.
The name Papageno comes from the German word for "parrot", "Papagei" (pronounced "papa-GHYE"). English is an exception, because the bird is called by similar words in most other European languages (e.g., Spanish "papagayo", Italian "papagallo", etc.). The origins of the word are obscure, but since parrots are tropical birds, it must date from the Greek era, because before that (through the Egyptians, who traded with tropical Africa and India) Europe didn't have access to animals and other things coming from tropical lands.
how can she not like the marriage of figaro?? its incredible, i laughed my ass of, i cried and aplauded like a madman the first time i saw it! its nothing short of a miracle!
The bio-pic "Amadeus" got this scene with Papageno and Papagena in bird's feathers costumes. I recomend this movie, its great oscar winner :) With great actors in the roles of Mozart and Salieri, the other famous composer who supposed to be greatly jelous of Mozart becouse before Mozart Salieri got all the fame. Its tragic story and both of these actors made fantastic unforgetable roles.
The "Figaro" song that you mentioned in the beginning is from Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" That and Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" are based on the first 2 plays of a trilogy of plays about Figaro. I love Mozart operas. The finale of the second act of TMOF (about 20 minutes) is just wonderful.
The "Figaro, Figaro..." is Largo Al Factotum and is Figaro's first aria in Rossini's The Barber if Seville. Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is chronologically the sequel to The Barber of Seville even though it was written some 30 years prior. I am so sad that 'Marriage' wasn't to the ladies taste & they did not enjoy it. It is by far my favourite & I have performances on VHS, DVD, LP, audio cassette and CD - ah, it's no good, I just have to go and listen to it right now, even though I going to an actual performance, next month 😄
It's not the throat - though you need to control that. It's all driven in the lungs. Operatic technique is INCREDIBLE - the way people can create that sound without microphones!
The public radio stations from the local university have a classical and NPR station. I think it is Sundays they do some opera. Fifty four years old and liked classical since I was a teen. Opera is nice too as the voices go so well with the music even though I cant usually recognize a word they sing )
Actually, you’re dead wrong. That soprano’s name is Sabine Devieilhe. What she does is super impressive, and definitely a choice that was made for the production. She’s singing the F6’s at full volume for the first time through, and then singing them diminuendo for subsequent notes. It’s almost impossible to sing quietly in that register, and to do it so high up is truly impressive. The reason for this is because we perceive sound to be louder the higher it is. This is why your smoke detector drives you insane when it needs a new battery and you can hear it anywhere you go inside the house, but if your friend burps in the kitchen you probably won’t hear it in the bedroom. This is not to say that Diana Damrau didn’t absolutely nail this role, and define how it’s supposed to be performed for a generation, but I really hate seeing people crapping on Sabine, who is a truly phenomenal soprano. I highly recommend that everyone listen to her recording of Popoli di Tessaglia, which is an aria so fiendishly difficult, and requiring such a vast range, that almost no sopranos dare attempt it. And, for the record, Diana Damrau never tried it 😅
Yeah you guys missed out by not listening to the one in which Diana Damrau sings the Queen of the night. th-cam.com/video/QIEYFpEzTB0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=8IGLpXEuMwc5RtMI
In my experience, the best first serious opera is Tosca. The story is evident, direct, the bad guy is evident, not one moment without drama that forwards the plot, and the music is first rate. I took a pre-teen to it and he was riveted. Watched it like a TV show. If you insist on Mozart, then Don Giovanni is first rate and not overly subtle like Nozze di Figaro. It is best if titles are available.
I think you mixed two characters. The lady that wants to erase herself is Pamina, not Papagena, but it's for basically the parallel reason (only concerning her love interest, Tamino). The aria where she sings about this ("Ach ich fühl's") is another of Magic Flute's highlights that you MUST check out. This was Mozart last hit and it was immensely popular, in part because it was written specifically for a popular theater, as opposed to the aristocracy and nobility. That's why for example it's in German rather than in Italian, and that's why some of its tunes (particulary the ones given to Papageno) sound closer to what popular music of the time would be, as opposed to normal italian opera arias. That it was so popular is particularly tragic because it would've made Mozart a lot of money (which he usually lacked) and fame and would've opened a few doors for him, but he died just two months after its premiere, so he didn't get to enjoy it too much.
