Reflections on Past, Present and Future

Verdi collection?

Oh yes! I recognise that problem, although I'm not a Wagner lover (it's Richard Strauss in this household :o)

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I think I'll be splashing out on a Berlioz collection is a few weeks time.

I'm not a big fan of Richard Strauss - not for listening, at any rate. Except for the Four Last Songs... But I love playing Strauss 1 on the horn.

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I love Berlioz, too. I got Damnation du Faust and Benvenuto Cellini on (what are those old black thingies called) and really need to replace them on CD, but I want the version with Nicolai Gedda, dangit. :) I've considered getting Les Troyens on DVD if I can find a good one - it's a very visual opera and needs to be done right, plus I want singers who can pronounce French. I know, asking for much here. :)

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It's Harold in Italy and Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale I'm after in particular. I've already got Symphonie Fantastique - lovely piece of music, but I have mixed feelings about it. When I toured as part of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland we were made to spend our day off sight-reading Symphonie Fantastique. It was supposed to be relaxation...

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:o)

I love the Strauss operas, I have to admit.

The four last songs are sublime!

There's a really good (and cheap) recording of 'Les Troyens' with that Berlioz champion, Colin Davis, conducting on Royal Opera's own label.

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I don't know Les Troyens at all - which is a terrible admission, considering my French Horn is named 'Hector' after Berlioz...

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It's Richard Strauss in my father's household.

Well, the amount of Verdi operes I have on CD and DVD is scary, lol. I got every opera he wrote on CD (including Il Giorno di Regno, the first verison of Macbeth, and both versions of the re-composed operas Stiffelio/Aroldo and I Lombardi/Jérusalem), and a lot of them on DVD as well, some (Traviata, Nabucco, Don Carlos, Aida, Rigoletto, Simone Boccanegra)) in more than one version, though a few of those I recorded from TV.

Then there's also impressive CD collection of obscure Donizetti operas and whatever of his operas I could get on DVD, I got (including a Maria Stuarda sung in English which even works; though I'm looking for a good Italian one as well).

I have more Wagner, of course, and some Bellini and Rossini and more. My father has the Puccini colletion. :) And all the Mahler symphoninas several times over on CD and those old black thingies. He's as crazy as I am.

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Mahler I can relate to! And some Verdi. I'd love to get a hold of Aida..

But not the Donizetti or the Rossini. It's the kind of music my father likes - and too set-piece for me.

Now Mussorgsky's a different matter. Must check out recordings of Boris Godunov sometime...

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I have that old one with Boris Christoff.

Boris Godunov is actually the first opera I heard. I was five, sitting on the fuffy carpet in our living room trying not to get noticed by my father who listened to it on the radio.

Of course, he did notice me, and from that time on started to get me acquainted with all sorts of classical music. The first opera I saw in the theatre were the Mastersingers - I was seven and got my first long skirt. :)

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I was a pretty early opera goer, too. I did see Mastersingers once when Scottish Opera did it, years ago. High point in my opera viewing years was probably seeing Cunning Little Vixen. Low point Cosi fan Tutte. Or some Rossini opera which I can't remember anything about whatsoever, except that there was a stunning French horn solo slap bang in the middle of it. I woke up for that.

I'm much more of an orchestral person. Though I do like some of the BIG choral works!!

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I'm more and opera and lied person. But yeah, Cosi fan Tutte isn't exactly one of my favourites, either. I like Don Giovanni, though.

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On the song cycle front, I do love Wintereisse... Very depressing, though...

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khiemtran.livejournal.com

I had a funny sort of revelation about Così fan tutte a while ago. It was the only Mozart opera that I didn't enjoy the first time I saw it (Le Nozze di Figaro is my all-time favourite), but now it's one of my favourites. I love the way it uses emotions in a kind of counterpoint, in the same way as the best writers.

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Nope. Too subtle for me.

I prefer these big, melodramatic wearing-their-heart on their sleeve German and Russian Romantic operas...

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Cunning Little Vixen? I saw Lesley Garrett in that part- really the part she was born for! :o)

Janacek is one of the great opera composers for me.

Have you seen: 'From the House of the Dead'?

And talking of Eastern Europe., how about Bartok and 'Duke Bluebeard's Castle'? Now THERE'S a powerful piece!

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I saw From the House of the Dead when I was a student - a great cameo role was played by Snorbitz the eagle, who swooped around the stage at the end.

I'm not a big fan of Bartok, I must admit - maybe I should revisit him now my tastes have matured a bit.

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