I would add that The Magic Flute is not only a good first opera for adults but hands down the best first opera for kids. I watched it for the first time when I was ten and my little brother was eight. We were well prepared by our parents, who listened to some of the highlight arias with us ahead of time, and read the synopsis to us so we wouldn't get lost if the subtitles went too fast. We both loved it and ran around the house singing pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pageno for weeks. The following year we named our new kitten Papageno and he became the best bird catcher. ;)
I’ve sung Magic Flute and always considered it incredibly boring. It has, as many Mozart ‘s operas do, wonderful music, but it is too long to be considered entertaining. My two cents.
For kids, in my opinion, hänsel und gretel is a fantastic starting point. Especially in comparison to the magic flute as a German opera. The tunes are very singable and many of them turned into popular children’s songs. But of course magic flute is wonderful, every child loves papageno
I don't really agree it is actually quite a complex plot. I feel like la traviata and Tosca are the easier plots to understand and better for beginners.
Yes, one of mey earliest exposure to opera, as a kid, was Ingmar Bergman's Magic Flute movie, one of the very first (and totaly successful attempt) to take opera out of opera houses....
A word of caution on helping someone go to their first opera: don't underestimate them. My brother wanted to try opera and I thought Carmen would be a good choice. He was generally unimpressed, but a week later told me he watched "Akhnaten" on TV and loved it. I got him a ticket to the Met production and he is now a bit of an opera fan. I never would have guessed that Akhnaten could be an introduction, but his interest in ancient history and the creative staging appealed.
I had to wait 30 years to see a production of Akhnaten at the ENO that transferred to the Met. StunnIng, absolutely stunning. My wife who is not a Philip Glass fan, was impressed. My first opera was the Magic Flute, which I thought of as a concept album. Cosi Fan Tutte is my favourite opera along with Akhnaten.
I took my family to see Akhnaten at the Met last year. It was our first trip there and the first live opera for my children (20/17). For my wife and I, it was our second opera (The Abduction from the Seraglio being our first). We all found the performance to be mesmerizing. In some ways, a modern opera with clear storytelling is a wonderful introduction to opera. And let's face it, I have never ever ever seen staging like the end of the second act.
One thing I particularly like about this list is it covers the bases really well -- comedy and tragedy, fantasy and realism, the 3 most common languages (italian, german, french), several of the big-name composers, and a 105-year span of time (1791-1896) across opera's heyday of popularity. It seems safe to say that if a newcomer will like opera at all, they'll like at least one of these.
Agree with these choices. As a retired operatic singing/performer, now voice teacher ... these are excellent choices with simple explanations. Thank you. Sharing with new students to opera.
I’ve been a professional singer for the past 35 years and have sung all of the operas mentioned here, some of them many times, especially La Boheme. But if I had to name the best opera for beginners I would have to say Turandot. It’s short with spectacular music all throughout. I really recommend it.
I'm a real philistine , ignorant, stupid and narrow minded, but I found many opera arias are just banging good ! Unfortunately the very limited education I had did not teach me Italian or French so I don't have a bloody clue what the hell they're going on about but wow what an incredibly powerful sound, you would have to be dead not to be moved by opera and the fact that only posh rich people can appreciate is yet another reason its better to be posh and rich than poor, ignorant and stupid .
@enkiitu, I have been interested in the classical music for the last 60 years and my pick for the number one opera is also Turandot. Although Pucini was a great composer, who had made several famous operas earlier, I still have the feeling, that in this opera he reached his absolute peak. He also used a choir in this opera for the first time and he did it very skillfully. His ability to describe the happenings and the mood of the people and the changes in it by different orchestral sounds was suberb. It is sad, that he died before he had created a suitable ending for this masterpice. I have two operas, which I also like very much: Mozart's Don Giovanni and Borodin't Prince Igor. Borodin is earning an extra bravado point from me, because the is treating the Polovitsian people with a great respect, a greater respect than he is showing to the Russians. That is a lot from a Russian composer.
Yeah, Turandot has it all ! impressive solo and duet singing, impressive chorus, impressive scenery, a fairly easy plot to follow and understand, gorgeous music, and electrifying orchestra.
My first exposure to opera was "Rigoletto," which I saw when I was 16 years old. It took my breath away and made me an inveterate opera lover for life! That was 40 years ago, and over time I've developed a love for Baroque opera. I recently also discovered Philip Glass through his opera "Akhenaten," and was entranced. The journey never ends - there is a world of operatic delights out there!
I know it's not really an opera, but my first experience was Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) as a kid, and I loved it, and kept singing songs from it. I think it can be a good idea to move gradually from musicals through singspiel to opera. After that it was la Traviata with Andrea Rost, and it was beautiful, but I think I needed the gradual introduction. I haven't seen Carmen as a real opera yet, but turned into a skating film, Carmen On Ice with Katarina Witt, Brian Boitano and Brian Orser (world champions, Olympic champions and silver medalist), three of the greatest skaters of their time). It was a passionate performance and brought the music closer to me, as it was connected to my favourite sport.
My love for opera began around my 11 birthday. First one in the family. At that age I enjoyed a good story. So, Mozart: Zauberflöte and Le Nozze di Figaro, Smetana: The Bartered Bride, Weber: Der Freischütz, Verdi: Macbeth. I got a lot of vinyl records and my mother bravely accompanied me for five years to our small town opera (around 30 performances). A very expensive hobby for a kid. My big projects before my 15 birthday: Wagner: Meistersinger and Verdi: Don Carlo. I was very thankful for the metropolitan opera‘s stream during COVID.
The best opera for beginners is The Barber of Seville. Everyone should know it from the Bugs Bunny Elmer Fud cartoon. And the best part is that the best part of the opera is in the very beginning. So if you can't sit for a 2 or 3 hour opera, you can leave early (as many people do) and not miss the best part!
I don't know about Barbiere as a first opera. It was my first and I didn't like it much: it wasn't a great production and the humour left me flat. What won me over totally was Don Giovanni! All the others seem to me to be great first operas. (I now think Barbiere is hilarious: I start laughing before it starts!)
I am giving this video a thumbs up solely for introducing me to Hubert Zapiór. My first opera was Il Trovatore, and I don't think it gets enough appreciation. I bought the cd just for the Anvil Chorus, and discovered Stride la vampa and Di quella pira (curse my baritone range, taunting me with that aria).
I always feel like L'elisir d'amore is underrated as a first opera--it's so funny and the plot is super accessible! Also, Rachel sings the pants off Kaufmann every time they collaborate and I love it.
Would always recommend to start with "Don Giovanni", also perhaps "Hänsel and Gretel". Then "The Magic Flute", and also "Carmen" would be on my list for beginners. "Aida", as well as "Turandot" might be interesting ones, too, for opera novices.
These videos are such great resource material for me as a Music Teacher hoping to teach kids to love and appreciate all kinds of music. The kids love the content and I am learning quite a lot too! Thank you!
This is an excellent video! Thank you for making it. The singing was so good in the performances you included that I'm now on a mission to see these exact productions (provided they have english subtitles) and obtain their soundtracks.
My first was Rigoletto with Rena ta Scotto in the role of Gilda in 1966 when she such a glorious lyric voice. Your selections are certainly rational and reasonable. I little story about Jonas Kaufman here. I have a very good friend who over the years had listened to me rave about various operas I had seen and the great singers. Although she liked classical music, she never understood my opera passion. One time I visited her, I had a Kaufman CD in the car radio and had forgotten to turn it off. When I started the car the CD started playing and she said "take to Borders so I can buy my own copy of that.
Thank you for presenting your choices of opera for beginners. I love them. I particularly like the Bird Catcher’s (Vogelfänger) song in the Magic Flute. I am trying to learn to sing it in German!
I just happened on this while looking up the different voices and listening to each one. I’m in my seventies and found this video to be a welcome relief from today’s political scene. I will now spend time bathing my brain in opera. Thank you.
