#also the whole ferrando / fiordiligi duet is the best thing i have heard in my life provided it is played well

[tuttocenere]

ok I think I have figured out why I like Cosi fan Tutte, it's because there are all these serious love duets and declarations of faithfulness and horniness, but on a meta level it's all just a game, it's not that serious

and I guess that appeals to me, especially in the context of a story, where it's already not that serious just by virtue of being a story

[harry-leroy]

2. Your favorite opera? 10. Favorite production of your favorite opera? 13. Favorite love duet? 16. Create a hypothetical opera adaptation off of classic novel (and cast it if you want!) 20. Favorite tenor singer? 22. An opera that you do not vibe with? 27. Your favorite composer? 29. Ensemble piece that gives you chills? 35. Favorite baritone singer? 39. Favorite bass character? 50. An opera you recommend to opera newbies?

Thank you for these! I appreciate it! :) 

2) Your favorite opera? 

Stravinsky’s Rake’s Progress! But then my second favorite is Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte and third is Britten’s Billy Budd - (yes I have a list on my phone in which I am ranking them as I go)

10) Favorite production of your favorite opera? 

Either the 2010 Glyndebourne Rake’s Progress or the 2017 Aix-en-Provence Rake’s Progress. 

For Così it’s the 2006 Glyndebourne production all the way - I feel like if you’re going to watch Così you have to start with that one and then watch other productions. Luca and Topi need to be in more things together because they are the best of baritone/tenor collaborators.  

13) Favorite love duet? 

“Vogliatemi bene” from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly - it’s the love duet that ends Act I. I heard Mirella Freni sing it and you don’t come back from that honestly. 

Some honorable mentions: 

“Già nella notte densa” from Verdi’s Otello - in addition to being a gorgeous love duet, it’s also close to my heart because it’s part of the inspiration for a play I’m writing in which the main couple met at the opera house in 1887 during a production of Verdi’s Otello. 

“Fra gli amplessi” from Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte - every production has to have the moment where Ferrando takes off his coat from Fiordiligi’s shoulders because it’s the most tender thing I’ve ever seen. (Especially in the Glyndebourne 2006 version - highly recommend it). 

“Armide! Vous m’allez quitter” from Lully’s Armide - love is so powerful in this opera and this love duet is in a bedroom scene that happens at the end of the work. We know that these two can’t be together, but damn it if I didn’t want them to be. 

16) Create a hypothetical opera adaptation off of a classic novel (and cast it if you want!) 

A Picture of Dorian Gray opera would really hit different, I think. If we’re going on the Oscar Wilde track, The Importance of Being Earnest would be a great comedic opera because of the whole mixed up identity thing. There also aren’t as many characters in that play as there are in other Oscar Wilde plays, so I think it works. I’d have to think about casting though! 

20) Favorite tenor singer? 

Topi Lehtipuu, Ian Bostridge, and Ben Bliss are my top three. 

22) An opera that you do not vibe with? 

Dvorak’s Rusalka and Britten’s Death in Venice (so far hehehe) 

27) Your favorite composer? 

Maurice Ravel or Claude Debussy, but I think that’s because I’m a flute player and these two composers know how to write for flute. I’m beginning to vibe with Stravinsky because of The Rake’s Progress. Also Puccini knows how to write for opera and his pieces give me chills, so we’ll also give Puccini some credit here too. 

29) Ensemble piece that gives you chills? 

“Non piangere Liù” from Puccini’s Turandot - a piece which is also at the end of Act I, like “Vogliatemi bene” from Madama Butterfly. The man knows how to end an act. 

35) Favorite baritone singer? 

Either Simon Keenlyside or Luca Pisaroni! 

39) Favorite bass character? 

I mentioned Don Alfonso in another post, but also John Claggart in Billy Budd is a nice role too. 

50) An opera you recommend to opera newbies? 

Le Nozze di Figaro is a classic, and I think it’s nice to start with a comedy to settle in. Watching an opera in your native language (if that’s something you can do) is also somewhat comforting to start out with, so if you’re cool with tragedy The Rake’s Progress is also a good one for an English opera (and this is me assuming that most people on here consider English their native language, which is definitely not true so ignore me there). The Rake’s Progress also has a relatively simple plot. Country boy goes to the city and sells his soul to the devil. 

Also Turandot is rewarding for newbies too because I think there are a lot of recognizable pieces from pop culture and I think it’s nice to get them in context!