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February 16, 2004
Essential Opera - David Agriesti
In a society saturated with choices, sometimes it's nice to
receive some knowledgeable recommendations.
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Classical vocal music isn’t everybody’s cup of tea; it may
be an acquired taste, or it may have been inculcated from an early age. My
mother seemed to know all the words to the Verdi aria, “Tutte le feste al tempio,”
and she mentioned that her aunt used to sing melodies from La Traviata as
she sat sewing. At any rate, it’s a pleasure to hear singers perform without
amplification; it’s a complete change from the real world in which everything
seems to be electronically amplified.
Here is some music that appeals to me, and I hope that you
will be tempted to listen.
From the sacred….
Messiah—George
Frideric Handel
Messiah
was composed in 1741.The text is from the Bible and contains some
of the most famous music associated with Christianity. Probably the best-known
piece is the “Hallelujah Chorus,” which has even been used in television
commercials. Other pieces include: “I know that my Redeemer liveth” and “He
shall feed His flock like a Shepherd.” Messiah and Elijah are
oratorios. (An oratorio is a composition for voices and orchestra that tells a
sacred story, but without costumes, scenery, or dramatic action.)
Elijah—Felix
Mendelssohn
Elijah
premiered in 1856 in England. Written to the text of the German Lutheran Bible,
it was translated into English and made to conform as much as possible to the
King James Version, considering the rhythms of the original German text. The
story concerns the activities of the prophet Elijah. Some of the most stirring
pieces are the chorus “He, watching over Israel, slumbers not, nor sleeps,”
which is based on Psalm 121 and Psalm 138 and the aira “O rest in the Lord,”
which is based on Psalm 37.
…to the profane.
La Traviata—Giuseppe
Verdi
La Traviata
is the opera that probably gives the oomph to the phrase “Italian Opera.” Based
on a story by Alexandre Dumas (the son of the Alexandre Dumas who wrote The
Three Musketeers), this concerns the love affair between a naďve young man
and a rather worldly young woman who lives by her charm and the generosity of
her gentlemen friends. Verdi’s music has a way of showing all the pathos of
life, all the joy of love, and is thrilling to boot.
Carmen—Georges
Bizet
This opera deals with Carmen, the gypsy girl, who leads
another naďve young man from the straight and narrow path. Don Jose, a soldier,
allows Carmen, whom he has arrested because she stabbed a fellow factory worker,
to escape on the way to prison. He meets her later and opts to remain with her,
which basically makes him a deserter. Things are complicated when his village
sweetheart comes to him with a care package and a message from his mother. Yet
Carmen still turns his head, and when she goes off with a bullfighter, the
jealous Jose stabs her. Every school child knows some music from this opera:
who can’t sing “Toreador, don’t spit on the floor, Toreador, use the cuspidor”?
Although the story takes place in Seville, neither Bizet nor the author who
wrote the original story, Merimee, ever set foot in Spain.
La Boheme—Giacomo Puccini
The music of this opera absolutely lifts the hearer out of
the chair because of its sheer beauty. This is the story of some young people
on their own in Paris in the dead of winter. They have no money for food, and
they bamboozle the landlord because they can’t pay the rent. As a matter of
fact, the writer of the group even burns his newest play just to have a little
heat in the place. A young lady, a neighbor from the floor below, comes to ask
for a light since she apparently hasn’t any matches. This is a case of love at
first glance between Rodolfo (the hero) and Mimi (the heroine). Unfortunately,
Mimi suffers from tuberculosis and dies at the end. (This is opera,
after all.) There is beautiful music in all four acts. As a bonus to restless
people, this is a rather short opera. For all those folks who think that opera
singers are short, fat, and ugly, I recommend the 1993 video of this work by the
Australian Opera, starring David Hobson as Rodolfo and Cheryl Barker as Mimi.
At that time, they and the other members of the cast were good looking and sang
quite well.
Der Ring des Nibelungen—Richard
Wagner
This long and elaborate composition is a set of four
operas based on Germanic mythology. Both the words and the music are by the
German composer Richard Wagner. The story is somewhat complicated. In the first
opera, Das Rheingold, the Rhinemaidens guard the gold at the bottom of
the river. Alberich, a gnome, steals the gold from them and forges it into a
ring that gives him great power. In turn, Wotan, the king of the gods, takes it
from him in order to pay for the building of their new home, which is called
Valhalla. The earth-goddess warns Wotan against keeping the ring, but she goes
unheeded, and the gods take possession of their new home. The other operas in
this cycle are Die Walkure, Siegfried, and Gotterdammerung.
They deal with incest, retribution, heroism, true love, self-sacrifice, and the
final return of the ring to the Rhinemaidens. The music is the sort that
absolutely overwhelms the listener with sheer beauty. Wagner is the composer of
the march sometimes played in weddings, “The Wedding March” from
Lohengrin.
For those interested, The Metropolitan Opera will
broadcast La Traviata on March 6, Das Rheingold on March 20,
Die Walkure on April 3, Siegfried on April 17, and Gotterdammerung
on April 24.
ninetyandnine.com
© 2004, David Agriesti
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David Agriesti
listens to the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts in Columbus, Ohio.
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