As a child my parents would bring me and my sisters to see operas all the time, to the point where we always hated it because (obviously we were literally children) we didn’t understand the music. However, I am so grateful now, it’s insane how those few years of exposure shape so much later on. The first opera I saw that I genuinely remember and loved was Porgy and Bess. Also the first time I ever cried at a live performance of anything was a year ago seeing Cavalleria Rusticana. Shame there’s so much stigma around opera only being for snobs. So many people don’t even realise what they’re missing out on
I think that in the performance with subtitles pannels, some of the problems may be solved, since at least it make it easyer to get along with the action. Of course it is a little distracting, but with a little effort, it makes the whole thing a little more accessible. But I, myself, still think is better to read a GOOD summary of the piece before the presentation, to get really into the music...
The very first opera I attended was Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, performed in English. All the singers' diction was excellent: I understood every word and found the entire opera very funny and captivating. I've been hooked on opera ever since, and have since become.a singer myself! Love the arias of the Countess, Susanna, and Cherubino. BTW: Throughout my first hearing, I was waiting for Figaro's famous aria, only to find out later that was in another opera. Both operas are based on Beaumarchais's Trilogy.
My first was Aida. I took a friend to his first opera (La Gioconda) and not only created an opera fan but a fanatical lover of Eva Marton. Two other friends had Boris Godunov and Parsifal for their first: talk about kill or cure!!!! Very good choices.
Great choices! I guessed what the operas might be before I started the video, and I thought you'd pick Rigoletto over Traviata. But yup, these are solid picks.
Years ago a former student was singing (sort of) the Largo al Factotum. When I learned that he had never been to an opera, I decided to take him to the Met production of Il Barbiere (which I think is the funniest opera ever). After purchasing tickets, my closest friend tried to convince me that Carmen would be a better first choice. I attempted to point out the absurdity, given that the young man was clearly familiar with and fond of Rossini's music; he is a European born polyglot, who is extremely well-read (when I first taught Animal Farm he taught his classmates about the Russian Revolution allusions); and the tickets had already been purchased. He loved the opera. That memory of my confused but dearly missed friend (who subsequently passed away), came back to me today, shortly before stumbling upon this video.
Thank you for bringing this information to the world, its really informative for Africa study of Western opera because of inability to reach interactive and simplified information like this other than literatures.
Having seen Lucia di Lammermoor and enjoyed it I was introduced to an English language version of Butterfly with a Chinese actress/opera singer in the title role. It was incredibly accessible to a 13 year old and I was hooked on the exquisite music and the tragedy. Then Tosca- which took my breath away with its chillingness and shockingness and amazing music. Then I longed to hear Boheme and was able to follow it on a recording and found the music gorgeous, sweet and just food for the soul. On hearing Turandot I was again astounded. Incredible music and colour and Puccini - but different - powerful, epic yet still personal and sweet. Meanwhile I discovered the edelightful Magic Flute and Figaro, Rigoletto and Traviata - and was truly hooked. And then Monteverdi's Orfeo and his others - a whole new experience, So yes - I can say opera is a wonderful art form and enriching to those who are exposed to it and fall under its spell!
I’d agree with that! But unfortunately, as in almost all bel canto operas, you need a GREAT soprano and tenor to make the opera come alive. Have you ever seen a bel canto opera with lousy singers? I have. And it just laid there like a flat pancake.
Thanks! Great video and good advice although I've rarely managed to get any of my friends or partners into opera. I think I'd have added Cavalleria Rusticana or Pagliacci instead of the Rossini but that's just me. Brevity is probably an advantage for beginners and the Barber of Seville is really a bit long, even for me.
I love opera. On both sides of the pond. In my university days I became friends with My Hero, who not only sang the National Anthem, but also worked at the sandwich shop called my hero, and also was third place in the Metropolitan Opera contest. He put me in several of his student plays, and encouraged me to try to get a stage voice. Haha, I still love him. Here in the Old Country, I met another opera singeer, and though we didn't see each other as much, I still considered him to be a close friend. And I bought tickets to the local opera, Die Fledermaus, and we had horrible seats in a horrible theater. But we were right next to the stage. My date was impressed that during the opera he winked at me!! I love opera. La Traviata was my first, probably is my favorite, but Aida is not bad either.
I'm intrigued by the fact that the earliest opera you've chosen is 'The Magic Flute'. I know that it is a weakness of mine, but I have never been able to love singing which distorts the language to the extent that I can't understand it, no doubt because I'm an anglophone, and the style in which opera is sung is Italianate. Strangulated vowels. Absent consonants. So I quite enjoy operas where the singing might as well be an instrument. I was taken to 'Der Freischutz' as a teenager and found it deadly dull. Tried some Verdi in my twenties, where I found the chorus were effectively directed to (of necessity) upstage the Principals. Monteverdi, however, fascinated; -so different! Opera is a weird art form, so when people in them act unrealistically, I find it more, counter-intuitively, convincing; certainly more engaging. Alessandro Scarlatti's all right. Haendl great fun, because no effort is made to conceal the fact that the conversing in song is odd.
I tend to think of the Magic Flute as more of a fantasy-comedy which may be more accessible to those newer to Opera as well. It's a bit silly, but that's a good thing to me.
Kudos for this. Good job for those us (like me) trying to learn about opera. La Boehme is the easiest for us. Real people, no dragons, demons, executions, curses, spells or poison. Just four guys, like we all may know, and the women in their lives. Kudos also for the Roy-G-Biv bookshelf arrangement.
My first opera was Roberto Devereux with Beverly Sills! Although I came from a musical family, and play piano myself, I thought opera was just a bunch of women screaming in Italian! After seeing Sills, I suddenly thought it was magical. I’ve since seen 300+ live performances around the world and, back in the day, I saw all the names we associate as the greats of that era. Some deserved the title, some didn’t. When my kids were young, we saw Magic Flute and Hansel at the Met. They were very impressed then, but they wouldn’t dream of seeing an opera now. I agree about Boheme. And I love the subversive color scheme of your books!
A pretty ideal list I think. You do mention that Magic Flute has dialogue which can be easier for people new to opera--but many productions of Carmen do as well (in fact I've seen it live more often with the original spoken dialogue than the recitative added after Bizet)--Sondheim himself, who seemed to have a weird love/hate relationship with opera, called Carmen a "song opera" that plays a lot like modern musicals in its original version (his personal favourite Porgy and Bess, another good introduction to opera although perhaps a bit controversial, also fits that category despite originally having recitative that in various productions has been changed to dialogue.)
oh loved this list. As it happens when i (finally) persuaded my husband to come to the opera with me, these were the ones i picked out over a few seasons (different order). But. I kind of broke him with the Ring Cycle so I'm back to going alone :)
Good selection. By purest chance, I'm going to see The Barber of Seville AND La bohème AND Handel's Julius Caesar - on 3 consecutive days next June 2024 in St. Louis. Was just there for Così fan tutte and Joplin's Treemonisha. Fantastic venue - not a bad seat in the house that I could see. I know this is a controversial subject, but they also do all of their operas in English, which is useful for a beginner. I especially look forward to seeing these after your recommendations! 😎
I was 12 when I saw my first opera. It was at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, and the top half of the swan was not even visible, as it was the Met's production and the Fox stage had less than half the vertical height of the Met's! Yes, my first opera was Lohengrin, probably the least likely to be placed on the beginner's opera list! Fortunately for me, music was already my passion and I had no problem identifying with Wagner's bombastic (so-called) style. The two operas I've always recommended for beginners, especially children, were selected based on the very transparent connection of music expression with the story's emotion content, as well as lots of catchy tunes, action, and familiar stories. My two are Humperdink's "Hansel and Gretel" and one of yours, "The Magic Flute." Well, the Magic Flute may not be that familiar a story, but after its catchy overture it does immediately start with dramatic action that is certain to grab a child's attention: a monster chase! After these two to lure in new opera fans, I would gladly follow the rest of your list.
