Romantic Opera for the Heart and Soul…

J

Jamala

Senior Member
Location
Butterfly from Herts/UK
Opera… not everyone’s cup of tea I know… however… this thread is for the very few who love this genre.
Please feel free to contribute…but… I must respectfully stress, it makes no sense just posting a video.

A synopsis of the Opera or the Aria makes for more enjoyable reading and listening.
Just a couple of short paragraphs will do.
 

I will start off with one of my favourites:

‘M’appari’ is the best known name for the central aria from Friedrich von Flotow’s Martha, a romantic comic opera in four acts. Flotow – who was born into a musical family, his mother playing the piano and his father the flute – composed some thirty operas during his lifetime.

He began his career after studying at the Conservatoire de Paris, before achieving his first big success with Alessandro Stradella, which premiered in Hamburg at the end of 1844. Martha is sometimes described as the most performed opera of the second half of the nineteenth century.


The song tells the story of a man expressing his deep love and longing for the woman he adores. From the moment he sees her he falls hopelessly in love… but their love was doomed from the start and this is his lament.
 
jujube said:
Here's my favorite:

"Au Fond du Temple Saint" from The Pearl Fishers (Bizet). It's a "love duet" between two male friends who both love the same Priestess, but also love each other (as brothers). The blending of their voices is sublime.

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I love those duets, another one is Dame Joan Sutherland's LAKME , FLOWER DUET .
 
Nilakantha, a high priest of the Brahmin temple, is outraged that he is forbidden to practice his religion by the British forces occupying his city.

He gathers his followers to go to the temple secretly to pray. His daughter Lakmé, and her servant Mallika, are left behind…they decide to go down to the river to gather flowers and there they sing this duet.

The "Flower Duet" is a duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano in the first act of Léo Delibes' opera Lakmé. It premiered in Paris in 1883. .
One of the happiet moments of my life was performing this with my daughter in London some years ago.

For Oscash … Joan Sutherland and Huguette Tourangeau.​

 
Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton, an officer in the U.S. Navy, is captivated with Cio-Cio San, a young geisha. Pinkerton's desire for Butterfly is so strong that he would do anything to have her. He therefore arranges through Goro, a marriage broker, to marry her in a Japanese wedding ceremony.

Pinkerton is called back to America and Butterfly patiently waits for him to return to Nagasaki. Eventually, he does return to Nagasaki only this time with a new American wife. In despair, the heartbroken Butterfly ends her life.


Madama Butterfly sings this aria as she awaits the return of Pinkerton. Here it is performed impeccably by Maria Callas.
 
The story is set in Roman-occupied Gaul. The druidess Norma has had two children by her lover Pollione, the Roman proconsul in Gaul.
However Pollione has grown tired of her and has a new love interest… he now thinks only of the young novice Adalgisa, whom he dreams of taking to Rome.

Norma, in despair, contemplates killing her children. But overwhelmed by her love for them, she takes her own life instead.
Norma sings “Casta Diva,” a prayer to the moon goddess for peace, and eventually, conquering the Romans.


The aria Casta Diva is from the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini and sung by Russian soprano Aida Garifullina.
 
Jamala said:
Nilakantha, a high priest of the Brahmin temple, is outraged that he is forbidden to practice his religion by the British forces occupying his city.

He gathers his followers to go to the temple secretly to pray. His daughter Lakmé, and her servant Mallika, are left behind…they decide to go down to the river to gather flowers and there they sing this duet.

The "Flower Duet" is a duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano in the first act of Léo Delibes' opera Lakmé. It premiered in Paris in 1883. .
One of the happiet moments of my life was performing this with my daughter in London some years ago.

For Oscash … Joan Sutherland and Huguette Tourangeau.​

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JAMALA - Thanks so much for this beautiful Opera. I think if ever I had a choice when growing up I would love to have had training in singing. We were all good singers but my parents couldn't afford singing lessons, this was in the 50's with only one salary in the family.
 
oscash said:
JAMALA - Thanks so much for this beautiful Opera. I think if ever I had a choice when growing up I would love to have had training in singing. We were all good singers but my parents couldn't afford singing lessons, this was in the 50's with only one salary in the family.
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You are very welcome :)
 
The Opera Nabucco tells the story of Nebuchadnezzar, ancient King of Babylon, who went mad after proclaiming himself, God. It is one of the most popular works in the history of opera.

The opera follows the plight of the Jews as they are exiled from their homeland by Nabucco. The best-known aria from the opera is the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves" (Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate).


The Royal Opera Chorus perform 'Va, Pensiero' on the roof of the Royal Opera House. Lovely backdrop of London.
 

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