My friend and housemate David, who was one of the most "flaming" gay guys you'll ever meet" used to like to sing The Queen of the Night. I have to say he did it pretty well considering...I have memories of various times. David singing Queen of the Night in his thong, sunbathing on the roof. David singing Queen of the Night one a steaming hot day with his hair sticking out in all directions..... Seriously though, I love this part. I didn't used to know the context of the music here. But when you take her vengefulness and spitefulness and anger, it makes perfect sense with the music. The whole opera is totally wacked out. Beautiful though.
If we are doing Opera reacts, you should do one or bother of the following: Brünnhilde's Immolation from Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner as sung by Gwyneth Jones or by Birgit Nilsson; or Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner as sung by Jessye Norman with Herbert von Karajan conducting the orchestra. The story in these are super complicated, but I'll give you the briefest summary possible: Brünnhilde's Immolation: There's a ring made by an evil dwarf, which is taken by the head god Odin ("Wotan" in German), but it ends up in the hands of Wotan's grandson Siegfried, who ends up falling in love with Wotan's daughter (and his aunt; German opera gets weird) and giving her the ring. The ring is cursed and all sorts of misfortune befall Siegfried and Brünnhilde with him eventually dying. In this scene, Brünnhilde burns Siegfried's body, jumps in the fire, and the fire burns up the whole world and purifies the ring. Liebestod: Isolde is a war captive and is being brought to marry a king by Tristan, who killed her fiance. She means to kill both Tristan and herself by drinking poisoning both her and his wine, but someone switches them out with a love potion. Tragedy strikes and Tristan dies after the fall in love, so Isolde sings the Liebestod where she's hallucinating that Tristan is still alive. Also, historical note: Jessye Norman, who is has a massive voice, was the first black person to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
There is a video on TH-cam of Jessye singing "Mild und Leise" and she is incomparable. It's not super long, I forget, but maybe 8 minutes perhaps, so suitable for a reaction.
No she wasn't, not by a long shot. Do some serious research, then come back. Of course, Jessie Norman was a great soprano, but certainly no where near the first.
I have to recommend the live performance of Rachmaninoffs 2nd Piano Concerto by evgeny kissing. It is in my opinion the best live piano performance I know of. Really worth a listen.
Your reviews of classical music are really cool! It would surely nice for some viewers to have the opportunity to watch the versions themselves that you used in the review. I would suggest to put the version into the video text.
Sorry, guys, this was not Diana Damrau but Sabine Devieilhe, although the production is identical. This is Diana's performance: th-cam.com/video/PEgJTeDYYtc/w-d-xo.html
The "Figaro" you sang is from the Barber of Seville by Rossini. Both Mozart and Rossini wrote an opera based on the books of the French writer Beaumarchais. The Barber of Seville book actually proceeds the Marriage of Figaro. There are three books about the same characters. Which were banned in France because they criticised nobility. Fun fact: Beaumarchais and Mozart were both Freemasons. As was Chikaneder, the writer of the text of Die Zauberflöte, in which ancient secrets of the Freemasonry were revealed. So again this opera was a rebellious act of Mozart. It was in German, opera was supposed to be in Italian, it was about the occult and it had spoken text, opera is supposed to be sung text only.
I just came across this. I love reactors who try classical. Please experience the Mozart Requiem. The whole thing. Because so much of it has been used in movies. And it really is moving.
You should definitely do a reaction to O Fortuna by Carl Orff. I've played this plus some other parts of Carmina Burana and it's definitely one of the most epic things ever written. And also Tschaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
Interestingly, though the story is quite imaginative and playful The Magic Flute, written very late in his life is arguable Mozart´s most mature opera concering the execution and artistic sophistication.