When I decided to give opera a try I googled to find the shortest opera I could find so that if I found I didn't like it I'd at least know that the experience wouldn't last too long. I settled on the 1995 film adaptation of Purcell's 'Dido and Aeneas' with Maria Ewing and Karl Daymond. It runs for just under an hour and it's in English...perfect! I found I actually enjoyed the experience...Dido's Lament towards the end still counts as one of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard. From there I felt confident enough to try longer operas and discovered Verdi's 'La Traviata' and Wagner's 'Lohengrin', my two favourite operas even to this day. My recommended operas for beginners depends on how much time a beginner is prepared to dedicate to giving opera a try. If they're intimidated by the average 2 and a half to 3 and a half hours duration of most operas then I'd recommend 'Dido and Aeneas'. If the beginner is more adventurous then I'd recommend 'La Traviata'' and 'Tosca' as introductions to Italian opera, 'Carmen' as an introduction to French opera and 'Lohengrin' as an introduction to German opera.
I would also include Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. It's sung in English, it's usually a 2 act opera, and most people know "Summertime" and "Bess, you is my woman now." It's the greatest American opera of all time.
Certainly a very accessible opera, except that it's seldom performed, due to the restriction put on it by George and Ira Gershwin, who specified that only blacks could sing the parts aside from the sheriff.
@@louisc.gasper7588 The Atlanta Opera has performed it twice. I think it should become a staple for them. I've seen more companies do it including the Met. Plus with more African-Americans entering the opera singer field, it could be performed moe. Also Broadway.
You’re right about Porgy. But keep in mind that it’s very long, especially in the edition I saw at the Met many years ago. Everything about it was great, but it seemed as long as Tristan.
I love Wagner’s operas. Yes, even Parsifal, Tristan, and Meistersinger. But I surely wouldn’t recommend one of them to a beginner. No, not even Lohengrin.
Yes those are all good choices. I guess one simple way of approaching this might be to say 'not Wagner!' :) Although no doubt something before 'The Ring' might be a good option? In terms of the best Mozart choice, mine would be Don Giovanni, because in my view its the perfect combination of engaging story and beautiful music. You could argue Cosi fan Tutte has the most beautiful arias, but the story is so lame that it's not really a complete package in my view.
I’ve been an opera fan since 1973, and have now seen 300+ performances onstage around the world. And yet, I first saw Les Troyens only ten years ago. I thought, where has this masterpiece been all my life?! It really is one of the great monuments of western art. But I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to a beginner. I mean, even Berlioz never saw an entire performance!
I always recommend people start with the light comedies - Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti…. Then move toward the Romantic and late Romantic composers. I disagree that Mozart is bad for beginners. They need to know only two things: recitative and aria. That is all. Le Nozze is the quintessential beginner’s opera. Every aria is a hit, the libretto is pure genius, and it contains everything: romance, comedy, and tragedy. My grandmother, a dyed-in-the-wool Wagnerite, started me with Der Ring des Nibelungen. Not an easy start. But I’m glad that she did.
I also think Mozart is excellent for beginners. Le Mariage de Figaro is highly entertaining. Also would recommend Don Giovanni, wonderful music throughout the entire performance ❤.
The first four I agree with. Magic Flute is a better choice than most of the rest of the Mozart operas because it has dialogue instead of recitativo. For that reason, I'd take Paggliacci over Barber. It's also shorter, and as a bonus, it ends with a murder.😻 My parents' first date was Tristan. My mother had never seen an opera before. Can you imagine that?😳
I had been listening to classical music since I was little but the first opera I saw was on tv at age 11. It blew my mind. Britten’s “A turn of the Screw” (Based on Henry Jame’s ghost story” )
Not that I saw, but that I heard on an LP, a 1954 recording. Giuseppe Di Stefano (Canio), Maria Callas (Nedda), Tito Gobbi (Tonio), Rolando Panerai (Silvio), Nicola Monti (Beppe) and Tulio Serafin (conductor). I was 13 at the time (1974) and it was love at first note. It is still the gold standard to me and Pippo and Callas the best ever in my opinion.
I know you can't do two Mozart's but I would take Marriage of Figaro over Magic Flute. Mostly because , well, beautiful music and it is funny. Actually no. Can't choose, do both.
I invited two friends for the dress rehearsal of Billy Budd when I was in it, and they thought it was torture. The music was far too complex for them I suppose, because they loved romantic opera’s like Samson et Dalida.
wonderful choices. Might have added Cavalleria Rusticana. Lush, breathtaking music. And also, Gianni schicci for fun and of course that wonderful aria.
Another good opera for beginners would be Strauss' die Fledermaus. A bit of a cheat because it's an operetta - still a simple, funny plot with great music.
My first ever opera, if you don't count the hundreds of times I've listened to just the overture by itself(in which case The Marriage of Figaro would technically be my first even though for over a decade, it was just the overture I was hearing), was not by any of the composers on this list. And, it wasn't even by a composer I had much exposure to. It was so long that I had to split up the opera into a few listening sessions. I'm sure that I pretty much gave the composer away with that last one, but in case I didn't, it is Wagner, specifically Das Rheingold. And then, no opera exposure for many years afterwards. Then, one time, somebody recommended me Fidelio because they knew that 1) I wanted to listen to more opera and 2) that I really love Beethoven's music. This was back in 2020. And, I loved how dramatic the opera was, like, I was expecting like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony level drama and Fidelio was like next level from that. But in my opinion, it had no real memorable melodies to speak of, not the overture, not the arias. And then came a spurt of opera listening soon afterwards. Well, I say spurt, but it was like 1 listening session of 1 full opera a month for 3 months. And these operas were all somewhat familiar to me, especially their overtures, which I have heard since I was a little kid just starting to get into classical music and really falling in love with it. Especially one particular composer, who I still very much love today and who brings me this sense of childhood nostalgia. I bet you probably already guessed that I'm talking about Mozart based on the childhood love of classical and the sense of nostalgia. But yeah, in 2021, I had a Mozart opera spurt. January, The Magic Flute. February, The Marriage of Figaro. March, Don Giovanni. I loved all of them, though I think I'd have to say The Marriage of Figaro if I had to pick the Mozart opera I loved the most. It's the one I had more overture exposure for. Like, I had been hearing the overture to The Marriage of Figaro for much longer than either the overture to The Magic Flute or the overture to Don Giovanni. And it's the one where I immediately had a melody from it stuck in my head after the opera was over. That didn't happen with The Magic Flute or Don Giovanni, I didn't like hum an aria or whatever after those 2 operas were over. But with The Marriage of Figaro, I had the Non piu andrai aria stuck in my head after the whole opera was over. And, I just found everything in The Marriage of Figaro so catchy that I didn't even notice the fact that it was 3 hours long, I was just enjoying the music and the acting.
Couldn't agree more about Boheme, Carmen & The Barber, but for my Mozart I'd sub Il Seraglio for Magic Flute. And you've left out THE ABSOLUTE BEST 'first-time' opera, which is Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel! (I'd probably try to get Gluck's Orfeo in there somewhere, too - tho' Offenbach's take on the same story might possibly be more fun...) And if you're talking opera for beginners, what about G & S ??
Good evening John, greetings from Cologne where Jacques Offenbach was born, not far away from Bonn, Beethoven's birthplace (opera: Fidelio) and Siegburg (Google Earth), the birthplace of Engelbert Humperdinck. First I intended my comment to be addressed to "Classical Music" but we two have something in common. The word "Beginner" is a bit crucial and leads to subjectivity. But I think "classical Music" knows much better what a beginner is than many experts on YT. Maybe we Europeans, some speak several languages, can find more examples. However, the choices have nothing to do with the German language. 1. Zar und Zimmermann by Lortzing (with the famous clog dance), on YT 2. Der Freischütz by Carl Marian von Weber (advantage: All major motifs appear in the ouverture) on YT 3. The abduction from the Seraglio (Die Entführung aus dem Serail, plays an importantpart in the award winning film AMADEUS) on YT 4. The Magic Flute (extraordinary, Classical Music is right, the plot is quite confusing,) on YT 5. Rigoletto (it's heartbreaking how Gilda dies - on YT. Maybe in some months my list will be altered, in discussions with beginners it has always been the same. All love Die Zauberflöte. To remember me, watch "Brüderchen komm tanz mit mir" (Guberova - Fassbender) - When Hänsel Gretel is performed there are always crowds of children in the audience, however, it is not an opera for children basically.
