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I wonder why the author does not recommend Mozart for beginners. I find Mozart’s operas to be much more accessible than the popular romantic ones. Not only is h

I wonder why the author does not recommend Mozart for beginners. I find Mozart’s operas to be much more accessible than the popular romantic ones. Not only is his music way catchier, but Mozart and and his librettists also do comedy like few others. I find that most of my beginner friends tire quickly of the long, drawn-out, exaggerated drama and dramatic music of Italian operas (i.e. Tosca, La Bohème, etc.). Some comedy sprinkled in together with an interesting plot can keep newbies interested for much longer. I would recommend starting with some of Mozart’s lightest and craftiest operas (e.g. Cosí Fan Tutte, The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute). And of course, watch Amadeus first.

adrtessier 11y ago
I'm a counterexample, I guess: Tosca was the first opera that absolutely enthralled me, cliche or not, even though I had seen others before it. It's my favorite. Me aside, The Marriage of Figaro is the first one I tell people to see if they can. Act I is engaging from the beginning, and I think does a good job of bringing people into the right mindset to appreciate it even if they don't get opera.
- JoelMcCracken 11y ago
  Tosca was the first I saw, and it was also the most enthralling. It may be a very common example, but its is regularly cited because it is a masterpiece of the art.
cafard 11y ago
Oddly enough, Cosi Fan Tutte was the first opera I saw--purely by chance, forI didn't feeling like sticking around the house with my younger brother and the babysitter, and tickets were cheap enough at a college production. I agree entirely about starting with Mozart. I prefer the soprano arias in The Marriage of Figaro to pretty much anything else in opera, and Figaro's arias are outstanding too. "Amadeus" is OK if you don't imagine that it has any particular relation to reality. A friend with an interest in musical history got out of the theater and said, "Well, where should I start?", i.e. to enumerate the absurdities.

adrtessier 11y ago

I'm a counterexample, I guess: Tosca was the first opera that absolutely enthralled me, cliche or not, even though I had seen others before it. It's my favorite. Me aside, The Marriage of Figaro is the first one I tell people to see if they can. Act I is engaging from the beginning, and I think does a good job of bringing people into the right mindset to appreciate it even if they don't get opera.

JoelMcCracken 11y ago
Tosca was the first I saw, and it was also the most enthralling. It may be a very common example, but its is regularly cited because it is a masterpiece of the art.

cafard 11y ago

Oddly enough, Cosi Fan Tutte was the first opera I saw--purely by chance, forI didn't feeling like sticking around the house with my younger brother and the babysitter, and tickets were cheap enough at a college production. I agree entirely about starting with Mozart. I prefer the soprano arias in The Marriage of Figaro to pretty much anything else in opera, and Figaro's arias are outstanding too. "Amadeus" is OK if you don't imagine that it has any particular relation to reality. A friend with an interest in musical history got out of the theater and said, "Well, where should I start?", i.e. to enumerate the absurdities.