In modern operas - I mean not the operas written in our time but in every new production of the old operas - the staging is done usualy by all modern costumes or mixes the costumes of story's epoch with todays costumes. Which I dont like very much actualy as for me one of the best things in operas is period costumes. :) But the thing is that in the case of stories which are fairytales, like this one, these stories dont need to be based on any historic period (of costumes) so I guess that the staging (the costumes and scenography) can be based on the historic period of composer - like here it would be the end of 18th century, or it can be based on any age of costumes including our modenr todays fashion :) I've seen in TV "the Faerie Queene" by Henry Purcell (a British baroque composer) an opera based on the story from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" W. Shakespeare with costumes similar to the fashion of popsingers of 70s and it was great. :) But I must admit that when I want to listen to an old opera (I prefer baroque ones way above those of romanticism age and classical age) I much prefer to see period costumes. When the opera is based on actual age of history I want to see smt similar to actual historic costumes - for example when I want to see an opera sets in Roman empire I dont want to see a bunch of knight templars in there or a bunch of vikings :) And when the historic setting of the story is not compatibile with proper costumes I dont like to see the staging, and only listen to the music :) But with fairytales operas I must admit that I dont mind much the changes of settings, I mean its fairytale setting, not historic one, so for me the queen of the night could wear any kind of costumes - literary from bronze age (like rugged witch) to the princess from the times of Mozart :) But I dont care much for stagings (costumes and scenography) in which main heroes look like 20th century ppl :)
My theory about the conflict between the Queen of the night and Sarastro is symbolic like. She is like Mother Nature all dominating and furious, a chaotic hero but he is supposed to be a mage, or a priest who enlightens and teaches ppl and they become more humane than animalistic, more about intelect and spirituality, than just instincts and they would become more than natural, basic troglodytes :) Its probably - thats my guess - a story about spiritual enlightment and growing up of consciousness. But of course humans can not live in just one of this spheres, we need both. :)
i don't know if this was at the Royal Opera House, but I prefer the other staging of this piece by Diana; where she is really into the character with the acting.
Yeah, think of doing this several times a week, I hope that the singers of this are getting paid good - cause they must be out of their mind after being so powerfull and go to regular life...
Try listening to Franco Corelli sing Nessun Dorma, Birgit Nilsson singing In Questa Reggia both from Turandot and Lina Bruna Rasa singing Voi la sapete from Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni
This is interesting and entertaining, but a MAJOR issue I have with this series (and similar ones) is that the artists (the performers that actually make Mozart's music possible to hear) are never attributed. Surely the singer of Queen of the Night here deserves at least as much praise as the composer?
The story is that the king was possibly murdered, by the daughter's love interest, Serastro, and the queen goes to her daughter and demands she use the relationship to kill him in retaliation or the queen will declare that she is no longer her daughter.
Please make a first time reaction on The entry of the gods into Valhalla by Richard Wagner (the Met 1990 version conducted by James Levine, the best one) :)
You should have taken them to Carmen first. It's an opera that reaches everyone, because everyone experiences jealousy, cheating, etc and the emotions that go along with that.
I've heard that Mozart made the high part to be sung for her own girlfriend, so no-one else could ever sing it as she did. Even today there are only a handful of people who really can. This lady most skillful in that must be the Latvian colorature soprano Elina Garanca :)
"This is in german" ... as a german I can tell you that I dont understand what they sing either ... you have to know the lyrics to be able to follow along most of the time.
Just wait until you listen to operas by Handel. I highly recommend you react to Handel's " Un pensiero nemico di pace" th-cam.com/video/mKNIvrIM3Q8/w-d-xo.html
This opera is so well known and beloved in Germany. If your parents like to educate you a little you're surely have seen this.The Papageno Song where he is singing about finding a girl, is with another text a very popular "folk" song. It was the first Opera in German Language. It wasn't Mozart's first Opera, nor the first Opera by a German composer. But it was seen fit to sing or compose in Italian, since it originated there (when keeping it real goes wrong...). There was also Libretto and stuff. 150 years (!) after the first German Opera, German composer Mozart finally wrote a Opera that normal people could understand. By the way, don't believe Mozart was Austrian, you don't have to be cow when you are born in a cow stable. So end of the video and you haven't even played my favorite song. That's how good it is.
One of the most interesting theories about "the magic flute" I've heard that the story is big time symbolic and the symbolism is all about the rituals of freemasons. Esp. becouse the guy who wrote the story for it was an Austrian freemason. here you have the story explained scene by scene : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Flute
One thing I heard about Mozart was that he is apparently the "record holder" for MOST MILEAGE TRAVELED IN A CARRIAGE WITHOUT SUSPENSION ... which is quite an achievement for not having had a long life.
The magic flute must be one of the most beautiful opera ever composed
But please don't try to get any sense out of the story, it was absolutely messed up, so close your eyes and listen...
@@oreichertIt was really a surreal fantasy...
This was great! More classical reactions please! There's literally so much from the big three Moz-Bet-Bach to many others like Schubert or Mendelssohn or Chopin or Brahms. Classical music hides thousands of wonderful jems, apart from the typical famous ones
Schubert's "unfinished" symphony is one of my favorite pieces.
Mozart's sister-n-law, whom he did not like, was to sing the part of the Queen. Mozart wrote the Queen of the Night aria (Holle rache) to be as difficult as possible (while still being singeable, just to spite her.) Mozart had a wicked sense of humor.