This is a great video. I actually came here because I was trying to find out which operas are good for beginner artists. I'm writing a story where the protagonist is a soprano, but I only know the opera world from the perspective of a listener and I have no idea of which operas would work best for debut/early career. Can anybody give me some advice?
Have a look at some sopranos' CVs. This might be insightful. I guess Gilda and Pamina are quite common. Also Gretel or Sandmännchen. It depends on the kind of voice ("fach"). Be careful to not mix them up in your story. The fach might change over the years, but a singer sticks to one for a couple of years and also gets her theatre engagements according to it.
@@diesalonniere7227 thank you so much, I didn't think about looking at CVs and it's the best solution. The story has already been written and edited, soon it's going to be published in a magazine. I omitted mentioning the debut roles of the protagonist, but next time I'll have more reference🙏
The first list that i agree with. Like to add two if performed well might be on this list. L'elisir d'amore by Donizetti has a really nice tempo, not unlike The magic flute, and it's quite funny aswell. Les contes d'hoffman because of the surreal story wich in the hands of a good director can be really special, and the hitparade. Kleinzack, le barcarole, Olympias aria, Antonias aria, the diamond aria and a lot more good music, fairly easy listening.
Hoffmann is a GREAT opera, but underrated. The only reason I wouldn’t recommend it to beginners is that it’s very long, especially in the latest editions.
Mimi of _La Boheme_ is one of the most passive heroines of an opera. I prefer Floria Tosca from _Tosca_ . _La Cenerentola_ by Rossini is a good opera for beginners because most people know the story of Cinderella, so they don't have to spend time trying to figure out the plot of _Cenerentola_ .
Good choices though consider Rigoletto over La Traviata owing to more and better (almost but not melodrama if directed and acted sincerely) drama and more well known(more hummable? 😊) arias, duets and the ensembles
Other strong point for Zauberflöte and Carmen as Opera for beginners is that they have spoken dialogue (For Carmen only if you're watching Bizet's original version)
The first opera my father took me to was Pagliacci. He read the libretto with a small flashlight while in the house, which sort of embarrassed me, but I loved Cornell Macneil's voice. Der Rosenkavalier was an opera I saw in a Minnesota Opera production; it was captivating. I don't like artifice, just singing and acting with period sets The trio at the end of the opera brought ecstasy.
I tred to predict what your recommendations would be and came swiftly unstuck! I had ‘Figaro’ rather than ‘Zauberflöte’ (which is let down by acres of spoken dialogue, especially once the trials get underway), ‘La Bohème’, ‘La traviata’ and ‘Flying Dutchman’ (reasoning that if you have Verdi, you have to keep the Wagner faction happy) and, so it’s not all pre-20th century and to show opera isn’t all romance, ‘The turn of the screw’.
Smetana's Bartered Bride could be added to the list. Recently this was performed in Munich in German translation as a high speed comedy and the audience was enthusiastic.
I agree with La Boheme, La Traviata and Barber of Seville, but not Magic Flute or Carmen, as much as I personally love both and concur that they have recognizable music. The problem I have found with both of them for first-time opera goers is that they are too long. I would substitute Tosca and Rigoletto. Just my opinion, but think both are more “manageable” for beginners. And while Barber is longish, it’s a comedy that just seems to move along more quickly.
For children it’s Hänsel und Gretl. In Germany it’s the typical Christmas production and I think it was the first opera for many German children. Maybe that’s why opera is very alive in Germany with 83 !!! Opera houses.
And for the next 5 operas (to make it 10 😊), I would add Puccini's TURANDOT Offenbach"s LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN Mozart's DON GIOVANNI Verdi's AIDA Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY From then on, if you have not become an opera fan, by then... You'll have barely scratch the surface of an unending world of wonderful, exciting, highly emotional discoveries.
If you ask me, i'd recommend the earliest opera surviving, L'Euridice, also, I think going inmidiately after the most famous ones may not be a good thing for a complete beginner
I would agree with Die Zauberflöte and Bohémè for sure, but Hänsel und Gretel is another choice that sadly is left out (I believe it’s performed more than Zauberflöte in Germany). It’s fast, relaxing and familiar all at the same time. L’elisir definitely is another one that should be at least in the top 10 because it’s extremely funny and not that hard to follow. I’m surprised Rigoletto has not been mentioned simply because it’s plot is more or less simple, still Verdi, and very recognizable songs.
My first opera was Carmen, fifty five years ago. The Barber of Seville is by Gioachino , not Gioachimo Rossini. I think That staging you showed was a poor choice for Barber. Gianni Schicchi by Puccini is another good first opera. It’s a short comedy with great music. Pair that up with Pagliacci. Easy plot to follow, also great music. If you really want to wow someone take them to the Mets Aida. I would also add Tosca and Rigoletto. Both have beautiful music and drama. Although at this point in my life after hundreds of performances I really enjoy Baroque operas and Wagner’s Ring cycle, that has 4 operas and 17 hours of glorious music.
"No good opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are feeling sensible." - W. H. Auden
I would add that The Magic Flute is not only a good first opera for adults but hands down the best first opera for kids. I watched it for the first time when I was ten and my little brother was eight. We were well prepared by our parents, who listened to some of the highlight arias with us ahead of time, and read the synopsis to us so we wouldn't get lost if the subtitles went too fast. We both loved it and ran around the house singing pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pageno for weeks. The following year we named our new kitten Papageno and he became the best bird catcher. ;)
I’ve sung Magic Flute and always considered it incredibly boring. It has, as many Mozart ‘s operas do, wonderful music, but it is too long to be considered entertaining.
My two cents.
For kids, in my opinion, hänsel und gretel is a fantastic starting point. Especially in comparison to the magic flute as a German opera. The tunes are very singable and many of them turned into popular children’s songs. But of course magic flute is wonderful, every child loves papageno
I don't really agree it is actually quite a complex plot. I feel like la traviata and Tosca are the easier plots to understand and better for beginners.
Yes, one of mey earliest exposure to opera, as a kid, was Ingmar Bergman's Magic Flute movie, one of the very first (and totaly successful attempt) to take opera out of opera houses....
A word of caution on helping someone go to their first opera: don't underestimate them. My brother wanted to try opera and I thought Carmen would be a good choice. He was generally unimpressed, but a week later told me he watched "Akhnaten" on TV and loved it. I got him a ticket to the Met production and he is now a bit of an opera fan. I never would have guessed that Akhnaten could be an introduction, but his interest in ancient history and the creative staging appealed.
Perhaps it helps how modern it feels?
I had to wait 30 years to see a production of Akhnaten at the ENO that transferred to the Met. StunnIng, absolutely stunning. My wife who is not a Philip Glass fan, was impressed.
My first opera was the Magic Flute, which I thought of as a concept album. Cosi Fan Tutte is my favourite opera along with Akhnaten.
In my opinion you have to start with an opera whose story you are interested in
@@Kyle-ur4mr my first opera was Don Giovanni followed by Madame Butterfly and then I watched The Ring Cycle.
I took my family to see Akhnaten at the Met last year. It was our first trip there and the first live opera for my children (20/17). For my wife and I, it was our second opera (The Abduction from the Seraglio being our first). We all found the performance to be mesmerizing. In some ways, a modern opera with clear storytelling is a wonderful introduction to opera.
And let's face it, I have never ever ever seen staging like the end of the second act.
One thing I particularly like about this list is it covers the bases really well -- comedy and tragedy, fantasy and realism, the 3 most common languages (italian, german, french), several of the big-name composers, and a 105-year span of time (1791-1896) across opera's heyday of popularity. It seems safe to say that if a newcomer will like opera at all, they'll like at least one of these.
I’m seeing my first opera in London in the next week or so and it’s Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro”! I’m so excited!! 😄
It was my first Opera (for a lot of people I think). Amazing opera!!
Agree with these choices. As a retired operatic singing/performer, now voice teacher ... these are excellent choices with simple explanations. Thank you. Sharing with new students to opera.
