We’re surrounded by a lot of arias that are really impressive for their vocal highs and lows, but what are your favorite arias that eschew the coloratura for those sweeping melodies that make you cry?

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL20reyCEL3hp3E9mS8z0hOPbumLodXuXC&si=OzkoRgX2OprGJ2Is

https://youtu.be/WGREQ670LrU?si=31n03PMb2E4VSA2I

I’ve seen it written before that certain arias are very “exposed” often specifically referring to Mozart arias. Seeming to refer to a quality of them that makes them deceptively difficult to sing. What does “exposed” mean in this context?

You know, that one famous, difficult aria.

• For sopranos we have the Queen of the Night aria ("Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen") with "Sempre libera" as a good runner-up.
• For mezzos/altos... hell if I know. Maybe "Stride la vampa"? Certainly sounds impressive but I don't know if it's actually that difficult.
• For tenors the most famous test is probably "Nessun dorma", though don't forget "Mes amis, écoutez l'histoire" and "Credeasi, misera".
• For baritones there's "Largo al factotum" and "Credo in un Dio crudel".
• For basses it's probably Osmin's aria: "O, wie will ich triumphieren".

What do you think it should be for each voice? Shoot!

Started singing lessons at 28 with my teacher (2 years ago). I improved a ton in the first 3 months and have slowly improved since but the improvements are definitely slowing. I have a consistent range of A1-F#4 warmed up (very likely lower with tension blocking me due to weak thyroaretenoids but that's a whole story) (D2-D4 "usable") but I've had that F#4 limit for over a year now. What worries me is while my musicality is still improving as well as my tone my voice is still very weak compared to everyone else I know doing opera and with weak support as well. My voice is only really decently resonant and chesty between G2-C3.

One thing that worries me is that we focus mostly on rep and not on building my voice. After a 15 minute warmup with some exercises we switch to rep for the next 45 minutes. She seems to do very well with female voices but only has a couple of male adult students, most of her students are women or kids. But the thing is my voice does sound better than it did in January it's just so weak and light. I posted on here and despite the fact that I speak D2-F2 people wondered if I was a tenor. I also don't have vibrato and can't do open throat without tension.

I like my teacher she is a wonderful person and very supportive but I feel like she is unsure of what to do with a low male voice and while she has made me the singer I am today I'm starting to feel discontentment. I'd like to one day be able to project loud enough to sing opera but right now it feels like it'll take a decade for that to happen and I'll be 40 by then.

How do you know when to switch? This is a tough decision.

I'll be in Berlin in mid July and am looking to go to the opera, see a recital or see a chamber ensemble or orchestra play. I've done some googling and haven't found much. Is this just the off season, or am I missing something? Where do local classical music enthusiasts go to find out what's on? Thanks!

I'll be in Venice in early July and am looking to go to the opera, see a recital or see a chamber ensemble or orchestra play. I've done some googling and haven't found much. Is this just the off season, or am I missing something? Where do local classical music enthusiasts go to find out what's on? Thanks!

I think there was a post a few months ago about whether it is ever appropriate to applaud set design when a scene starts. I thought the whole concept was a bit silly, what could I possibly want to applaud?

Fast forward to tonight, La Rondine at the Metropolitan. The curtain rises on Act 3 to an audible gasp from the audience. There was nothing to do but applaud. Come see it or catch it on Met Opera Live, it was literally breathtaking.

The singing was pretty good too 😊

I recently saw Andrea in concert and was flabbergasted and his daughter Virginia was amazing. Being quite new to opera, how does Andrea rank amongst the greatest of all time?

So more inanity from the Kennedy Center (what else is new)...

I am trying to buy a subscription to the WNO this year. I got to the point where I select which section of the house I want to sit in. The sections are labelled alphabetically - Orchestra A, Orchestra B... 1st Tier N, etc. But the seat map doesn't include which the sections!

I tried calling the box office and I kid you not, they said that they don't have a map of the seats at the box office (!?!?!?!) and they don't think such a map even exists. So I asked her can she at least describe which rows are associated with each section and she said she couldnt provide me with that information (!?!?!?!?). She said there's a special subscription phone number I can try calling but they are only open at certain times on certain days.