Die Zauberfloete (The Magic Flute) was compos’d by Mozart between April & July 1791 with some additions such as the overture and the March of the Priests which was added in September after the emergency-opera ‘La Clemenza di Tito’ was hastily written (between 22 July to 4 Sept 1791) for the coronation of Leopold II in Prague - the character of Papageno was originally perform’d by the comedic tenor Schicaneder the owner of the barn-opera house ‘teater an der Wien’ - who also wrote and rewrote and rewrote the German libretto text to this ‘Singspiel’ (= German opera) where spoken dialogue replaces ‘recitativi secci ed accompagnati’ half sung dialogue as would occur in Italian opera …
This libretto contains overt references to Freemasonry (Mozart join’d the Masonic lodges after a near-death experience (31 August through 3 Sept 1784, from renal failure due to a streptococcal infection which left him in a coma for 2 days) it was a Freemasonic doctor who sat by his bed until he recover’d … the ‘three knocks’ of the ‘entered Appretice’ is heard throughout the Overture in E-flat major (3 flats making it a ‘Freemason key’) and the character of Sarastro as symbolic of the Illuminati Founding Grand-Master Adam Weishaupt-the Queen of the Night (written for Mozart’s sister-in-law the soprano Josefa Hofer) representing the enemy of the Freemasons (I.e. the Catholic Church, who feeds Papageno ‘bread & wine’ in exchange for captur’d birds) and other deep symbolism (e.g. when the sunlight of Illumination rises with Sarastro at the end of his ritual at the very end of Act II the Queen of the night is ‘cast into the darkness of the Abyss’ and Pamina & Tamino are finally join’d in a sacred alchemical marriage after undergoing trials ‘of fire & water’ … whole books have been written about the Freemason connexion to this opera -and 6 weeks after it’s premiere on 30 Sept 1791 Mozart was dead at the age of 35 years & 10 months from a streptococcal infection caught on 19 November 1791 following a Masonic lodge meeting causing speculation that the freemasons poison’d Mozart for revealing secret Masonic rituals in his opera - which was later prov’d to be false …
Mozart himself began composing music at the age of 4 and died a young man with new compositions playing in his head - what a loss for the musical world !
I saw Diana sing this live at the Royal Opera House in London, I will NEVER forget it!!!!
Marriage of Figaro is my favorite opera.
It's great to see someone sit through this for the first time.
My favorite overture from Mozart! Love this! That was also my first opera that I watched completely live in theatre. So happy!!! Most people should listen to this music!
Aria di Papageno is the topically German folk music from 18s .Did you noticed that usually in Italian style of opera 99% of operas written in time of Mozart have music going on during dialogue or recitativo and here is without music .Also using German language is something really revolutionary because opera's were written in Italian in that period .
"the queen of the night aria" is one of my fav pieces of music ever. :)
Diana Damrau is KILLING it as the queen in this performance!!! 💖
Scary beyond all belief.
THIS isn´t Diana Damrau! Same costume, same arie butnot the samespoprano-singer!
@@karinamoraru8289
That is indeed Diana. It was taken from this recording at right around the 2:12 time: th-cam.com/video/YuBeBjqKSGQ/w-d-xo.html
@@0GreatMerlin Sorry, but I don´t agree!
in the link you send - there´s Diana Damrau singing BUT here she isn´t
1. it is particularly noticeable in the speaking part: when the singer of the nightqueen speaks, she has an accent. You have to listen very good - but she has an accent. Diana Damrau is a german native speaker ergo...
2. NOT the same face - first I thought she maybe has lost weight, but I´m convinced it isn´t the same soprano. This singer is also GREAT. The same level, but not D. Damrau
@@karinamoraru8289 not to mention diana damrau doesn't look anything like this singer.
I absolutely adore opera. The Magic Flute is phenomenal. The Queen of the Night aria is mind-bending! Who could not love The Marriage of Figaro? Try Don Giovanni! When I was little, my parents would sing the duet La ci darem lo mano and I thought it was the most beautiful and romantic thing ever. Just for the horrible fun of it, listen to Florence Foster Jenkins sing The Queen of the Night. You'll be glad you did.
Actually, the core to the "story" of the Magic Flute is very simple: forces of Light and Forces of Darkness and the things they do in order to get humans onto their sides.
I'm giving you the best of the 60s and 70s and now this is the best in this Century of the Queen of the Night Aria from Edda Moser
queen of the night in this video = really good, perhaps great
Diana Damrau as queen of the night = perfection!!!