I’ve been a professional singer for the past 35 years and have sung all of the operas mentioned here, some of them many times, especially La Boheme.
But if I had to name the best opera for beginners I would have to say Turandot.
It’s short with spectacular music all throughout.
I really recommend it.
Turandot was my first. I loved it! ❤
I would say the same: Turandot = love at first sight
I'm a real philistine , ignorant, stupid and narrow minded, but I found many opera arias are just banging good ! Unfortunately the very limited education I had did not teach me Italian or French so I don't have a bloody clue what the hell they're going on about but wow what an incredibly powerful sound, you would have to be dead not to be moved by opera and the fact that only posh rich people can appreciate is yet another reason its better to be posh and rich than poor, ignorant and stupid .
@enkiitu, I have been interested in the classical music for the last 60 years and my pick for the number one opera is also Turandot. Although Pucini was a great composer, who had made several famous operas earlier, I still have the feeling, that in this opera he reached his absolute peak. He also used a choir in this opera for the first time and he did it very skillfully. His ability to describe the happenings and the mood of the people and the changes in it by different orchestral sounds was suberb. It is sad, that he died before he had created a suitable ending for this masterpice.
I have two operas, which I also like very much: Mozart's Don Giovanni and Borodin't Prince Igor. Borodin is earning an extra bravado point from me, because the is treating the Polovitsian people with a great respect, a greater respect than he is showing to the Russians. That is a lot from a Russian composer.
Yeah, Turandot has it all ! impressive solo and duet singing, impressive chorus, impressive scenery, a fairly easy plot to follow and understand, gorgeous music, and electrifying orchestra.
We just saw Mozart`s "Zauberflöte" in the Vienna opera. It was my first time visiting an opera and it was an amazing experience.
I just saw my first opera at the Met. I saw Aida and it was absolutely breathtaking!!
I’m so gutted they’re ending that particular production! It looks stunning
We’ve attended that spectacular Met Aida 4 times and never get tired of it.
I also think that a spectacular opera with a lot of choir are good as starter
My first exposure to opera was "Rigoletto," which I saw when I was 16 years old. It took my breath away and made me an inveterate opera lover for life! That was 40 years ago, and over time I've developed a love for Baroque opera. I recently also discovered Philip Glass through his opera "Akhenaten," and was entranced. The journey never ends - there is a world of operatic delights out there!
Yep, a never-ending world of discoveries, even for me after almost 50 years "in the field". If you loved Akhnaten, you should love Nixon in China....
I know it's not really an opera, but my first experience was Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) as a kid, and I loved it, and kept singing songs from it. I think it can be a good idea to move gradually from musicals through singspiel to opera. After that it was la Traviata with Andrea Rost, and it was beautiful, but I think I needed the gradual introduction.
I haven't seen Carmen as a real opera yet, but turned into a skating film, Carmen On Ice with Katarina Witt, Brian Boitano and Brian Orser (world champions, Olympic champions and silver medalist), three of the greatest skaters of their time). It was a passionate performance and brought the music closer to me, as it was connected to my favourite sport.
My love for opera began around my 11 birthday. First one in the family. At that age I enjoyed a good story. So, Mozart: Zauberflöte and Le Nozze di Figaro, Smetana: The Bartered Bride, Weber: Der Freischütz, Verdi: Macbeth. I got a lot of vinyl records and my mother bravely accompanied me for five years to our small town opera (around 30 performances). A very expensive hobby for a kid. My big projects before my 15 birthday: Wagner: Meistersinger and Verdi: Don Carlo. I was very thankful for the metropolitan opera‘s stream during COVID.
4th Grade Aida, my teacher was once a Music Teacher.
The best opera for beginners is The Barber of Seville. Everyone should know it from the Bugs Bunny Elmer Fud cartoon. And the best part is that the best part of the opera is in the very beginning. So if you can't sit for a 2 or 3 hour opera, you can leave early (as many people do) and not miss the best part!
Good pick. And if they're "Seinfeld" fans, they may like it even more :D
I don't know about Barbiere as a first opera. It was my first and I didn't like it much: it wasn't a great production and the humour left me flat. What won me over totally was Don Giovanni! All the others seem to me to be great first operas. (I now think Barbiere is hilarious: I start laughing before it starts!)
I completely agree!!!
I am giving this video a thumbs up solely for introducing me to Hubert Zapiór.
My first opera was Il Trovatore, and I don't think it gets enough appreciation. I bought the cd just for the Anvil Chorus, and discovered Stride la vampa and Di quella pira (curse my baritone range, taunting me with that aria).
I always feel like L'elisir d'amore is underrated as a first opera--it's so funny and the plot is super accessible!
Also, Rachel sings the pants off Kaufmann every time they collaborate and I love it.
True! L'elisir is a great opera, and it was tough to not include it.
And yeah! Rachel is killing it!
This was my first opera❤
My favorite opera!!
Would always recommend to start with "Don Giovanni", also perhaps "Hänsel and Gretel". Then "The Magic Flute", and also "Carmen" would be on my list for beginners. "Aida", as well as "Turandot" might be interesting ones, too, for opera novices.
Ja genau, das sind auch meine Lieblinge und evtl. noch La Traviata
These videos are such great resource material for me as a Music Teacher hoping to teach kids to love and appreciate all kinds of music. The kids love the content and I am learning quite a lot too! Thank you!
You really can't go wrong with any of the 4 famous Puccini operas. Tosca, La Boheme, Madame Butterfly, and Turandot.
I love Turandot. It’s Puccini’s masterpiece.
Absolutely, I personally would recommend Tosca above La Boheme!
This is an excellent video!
Thank you for making it.
The singing was so good in the performances you included that I'm now on a mission to see these exact productions (provided they have english subtitles) and obtain their soundtracks.
My first was Rigoletto with Rena ta Scotto in the role of Gilda in 1966 when she such a glorious lyric voice. Your selections are certainly rational and reasonable. I little story about Jonas Kaufman here. I have a very good friend who over the years had listened to me rave about various operas I had seen and the great singers. Although she liked classical music, she never understood my opera passion. One time I visited her, I had a Kaufman CD in the car radio and had forgotten to turn it off. When I started the car the CD started playing and she said "take to Borders so I can buy my own copy of that.
Thank you so much, I’ve been hoping to find this kind of information for years, but didn’t know where to look. Brilliant, subscribed.
Thank you for presenting your choices of opera for beginners. I love them. I particularly like the Bird Catcher’s (Vogelfänger) song in the Magic Flute. I am trying to learn to sing it in German!
I just happened on this while looking up the different voices and listening to each one. I’m in my seventies and found this video to be a welcome relief from today’s political scene. I will now spend time bathing my brain in opera. Thank you.
As a child my parents would bring me and my sisters to see operas all the time, to the point where we always hated it because (obviously we were literally children) we didn’t understand the music. However, I am so grateful now, it’s insane how those few years of exposure shape so much later on. The first opera I saw that I genuinely remember and loved was Porgy and Bess. Also the first time I ever cried at a live performance of anything was a year ago seeing Cavalleria Rusticana. Shame there’s so much stigma around opera only being for snobs. So many people don’t even realise what they’re missing out on
I think that in the performance with subtitles pannels, some of the problems may be solved, since at least it make it easyer to get along with the action. Of course it is a little distracting, but with a little effort, it makes the whole thing a little more accessible. But I, myself, still think is better to read a GOOD summary of the piece before the presentation, to get really into the music...
Great list. I actually saw all of these in my first few years of operation-going.
The very first opera I attended was Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, performed in English. All the singers' diction was excellent: I understood every word and found the entire opera very funny and captivating. I've been hooked on opera ever since, and have since become.a singer myself! Love the arias of the Countess, Susanna, and Cherubino.
BTW: Throughout my first hearing, I was waiting for Figaro's famous aria, only to find out later that was in another opera. Both operas are based on Beaumarchais's Trilogy.
"Opera is when a man gets stabbed but instead of dying, he sings ..." Lol!