I also tried looking through the snail mail catalogue and this information isn't there either.

Has anyone bought a WNO subscription before or for some other reason know what the breakdown is between sections and seat locations?

Thank you for your help

Le Prophète was first performed on this day in 1849. To mark the occasion:

288. Le Prophète (Meyerbeer) – The Opera Scribe

hello! it’s been a while since i last posted here for advice but i do need some help/advice regarding this one opera that i have to do a final project on.

i am in a class about opera production history, studying the cultural and interpretative history of operas and evaluating them as theatrical pieces. for our final project, we all had to select an opera that we didn’t know very much about, and now we have to put together presentations on their history, how they have been interpreted, some case study productions that reveal different aspects of it, and why they are still performed (beyond just ‘the music is good’- everything resonates, somehow. Allegedly.)

my professor suggested i take on cilea’s adriana lecouvreur as my project, and given i was having trouble finding a final project topic, i accepted. now, however, i have realized that this piece does not appear to have cultural, historical, or interpretative value. meanwhile my classmates are studying birtwistle, britten, strauss… being assigned this opera, as it turns out, is much like going to a film analysis class and (as you watch the guy next to you get assigned the seventh seal) getting assigned to talk about snakes on a plane. like sure it exists but what about this is worth discussing academically?

i have never seen someone say that this is their favorite opera, or that they love it, or even that they -enjoy- it. i have only seen people deride it for its melodrama or note it for being mediocre. it has inspired nothing, no adaptations, no culture, not even a song from it being used in a soup ad or something... there is no mark of this work having any form of cultural relevancy. hell, i have heard of it being staged as a comedy of errors instead because it is seen as so laughable and stupid. i like this opera personally, as i do nearly all operas these days, and i guess as someone who is often taken as a mediocre laughingstock i can kind of relate to the work itself. but i cannot see a single reason why this work deserves to still be performed, or anything interesting about its productions- me liking it and finding the music catchy does not mean it has earned its continued existence.

this appears to be an unloved laughingstock. i am trying to find a good angle to approach the production history of this unloved laughingstock so i can 1) have a good presentation and 2) not look stupid doing a presentation on this when my classmates are doing operas that are considered to actually matter. does anyone know any way that i can make this opera’s history look interesting and self-justifying? (note: i am not asking for anyone to do research for me, and i don’t want anyone to do research for me either because i get paranoid about the concept of asking for help. i am asking for a way that i can make it look interesting and worth academically studying.)

any help is appreciated.

I was trying to find a PDF of Greenhorn’s aria from Heggie’s Moby Dick. I thought I found one on Scribd, but it wasn’t what I was looking for. Anyone have an idea as to where I can find a copy?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVxTNb3KfeI&t=95s

I’m considering quitting my job and cashing out my pension (about $23k after taxes) to become an opera singer. I’m miserable in my job, and I can only take out my pension if I no longer work for my current employer.

Edit to add: I’m 37, tenor. Also, not that it makes much difference, but I did the math wrong and my retirement cash out like be more like $34k. The response here was overwhelmingly negative so I’m going to keep looking for a new job rather than quit and go into the arts. Thanks for the reality check.

What are your guy's thoughts on straw phonation and does it work?

Hey everyone,

I'm a big fan of classical music but until yesterday had never delved into opera. My favourite style is baroque music, especially vocal- Bach and Buxtehude are my two favourites, though I also love the Mozart masses, Vivaldi's sacred music, etc. Living in Berlin, I have so many great concert opportunities, so I do 1-3 concerts a week which is great!

I had the opportunity for a cheap ticket to La Traviata at Deutsche Oper yesterday, which was fantastic! I really enjoyed my first opera and would like to go again, but I'm on the hunt for some recommendations as this side of classical music is totally new to me.

Basically my question is in two parts:

• Does anyone have a recommendation for a good first baroque opera? I'm a bit at a loss when it comes to the sheer quantity that's there, but I think I would enjoy opera even more if it's a more baroque style.

• I would also like to step out of my baroque comfort zone and maybe attend a Wagner opera. Which one would you start with?

As a last info, cause I guess that's important, I'm more into tragic than comedic, generally, but again- open to all suggestions!

Thanks everyone!