I've seen this opera mmaybe 10-15 times and I still don't quite know what it is about. But i love. I would say it is the easiest and most fun opera to introduce to people who aren't opera people. I t is like a fresh summer rain.
The best version of this opera I've ever seen (or the most original production) was in Albuquerque, NM back in the mid 90s. Instead of being set in the traditional Egyptian Temple, the whole thing took place in a 1930s hotel. It was fantastically done.
However, my favorite traditional adaptation of this opera is the film version by Ingmar Bergman. There's something about the characters in the film that makes them feel like old friends. You just fall in love with them... especially Papageno.
The costumes of the actors/singers are dependent on the production designers' interpretation of the opera. Remember this opera was composed in the 18th century so takes place in a fantasy world. I have seen different productions of this opera all different. The music is amazing! I'm an avid opera fan. Mozart is one of the greatest composers who ever lived.
Spectacular opera. No one will be able to do queen of the night like Diana Damrau! Bar none!! Perfection 🤌🤌
Great. But listen once to Patricia Petibon ...
Well, I am quite partial to Ingeborg Hallstein.
agree, Diana's face leaves an impression on you. almost Glenn Close-ish, blending a theatrical presence with a world class voice. her version is hands down the best.
This is my favorite opera. I love the aria - the night Queens and Papageno voices/songs so much. I have learn german in school.... so I enjoy this opera very much. The opera is full of humor, romance, danger etc. Love it. I also enjoy: I love Saint Saéns - Animal Carnaval - For a new comer to classic music - this is good. It presented U for different animals and Use the music - to describe them: There is Lions, swan, fish etc. I gry when the swan arrive - is a OBO playing (My father is a OBO player and Professionel). Edward Griegs - Per Gynt - take U on a journay to foreign lands and Norways Landscape. Love it. My father is a: TENOR, My mother: ALT. And I have friends who is: SOPRANS.
If you are going to take a couple of women to their first opera you ought to chose something like La Boheme or Madama Butterfly because like there are girl movies and boy movies, there are girl operas and boy operas. Something with a tragic love story like Boheme makes for a great girl opera and it needs to have what most modern performances do, supertitles of a translation of the words projected over the stage so they know what’s going on since, unlike regular opera fans, they won’t know the story.
I do so love Diana doing the Queen. The part where she demands murder is always fun to watch, she is scary beyond all belief in that.
This is not Damrau. The first aria that The Queen sing is O zittre nicht...vocal fireworks! This is an aria closer to the end of the opera
The name Papageno comes from the German word for "parrot", "Papagei" (pronounced "papa-GHYE"). English is an exception, because the bird is called by similar words in most other European languages (e.g., Spanish "papagayo", Italian "papagallo", etc.). The origins of the word are obscure, but since parrots are tropical birds, it must date from the Greek era, because before that (through the Egyptians, who traded with tropical Africa and India) Europe didn't have access to animals and other things coming from tropical lands.
how can she not like the marriage of figaro?? its incredible, i laughed my ass of, i cried and aplauded like a madman the first time i saw it! its nothing short of a miracle!
The bio-pic "Amadeus" got this scene with Papageno and Papagena in bird's feathers costumes. I recomend this movie, its great oscar winner :) With great actors in the roles of Mozart and Salieri, the other famous composer who supposed to be greatly jelous of Mozart becouse before Mozart Salieri got all the fame. Its tragic story and both of these actors made fantastic unforgetable roles.
He knows the movie, that's why he likes Mozart and is introducing his friend to his work☺️
The "Figaro" song that you mentioned in the beginning is from Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" That and Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" are based on the first 2 plays of a trilogy of plays about Figaro. I love Mozart operas. The finale of the second act of TMOF (about 20 minutes) is just wonderful.
The "Figaro, Figaro..." is Largo Al Factotum and is Figaro's first aria in Rossini's The Barber if Seville.
Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is chronologically the sequel to The Barber of Seville even though it was written some 30 years prior.
I am so sad that 'Marriage' wasn't to the ladies taste & they did not enjoy it.
It is by far my favourite & I have performances on VHS, DVD, LP, audio cassette and CD - ah, it's no good, I just have to go and listen to it right now, even though I going to an actual performance, next month 😄
Figaro appears also in Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia", 1815
During the queen's song I usualy wonder how normal human's throat is able to do this thing :D
It's not the throat - though you need to control that. It's all driven in the lungs. Operatic technique is INCREDIBLE - the way people can create that sound without microphones!