My first was Aida. I took a friend to his first opera (La Gioconda) and not only created an opera fan but a fanatical lover of Eva Marton. Two other friends had Boris Godunov and Parsifal for their first: talk about kill or cure!!!! Very good choices.
Uhh Aida was beautiful but a little too much for me
Great choices! I guessed what the operas might be before I started the video, and I thought you'd pick Rigoletto over Traviata. But yup, these are solid picks.
Thank you! Rigoletto is a great choice, but Traviata I think it's just a smidge more accessible. I almost chose it; it was a tough call.
I saw this vid and wondered if you would recommend the same 5 that I would...and you did, exactly!
Years ago a former student was singing (sort of) the Largo al Factotum. When I learned that he had never been to an opera, I decided to take him to the Met production of Il Barbiere (which I think is the funniest opera ever). After purchasing tickets, my closest friend tried to convince me that Carmen would be a better first choice. I attempted to point out the absurdity, given that the young man was clearly familiar with and fond of Rossini's music; he is a European born polyglot, who is extremely well-read (when I first taught Animal Farm he taught his classmates about the Russian Revolution allusions); and the tickets had already been purchased. He loved the opera. That memory of my confused but dearly missed friend (who subsequently passed away), came back to me today, shortly before stumbling upon this video.
Thank you for bringing this information to the world, its really informative for Africa study of Western opera because of inability to reach interactive and simplified information like this other than literatures.
Having seen Lucia di Lammermoor and enjoyed it I was introduced to an English language version of Butterfly with a Chinese actress/opera singer in the title role. It was incredibly accessible to a 13 year old and I was hooked on the exquisite music and the tragedy. Then Tosca- which took my breath away with its chillingness and shockingness and amazing music. Then I longed to hear Boheme and was able to follow it on a recording and found the music gorgeous, sweet and just food for the soul. On hearing Turandot I was again astounded. Incredible music and colour and Puccini - but different - powerful, epic yet still personal and sweet. Meanwhile I discovered the edelightful Magic Flute and Figaro, Rigoletto and Traviata - and was truly hooked. And then Monteverdi's Orfeo and his others - a whole new experience, So yes - I can say opera is a wonderful art form and enriching to those who are exposed to it and fall under its spell!
I think Donizetti’s Daughters of the Regiment is a great beginner opera! Great video!
I’d agree with that! But unfortunately, as in almost all bel canto operas, you need a GREAT soprano and tenor to make the opera come alive. Have you ever seen a bel canto opera with lousy singers? I have. And it just laid there like a flat pancake.
I’d say Elisir is another good one. My school played parts of it for kids and they loved it!
I had my first introduction to Opera a couple of days ago: Dvorak’s Jacobin. It was so lovely.
Thanks! Great video and good advice although I've rarely managed to get any of my friends or partners into opera. I think I'd have added Cavalleria Rusticana or Pagliacci instead of the Rossini but that's just me. Brevity is probably an advantage for beginners and the Barber of Seville is really a bit long, even for me.
I love opera. On both sides of the pond.
In my university days I became friends with My Hero, who not only sang the National Anthem, but also worked at the sandwich shop called my hero, and also was third place in the Metropolitan Opera contest. He put me in several of his student plays, and encouraged me to try to get a stage voice. Haha, I still love him.
Here in the Old Country, I met another opera singeer, and though we didn't see each other as much, I still considered him to be a close friend. And I bought tickets to the local opera, Die Fledermaus, and we had horrible seats in a horrible theater. But we were right next to the stage. My date was impressed that during the opera he winked at me!!
I love opera.
La Traviata was my first, probably is my favorite, but Aida is not bad either.
I'm intrigued by the fact that the earliest opera you've chosen is 'The Magic Flute'. I know that it is a weakness of mine, but I have never been able to love singing which distorts the language to the extent that I can't understand it, no doubt because I'm an anglophone, and the style in which opera is sung is Italianate. Strangulated vowels. Absent consonants. So I quite enjoy operas where the singing might as well be an instrument. I was taken to 'Der Freischutz' as a teenager and found it deadly dull. Tried some Verdi in my twenties, where I found the chorus were effectively directed to (of necessity) upstage the Principals.
Monteverdi, however, fascinated; -so different! Opera is a weird art form, so when people in them act unrealistically, I find it more, counter-intuitively, convincing; certainly more engaging. Alessandro Scarlatti's all right. Haendl great fun, because no effort is made to conceal the fact that the conversing in song is odd.
I tend to think of the Magic Flute as more of a fantasy-comedy which may be more accessible to those newer to Opera as well. It's a bit silly, but that's a good thing to me.
Kudos for this. Good job for those us (like me) trying to learn about opera. La Boehme is the easiest for us. Real people, no dragons, demons, executions, curses, spells or poison. Just four guys, like we all may know, and the women in their lives. Kudos also for the Roy-G-Biv bookshelf arrangement.
Fun fact: I share a birthday with Puccini.
woah!!
Wow! And I share a birthday with Bizet (but not the year😂)
My first opera was Roberto Devereux with Beverly Sills! Although I came from a musical family, and play piano myself, I thought opera was just a bunch of women screaming in Italian! After seeing Sills, I suddenly thought it was magical. I’ve since seen 300+ live performances around the world and, back in the day, I saw all the names we associate as the greats of that era. Some deserved the title, some didn’t. When my kids were young, we saw Magic Flute and Hansel at the Met. They were very impressed then, but they wouldn’t dream of seeing an opera now. I agree about Boheme. And I love the subversive color scheme of your books!
A pretty ideal list I think. You do mention that Magic Flute has dialogue which can be easier for people new to opera--but many productions of Carmen do as well (in fact I've seen it live more often with the original spoken dialogue than the recitative added after Bizet)--Sondheim himself, who seemed to have a weird love/hate relationship with opera, called Carmen a "song opera" that plays a lot like modern musicals in its original version (his personal favourite Porgy and Bess, another good introduction to opera although perhaps a bit controversial, also fits that category despite originally having recitative that in various productions has been changed to dialogue.)
oh loved this list. As it happens when i (finally) persuaded my husband to come to the opera with me, these were the ones i picked out over a few seasons (different order). But. I kind of broke him with the Ring Cycle so I'm back to going alone :)
Good selection. By purest chance, I'm going to see The Barber of Seville AND La bohème AND Handel's Julius Caesar - on 3 consecutive days next June 2024 in St. Louis. Was just there for Così fan tutte and Joplin's Treemonisha. Fantastic venue - not a bad seat in the house that I could see. I know this is a controversial subject, but they also do all of their operas in English, which is useful for a beginner. I especially look forward to seeing these after your recommendations! 😎
I was 12 when I saw my first opera. It was at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, and the top half of the swan was not even visible, as it was the Met's production and the Fox stage had less than half the vertical height of the Met's! Yes, my first opera was Lohengrin, probably the least likely to be placed on the beginner's opera list! Fortunately for me, music was already my passion and I had no problem identifying with Wagner's bombastic (so-called) style.
The two operas I've always recommended for beginners, especially children, were selected based on the very transparent connection of music expression with the story's emotion content, as well as lots of catchy tunes, action, and familiar stories. My two are Humperdink's "Hansel and Gretel" and one of yours, "The Magic Flute." Well, the Magic Flute may not be that familiar a story, but after its catchy overture it does immediately start with dramatic action that is certain to grab a child's attention: a monster chase!
After these two to lure in new opera fans, I would gladly follow the rest of your list.
Two friends had Boris Godunov and Parsifal for their first operas. Lohengrin was my first opera at the Met.
When I decided to give opera a try I googled to find the shortest opera I could find so that if I found I didn't like it I'd at least know that the experience wouldn't last too long. I settled on the 1995 film adaptation of Purcell's 'Dido and Aeneas' with Maria Ewing and Karl Daymond. It runs for just under an hour and it's in English...perfect! I found I actually enjoyed the experience...Dido's Lament towards the end still counts as one of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard.
From there I felt confident enough to try longer operas and discovered Verdi's 'La Traviata' and Wagner's 'Lohengrin', my two favourite operas even to this day.
