Opera Excursions (Part One)

This week, I finally finished my marathon of Verdi’s 27 operas. Had it not been for a couple of pleasant surprises, I would almost have been inclined to conclude that the only Verdi worth listening to is the Verdi you have already heard. For my own future reference, I am making a little ranking of my favourites below
  1. Nabucco
  2. Aida
  3. La Traviata
  4. Rigoletto
  5. Il Trovatore
  6. Luisa Miller
  7. La Forza del Destino
  8. Stiffelio
  9. Ernani
  10. I Vespri Siciliani
  11. Macbeth
I think of the first four as belonging to a category of their own. Some operas are known for an outstanding aria or a good overture, but these four remain compelling from beginning to end. There is hardly a moment that feels like filler content. I found five through nine compelling in more than one place. I love the recurrence of the main motif from the overture in La Forza del Destino, and the sustained liveliness of Ernani. To be quite honest, the order of these mid-ranking operas is mostly haphazard. The last two operas I remember being compelling for only very short bursts. I Vespri Siciliani are worth listening to for the last half an hour, and Macbeth stands out for all of the instrumental parts – somewhat perplexing for an opera.

To break up these pieces a little – after all, each composer has their own style and if one isn’t careful, things end up merging together quite fast – I made some forays into other regions and time periods. I was blown away by the overture to Fibich’s Šárka, whose themes recur throughout the opera to great effect. I was also surprised to find that the monumentality of Dvořák’s Vanda ably rivals Smetana’s glorious Libuše. Dvořák’s Šelma sedlák perhaps pales in comparison to Smetana’s Prodaná nevěsta, which seems to have inspired it, but nevertheless sustains an air of playfulness and hilarity throughout.

Moving farther East, I thoroughly enjoyed finally listening to the whole of Borodin’s Prince Igor, which turned out to be much more than just the Polovetsian Dances. The first act of Tchaikovsky’s Enchantress is also amazing, especially with the haunting voice of Rimma Glushkova in the titular role. Nevertheless, having never been much of a fan of Mussorgsky, I did not really enjoy his Khovanshchina (excepting the move towards the music of the Caucasus towards the end of the opera), nor did I discover much more to Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmila outside of its famous overture.

I also happened upon Pergolesi’s La Serva Pedrona, easily the funniest baroque opera I have ever listened to.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Southern Delhi and Other Bits and Pieces

Image
On my last day in Delhi, I managed to cross off the last few items on my sightseeing list. I began by packing my luggage, all the while congratulating myself on having remembered to ask the hotel to do my laundry in advance. That finished, I ordered an Uber to Akshardham, a massive Hindu temple east of the Yamuna River. The opening hours of the temple are not well advertised, and when I arrived by the front gate, I learned it was still closed. For a few minutes, I took pictures of the temple from afar, when suddenly an autorickshaw driver approached me. He reasoned with me that since the temple would not open until ten, I had better come with him and see other sights. I had to admit the soundness of his reasoning and gave him my next address.
Read more

Ireland: Day 8 – County Louth

Image
My plans for my last day in Ireland came together in a very ad hoc fashion. Having seen everything I wanted to see, I searched for interesting sights close to the highway between Dublin and Belfast. These did not include – though I found it the most interesting sight of all – the modest highway sign saying “Welcome to Northern Ireland” painted over with several streaks of dark red paint.
Read more

When the Cows Come Home: The Désalpe in Saint-Cergue

Image
Towards the end of September and beginning of October, many Swiss villages celebrate a tradition known as the Désalpe (or Alpabzug in German-speaking Switzerland and Almabtrieb in Germany and Austria). The tradition celebrates the return of the cows from their summer pastures in the mountains: the more touristy Swiss villages deck out their cows in towering flower crowns and put on shows to fill in the time between the descent of various herds. In Saint-Cergue, for example, the entertainment during these pauses was provided by alpenhorn players, yodelling choristers, an orchestra band, and a singular man cracking his long, supersonic cow whip. There were also two other processions: one composed of cart-dragging Saint Bernards, and another one of men carrying cowbells.
Read more