The public radio stations from the local university have a classical and NPR station. I think it is Sundays they do some opera. Fifty four years old and liked classical since I was a teen. Opera is nice too as the voices go so well with the music even though I cant usually recognize a word they sing )
The soprano can barely hit those high Fs'. Listen to Diana Damrau and then you will hear the very best version of the aria "Queen of the Night"
Actually, you’re dead wrong. That soprano’s name is Sabine Devieilhe. What she does is super impressive, and definitely a choice that was made for the production. She’s singing the F6’s at full volume for the first time through, and then singing them diminuendo for subsequent notes. It’s almost impossible to sing quietly in that register, and to do it so high up is truly impressive.
The reason for this is because we perceive sound to be louder the higher it is. This is why your smoke detector drives you insane when it needs a new battery and you can hear it anywhere you go inside the house, but if your friend burps in the kitchen you probably won’t hear it in the bedroom.
This is not to say that Diana Damrau didn’t absolutely nail this role, and define how it’s supposed to be performed for a generation, but I really hate seeing people crapping on Sabine, who is a truly phenomenal soprano. I highly recommend that everyone listen to her recording of Popoli di Tessaglia, which is an aria so fiendishly difficult, and requiring such a vast range, that almost no sopranos dare attempt it. And, for the record, Diana Damrau never tried it 😅
@@icypeanutpolo Spot on! 👍👍👍
Yeah you guys missed out by not listening to the one in which Diana Damrau sings the Queen of the night.
th-cam.com/video/QIEYFpEzTB0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=8IGLpXEuMwc5RtMI
Åååååååååååå
@@icypeanutpolo😊
Wow, I think the conductor is the best conductor I've never heard of. She is amazing
In my experience, the best first serious opera is Tosca. The story is evident, direct, the bad guy is evident, not one moment without drama that forwards the plot, and the music is first rate. I took a pre-teen to it and he was riveted. Watched it like a TV show.
If you insist on Mozart, then Don Giovanni is first rate and not overly subtle like Nozze di Figaro. It is best if titles are available.
I think you mixed two characters. The lady that wants to erase herself is Pamina, not Papagena, but it's for basically the parallel reason (only concerning her love interest, Tamino). The aria where she sings about this ("Ach ich fühl's") is another of Magic Flute's highlights that you MUST check out.
This was Mozart last hit and it was immensely popular, in part because it was written specifically for a popular theater, as opposed to the aristocracy and nobility. That's why for example it's in German rather than in Italian, and that's why some of its tunes (particulary the ones given to Papageno) sound closer to what popular music of the time would be, as opposed to normal italian opera arias.
That it was so popular is particularly tragic because it would've made Mozart a lot of money (which he usually lacked) and fame and would've opened a few doors for him, but he died just two months after its premiere, so he didn't get to enjoy it too much.
My friend and housemate David, who was one of the most "flaming" gay guys you'll ever meet" used to like to sing The Queen of the Night. I have to say he did it pretty well considering...I have memories of various times. David singing Queen of the Night in his thong, sunbathing on the roof. David singing Queen of the Night one a steaming hot day with his hair sticking out in all directions.....
Seriously though, I love this part. I didn't used to know the context of the music here. But when you take her vengefulness and spitefulness and anger, it makes perfect sense with the music. The whole opera is totally wacked out. Beautiful though.
If we are doing Opera reacts, you should do one or bother of the following:
Brünnhilde's Immolation from Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner as sung by Gwyneth Jones or by Birgit Nilsson; or
Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner as sung by Jessye Norman with Herbert von Karajan conducting the orchestra.
The story in these are super complicated, but I'll give you the briefest summary possible:
Brünnhilde's Immolation: There's a ring made by an evil dwarf, which is taken by the head god Odin ("Wotan" in German), but it ends up in the hands of Wotan's grandson Siegfried, who ends up falling in love with Wotan's daughter (and his aunt; German opera gets weird) and giving her the ring. The ring is cursed and all sorts of misfortune befall Siegfried and Brünnhilde with him eventually dying. In this scene, Brünnhilde burns Siegfried's body, jumps in the fire, and the fire burns up the whole world and purifies the ring.
Liebestod: Isolde is a war captive and is being brought to marry a king by Tristan, who killed her fiance. She means to kill both Tristan and herself by drinking poisoning both her and his wine, but someone switches them out with a love potion. Tragedy strikes and Tristan dies after the fall in love, so Isolde sings the Liebestod where she's hallucinating that Tristan is still alive.