My recommended operas for beginners depends on how much time a beginner is prepared to dedicate to giving opera a try. If they're intimidated by the average 2 and a half to 3 and a half hours duration of most operas then I'd recommend 'Dido and Aeneas'. If the beginner is more adventurous then I'd recommend 'La Traviata'' and 'Tosca' as introductions to Italian opera, 'Carmen' as an introduction to French opera and 'Lohengrin' as an introduction to German opera.
I would also include Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. It's sung in English, it's usually a 2 act opera, and most people know "Summertime" and "Bess, you is my woman now." It's the greatest American opera of all time.
Certainly a very accessible opera, except that it's seldom performed, due to the restriction put on it by George and Ira Gershwin, who specified that only blacks could sing the parts aside from the sheriff.
@@louisc.gasper7588 The Atlanta Opera has performed it twice. I think it should become a staple for them. I've seen more companies do it including the Met. Plus with more African-Americans entering the opera singer field, it could be performed moe. Also Broadway.
You’re right about Porgy. But keep in mind that it’s very long, especially in the edition I saw at the Met many years ago. Everything about it was great, but it seemed as long as Tristan.
@@louisc.gasper7588 I've seen at least 4 productions - didn 't seem to be too much of a problem with casting
La primera ópera que de Richard Wajner vi completa (video) fue "Lohengrin" de Richard Wagner. Y he seguido viendo más y más. Gracias por compartir.
My first ever opera was also Lohengrin!
I love Wagner’s operas. Yes, even Parsifal, Tristan, and Meistersinger. But I surely wouldn’t recommend one of them to a beginner. No, not even Lohengrin.
The Vivaldi operas are also full of energy and lovely, but I can definitely see why you chose these for your top 5!
Vivaldi definitely has its own special electricity.
Rigoleto was my first opera and I loved it, completely over the top and hilarious even though its a tragedy
Yes those are all good choices. I guess one simple way of approaching this might be to say 'not Wagner!' :) Although no doubt something before 'The Ring' might be a good option? In terms of the best Mozart choice, mine would be Don Giovanni, because in my view its the perfect combination of engaging story and beautiful music. You could argue Cosi fan Tutte has the most beautiful arias, but the story is so lame that it's not really a complete package in my view.
The first one I liked was Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle, It’s only a hour long & it’s dark.
I then moved on to Les Troyens by Berlioz which is 4 hours.
I’ve been an opera fan since 1973, and have now seen 300+ performances onstage around the world. And yet, I first saw Les Troyens only ten years ago. I thought, where has this masterpiece been all my life?! It really is one of the great monuments of western art. But I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to a beginner. I mean, even Berlioz never saw an entire performance!
Nice video. I have watched all of them except Il Barbiere di Siviglia. I agree though, great choices!
Going to see my first live opera tonight at the ROH - Madama Butterfly :)
Hope you enjoyed it!
I always recommend people start with the light comedies - Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti…. Then move toward the Romantic and late Romantic composers. I disagree that Mozart is bad for beginners. They need to know only two things: recitative and aria. That is all. Le Nozze is the quintessential beginner’s opera. Every aria is a hit, the libretto is pure genius, and it contains everything: romance, comedy, and tragedy. My grandmother, a dyed-in-the-wool Wagnerite, started me with Der Ring des Nibelungen. Not an easy start. But I’m glad that she did.
I also think Mozart is excellent for beginners. Le Mariage de Figaro is highly entertaining. Also would recommend Don Giovanni, wonderful music throughout the entire performance ❤.
The first four I agree with. Magic Flute is a better choice than most of the rest of the Mozart operas because it has dialogue instead of recitativo. For that reason, I'd take Paggliacci over Barber. It's also shorter, and as a bonus, it ends with a murder.😻
My parents' first date was Tristan. My mother had never seen an opera before. Can you imagine that?😳
I can't imagine that! Although, I heard a story that Ralph Vaughan Williams and Ursula Wood fell in love after they saw Tristan together.
@@KeepitClassical At least, it wasn't Wozzeck.
I love the idea of Pagliacci as an intro opera simply because the music is great, it’s short, and the plot MOVES.
@ mike obrien Obviously the experience didn’t put your mother off! 😮
I had been listening to classical music since I was little but the first opera I saw was on tv at age 11. It blew my mind. Britten’s “A turn of the Screw” (Based on Henry Jame’s ghost story” )
Thank you for my first opera lesson
Wonderful. Thank you for sharing!
Hey I remember you you were in my school today Mike Davis and I wrote on my paper that I love that you have a TH-cam channel
My first opera was Pagliacci. Still love more it more then many other.
Not that I saw, but that I heard on an LP, a 1954 recording. Giuseppe Di Stefano (Canio), Maria Callas (Nedda), Tito Gobbi (Tonio), Rolando Panerai (Silvio), Nicola Monti (Beppe) and Tulio Serafin (conductor). I was 13 at the time (1974) and it was love at first note. It is still the gold standard to me and Pippo and Callas the best ever in my opinion.
My first opera was the barber of Seville and it was great!
I watched Carmen when i was 14 (my mom was a big fan of Pavarotti) and i loved it so much i made design for all the costumes
I know you can't do two Mozart's but I would take Marriage of Figaro over Magic Flute. Mostly because , well, beautiful music and it is funny. Actually no. Can't choose, do both.
I've started more than one person off on Monteverdi - Poppea. Runners up Britten Billy Budd and Midsummer Nights Dream, and Rossini - Barbiere.
I invited two friends for the dress rehearsal of Billy Budd when I was in it, and they thought it was torture. The music was far too complex for them I suppose, because they loved romantic opera’s like Samson et Dalida.
wonderful choices. Might have added Cavalleria Rusticana. Lush, breathtaking music. And also, Gianni schicci for fun and of course that wonderful aria.
My 5 operas for beginners.
1. Carmen
2. Turandot
3. La Traviata
4. Madama Butterfly
5. Cavalleria Rusticana
Turandot? I love that opera, but I'm not sure if I would start with that one. I'd start with La Boheme
I agree with your list much more.
Another good opera for beginners would be Strauss' die Fledermaus. A bit of a cheat because it's an operetta - still a simple, funny plot with great music.
My first ever opera, if you don't count the hundreds of times I've listened to just the overture by itself(in which case The Marriage of Figaro would technically be my first even though for over a decade, it was just the overture I was hearing), was not by any of the composers on this list. And, it wasn't even by a composer I had much exposure to. It was so long that I had to split up the opera into a few listening sessions. I'm sure that I pretty much gave the composer away with that last one, but in case I didn't, it is Wagner, specifically Das Rheingold.
And then, no opera exposure for many years afterwards. Then, one time, somebody recommended me Fidelio because they knew that 1) I wanted to listen to more opera and 2) that I really love Beethoven's music. This was back in 2020. And, I loved how dramatic the opera was, like, I was expecting like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony level drama and Fidelio was like next level from that. But in my opinion, it had no real memorable melodies to speak of, not the overture, not the arias.
And then came a spurt of opera listening soon afterwards. Well, I say spurt, but it was like 1 listening session of 1 full opera a month for 3 months. And these operas were all somewhat familiar to me, especially their overtures, which I have heard since I was a little kid just starting to get into classical music and really falling in love with it. Especially one particular composer, who I still very much love today and who brings me this sense of childhood nostalgia. I bet you probably already guessed that I'm talking about Mozart based on the childhood love of classical and the sense of nostalgia.
But yeah, in 2021, I had a Mozart opera spurt. January, The Magic Flute. February, The Marriage of Figaro. March, Don Giovanni. I loved all of them, though I think I'd have to say The Marriage of Figaro if I had to pick the Mozart opera I loved the most. It's the one I had more overture exposure for. Like, I had been hearing the overture to The Marriage of Figaro for much longer than either the overture to The Magic Flute or the overture to Don Giovanni.