Also, historical note: Jessye Norman, who is has a massive voice, was the first black person to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Oh, and re: the bells in the Magic Flute:
The player mimes ringing the bells, but there is a keyboard that strikes the bells in the pit.
There is a video on TH-cam of Jessye singing "Mild und Leise" and she is incomparable. It's not super long, I forget, but maybe 8 minutes perhaps, so suitable for a reaction.
No she wasn't, not by a long shot. Do some serious research, then come back. Of course, Jessie Norman was a great soprano, but certainly no where near the first.
I have to recommend the live performance of Rachmaninoffs 2nd Piano Concerto by evgeny kissing. It is in my opinion the best live piano performance I know of. Really worth a listen.
Your reviews of classical music are really cool! It would surely nice for some viewers to have the opportunity to watch the versions themselves that you used in the review. I would suggest to put the version into the video text.
Sorry, guys, this was not Diana Damrau but Sabine Devieilhe, although the production is identical. This is Diana's performance: th-cam.com/video/PEgJTeDYYtc/w-d-xo.html
The "Figaro" you sang is from the Barber of Seville by Rossini. Both Mozart and Rossini wrote an opera based on the books of the French writer Beaumarchais. The Barber of Seville book actually proceeds the Marriage of Figaro. There are three books about the same characters. Which were banned in France because they criticised nobility. Fun fact: Beaumarchais and Mozart were both Freemasons. As was Chikaneder, the writer of the text of Die Zauberflöte, in which ancient secrets of the Freemasonry were revealed. So again this opera was a rebellious act of Mozart. It was in German, opera was supposed to be in Italian, it was about the occult and it had spoken text, opera is supposed to be sung text only.
I just came across this. I love reactors who try classical. Please experience the Mozart Requiem. The whole thing. Because so much of it has been used in movies. And it really is moving.
You should definitely do a reaction to O Fortuna by Carl Orff. I've played this plus some other parts of Carmina Burana and it's definitely one of the most epic things ever written. And also Tschaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
I want you to check out this Queen of the Night Aria that I just sent you from the early sixties.. It's probably the best that has ever been.
Interestingly, though the story is quite imaginative and playful The Magic Flute, written very late in his life is arguable Mozart´s most mature opera concering the execution and artistic sophistication.
The Best Opera ever written in german
So great that the mind just explodes
In modern operas - I mean not the operas written in our time but in every new production of the old operas - the staging is done usualy by all modern costumes or mixes the costumes of story's epoch with todays costumes. Which I dont like very much actualy as for me one of the best things in operas is period costumes. :) But the thing is that in the case of stories which are fairytales, like this one, these stories dont need to be based on any historic period (of costumes) so I guess that the staging (the costumes and scenography) can be based on the historic period of composer - like here it would be the end of 18th century, or it can be based on any age of costumes including our modenr todays fashion :) I've seen in TV "the Faerie Queene" by Henry Purcell (a British baroque composer) an opera based on the story from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" W. Shakespeare with costumes similar to the fashion of popsingers of 70s and it was great. :) But I must admit that when I want to listen to an old opera (I prefer baroque ones way above those of romanticism age and classical age) I much prefer to see period costumes. When the opera is based on actual age of history I want to see smt similar to actual historic costumes - for example when I want to see an opera sets in Roman empire I dont want to see a bunch of knight templars in there or a bunch of vikings :) And when the historic setting of the story is not compatibile with proper costumes I dont like to see the staging, and only listen to the music :) But with fairytales operas I must admit that I dont mind much the changes of settings, I mean its fairytale setting, not historic one, so for me the queen of the night could wear any kind of costumes - literary from bronze age (like rugged witch) to the princess from the times of Mozart :) But I dont care much for stagings (costumes and scenography) in which main heroes look like 20th century ppl :)
Mozart was a freemason and a lot of their symbols and metaphysics is in this opera.
The God of music
Largo al Factotum, which is what you were singing, is from The Barber of Seville by Giocchino Rossini
Try Mozart's piano concerto no. 24 in C minor. It *doesn't* disappoint!
wonderful video!! perhaps one day you guys could react to the commendatore from don giovani? it's truly brilliant and appalling
Where the term “soap opera” came from. The over the top plot lines are similar to operas.
Enjoyed your rendition of The Queen of the Night. But , in my book, the best Queen of the Night is still Cristina Deutekom. She second to none.
My theory about the conflict between the Queen of the night and Sarastro is symbolic like. She is like Mother Nature all dominating and furious, a chaotic hero but he is supposed to be a mage, or a priest who enlightens and teaches ppl and they become more humane than animalistic, more about intelect and spirituality, than just instincts and they would become more than natural, basic troglodytes :) Its probably - thats my guess - a story about spiritual enlightment and growing up of consciousness. But of course humans can not live in just one of this spheres, we need both. :)
Deitlef Roth is the best Papageno. The costumes of Papageno and Papagena are great too.
Mozart is the God of music
Diana Damrau did the queen of the night way better look it up .
listening to that queen of the night aria made me start overheating fr
i don't know if this was at the Royal Opera House, but I prefer the other staging of this piece by Diana; where she is really into the character with the acting.
big fan of Mozart operas
Yeah, think of doing this several times a week, I hope that the singers of this are getting paid good - cause they must be out of their mind after being so powerfull and go to regular life...
Try listening to Franco Corelli sing Nessun Dorma, Birgit Nilsson singing In Questa Reggia both from Turandot and Lina Bruna Rasa singing Voi la sapete from Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni
This is interesting and entertaining, but a MAJOR issue I have with this series (and similar ones) is that the artists (the performers that actually make Mozart's music possible to hear) are never attributed. Surely the singer of Queen of the Night here deserves at least as much praise as the composer?
How about Paganini?
The story is that the king was possibly murdered, by the daughter's love interest, Serastro, and the queen goes to her daughter and demands she use the relationship to kill him in retaliation or the queen will declare that she is no longer her daughter.
Please make a first time reaction on The entry of the gods into Valhalla by Richard Wagner (the Met 1990 version conducted by James Levine, the best one) :)
do more classical reactions
You should have taken them to Carmen first. It's an opera that reaches everyone, because everyone experiences jealousy, cheating, etc and the emotions that go along with that.
I've heard that Mozart made the high part to be sung for her own girlfriend, so no-one else could ever sing it as she did. Even today there are only a handful of people who really can. This lady most skillful in that must be the Latvian colorature soprano Elina Garanca :)
Correction Elina Garanca is not for this, but Diana Damrau
@@horstentree9872 Elina is not a clorature😅
Listen to Puccini-Visi D'Arte read-up on the story - Renee Fleming
When I was a young boy I played knabe 1. One of the 3 boys. Btw Papageno was written for Mozart friend who wasn't really a singer but a comedic actor
The best Queen of the Night was Lucia Popp 👍
This wasn’t a serious opera. It’s more of a vaudeville which might explain the mad storylines.
Which production was that please? I must know who the conductor was! I have never seen her😃
This is probably the best recording ever of Mozart's Queen of the Night..
"This is in german" ... as a german I can tell you that I dont understand what they sing either ... you have to know the lyrics to be able to follow along most of the time.
Diana Damrau was much better.
Just wait until you listen to operas by Handel. I highly recommend you react to Handel's " Un pensiero nemico di pace"
th-cam.com/video/mKNIvrIM3Q8/w-d-xo.html
This opera is so well known and beloved in Germany. If your parents like to educate you a little you're surely have seen this.The Papageno Song where he is singing about finding a girl, is with another text a very popular "folk" song.
It was the first Opera in German Language. It wasn't Mozart's first Opera, nor the first Opera by a German composer. But it was seen fit to sing or compose in Italian, since it originated there (when keeping it real goes wrong...). There was also Libretto and stuff.
150 years (!) after the first German Opera, German composer Mozart finally wrote a Opera that normal people could understand. By the way, don't believe Mozart was Austrian, you don't have to be cow when you are born in a cow stable.
So end of the video and you haven't even played my favorite song. That's how good it is.
What else is he if not Austrian.
@@MrBenedictus25 in his own words? German
Marriage of Figaro too long for an opera first timer.
As a classical music enjoyer I hate opera.
Opera, IMO, is basically classical trash. The plots are invariably more sordid that most murder mysteries.
I've played a lot....she is just pretending to conduct....the orchestra is playing themselves......a joke
Actually there is hidden Freemason stuff in this opera. Mozart himself was a freemason.
Figaro Figaro Figaro...is from the Barber of Seville by Rossini. Which is actually the prequel to marriage of Figaro
One of the most interesting theories about "the magic flute" I've heard that the story is big time symbolic and the symbolism is all about the rituals of freemasons. Esp. becouse the guy who wrote the story for it was an Austrian freemason.
here you have the story explained scene by scene :
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Flute