And it's the one where I immediately had a melody from it stuck in my head after the opera was over. That didn't happen with The Magic Flute or Don Giovanni, I didn't like hum an aria or whatever after those 2 operas were over. But with The Marriage of Figaro, I had the Non piu andrai aria stuck in my head after the whole opera was over. And, I just found everything in The Marriage of Figaro so catchy that I didn't even notice the fact that it was 3 hours long, I was just enjoying the music and the acting.
Very good recommendations BUT, The Magic Flute DOES have a Great Plot but you have to know Kabbalah (Or at least about Tarot's Major Arcana) to get it
Couldn't agree more about Boheme, Carmen & The Barber, but for my Mozart I'd sub Il Seraglio for Magic Flute. And you've left out THE ABSOLUTE BEST 'first-time' opera, which is Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel! (I'd probably try to get Gluck's Orfeo in there somewhere, too - tho' Offenbach's take on the same story might possibly be more fun...) And if you're talking opera for beginners, what about G & S ??
Good evening John, greetings from Cologne where Jacques Offenbach was born, not far away from Bonn, Beethoven's birthplace (opera: Fidelio) and Siegburg (Google Earth), the birthplace of Engelbert Humperdinck.
First I intended my comment to be addressed to "Classical Music" but we two have something in common.
The word "Beginner" is a bit crucial and leads to subjectivity. But I think "classical Music" knows much better what a beginner is than many experts on YT.
Maybe we Europeans, some speak several languages, can find more examples.
However, the choices have nothing to do with the German language.
1. Zar und Zimmermann by Lortzing (with the famous clog dance), on YT
2. Der Freischütz by Carl Marian von Weber (advantage: All major motifs appear in the ouverture) on YT
3. The abduction from the Seraglio (Die Entführung aus dem Serail, plays an importantpart in the award winning film AMADEUS) on YT
4. The Magic Flute (extraordinary, Classical Music is right, the plot is quite confusing,) on YT
5. Rigoletto (it's heartbreaking how Gilda dies - on YT.
Maybe in some months my list will be altered, in discussions with beginners it has always been the same. All love Die Zauberflöte.
To remember me, watch "Brüderchen komm tanz mit mir" (Guberova - Fassbender) - When Hänsel Gretel is performed there are always crowds of children in the audience, however, it is not an opera for children basically.
I always said, La Boheme would be a great introduction to experience opera!
My first was COSI FAN TUTTE. SImple plot, three men, three women, every character has one aria.
i love cosi fan tutte!!
They actually have two.! At least if they don't make any cuts.
Very encouraging, thank you!
This is a great video. I actually came here because I was trying to find out which operas are good for beginner artists. I'm writing a story where the protagonist is a soprano, but I only know the opera world from the perspective of a listener and I have no idea of which operas would work best for debut/early career. Can anybody give me some advice?
Have a look at some sopranos' CVs. This might be insightful.
I guess Gilda and Pamina are quite common. Also Gretel or Sandmännchen. It depends on the kind of voice ("fach"). Be careful to not mix them up in your story. The fach might change over the years, but a singer sticks to one for a couple of years and also gets her theatre engagements according to it.
@@diesalonniere7227 thank you so much, I didn't think about looking at CVs and it's the best solution. The story has already been written and edited, soon it's going to be published in a magazine. I omitted mentioning the debut roles of the protagonist, but next time I'll have more reference🙏
I think Puccini n Rossini are friendly for beginners. I love both of them and Donizetti also 😄
The first list that i agree with. Like to add two if performed well might be on this list. L'elisir d'amore by Donizetti has a really nice tempo, not unlike The magic flute, and it's quite funny aswell. Les contes d'hoffman because of the surreal story wich in the hands of a good director can be really special, and the hitparade. Kleinzack, le barcarole, Olympias aria, Antonias aria, the diamond aria and a lot more good music, fairly easy listening.
Hoffmann is a GREAT opera, but underrated. The only reason I wouldn’t recommend it to beginners is that it’s very long, especially in the latest editions.
Mimi of _La Boheme_ is one of the most passive heroines of an opera. I prefer Floria Tosca from _Tosca_ .
_La Cenerentola_ by Rossini is a good opera for beginners because most people know the story of Cinderella, so they don't have to spend time trying to figure out the plot of _Cenerentola_ .
Thanks for doing this!
Good choices though consider Rigoletto over La Traviata owing to more and better (almost but not melodrama if directed and acted sincerely) drama and more well known(more hummable? 😊) arias, duets and the ensembles
The first opera I saw was Madama Butterfly in in 1984 in Leningrad as St. Petersburg was then. From that time on i loved opera.
The first Opera I Saw LIVE was Don Giovanni and it was a Nice experience.
Other strong point for Zauberflöte and Carmen as Opera for beginners is that they have spoken dialogue (For Carmen only if you're watching Bizet's original version)
The Daughter of the Regiment was my first and it was stellar. The recent staging at Lyric in Chicago
My first Opera was Don Giovanni and I don't regret it 😁
The first opera my father took me to was Pagliacci. He read the libretto with a small flashlight while in the house, which sort of embarrassed me, but I loved Cornell Macneil's voice. Der Rosenkavalier was an opera I saw in a Minnesota Opera production; it was captivating. I don't like artifice, just singing and acting with period sets The trio at the end of the opera brought ecstasy.
I tred to predict what your recommendations would be and came swiftly unstuck! I had ‘Figaro’ rather than ‘Zauberflöte’ (which is let down by acres of spoken dialogue, especially once the trials get underway), ‘La Bohème’, ‘La traviata’ and ‘Flying Dutchman’ (reasoning that if you have Verdi, you have to keep the Wagner faction happy) and, so it’s not all pre-20th century and to show opera isn’t all romance, ‘The turn of the screw’.
Smetana's Bartered Bride could be added to the list. Recently this was performed in Munich in German translation as a high speed comedy and the audience was enthusiastic.
I agree with La Boheme, La Traviata and Barber of Seville, but not Magic Flute or Carmen, as much as I personally love both and concur that they have recognizable music. The problem I have found with both of them for first-time opera goers is that they are too long. I would substitute Tosca and Rigoletto. Just my opinion, but think both are more “manageable” for beginners. And while Barber is longish, it’s a comedy that just seems to move along more quickly.
Many thanks for the understanding
My personal favorite is I pagliacci that’s a very solid one to start on too for plot and music
For children it’s Hänsel und Gretl. In Germany it’s the typical Christmas production and I think it was the first opera for many German children.
Maybe that’s why opera is very alive in Germany with 83 !!! Opera houses.
And for the next 5 operas (to make it 10 😊), I would add
Puccini's TURANDOT
Offenbach"s LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN
Mozart's DON GIOVANNI
Verdi's AIDA
Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY
From then on, if you have not become an opera fan, by then... You'll have barely scratch the surface of an unending world of wonderful, exciting, highly emotional discoveries.
good first choices for beginners
I'm new and looking to try an opera.
The 70's TV show "Gilligan's Island" had an episode where they transformed Shakespeare's "Hamlet" into a musical with the music from "Carmen".
If you ask me, i'd recommend the earliest opera surviving, L'Euridice, also, I think going inmidiately after the most famous ones may not be a good thing for a complete beginner
I would agree with Die Zauberflöte and Bohémè for sure, but Hänsel und Gretel is another choice that sadly is left out (I believe it’s performed more than Zauberflöte in Germany). It’s fast, relaxing and familiar all at the same time. L’elisir definitely is another one that should be at least in the top 10 because it’s extremely funny and not that hard to follow. I’m surprised Rigoletto has not been mentioned simply because it’s plot is more or less simple, still Verdi, and very recognizable songs.
My first opera was Carmen, fifty five years ago. The Barber of Seville is by Gioachino , not Gioachimo Rossini. I think That staging you showed was a poor choice for Barber. Gianni Schicchi by Puccini is another good first opera. It’s a short comedy with great music. Pair that up with Pagliacci. Easy plot to follow, also great music. If you really want to wow someone take them to the Mets Aida. I would also add Tosca and Rigoletto. Both have beautiful music and drama. Although at this point in my life after hundreds of performances I really enjoy Baroque operas and Wagner’s Ring cycle, that has 4 operas and 17 hours of glorious music.