The Anguish of Classical Music’s Famous Operas
Contents
A look at the some of the most famous and popular operas and how they came to be.
The Ring Cycle
The story
The Ring Cycle is a series of four epic music dramas composed by the German composer Richard Wagner. The operas in the cycle are based on ancient Norse mythology and tell the story of the quest for power and love.
The first opera in the cycle, The Rhinegold, tells the story of the theft of the magical ring that gives its owner control over the world. The second opera, The Valkyrie, follows the doomed love of the hero Siegmund and his sister Sieglinde. The third opera, Siegfried, tells the story of Siegfried’s heroic deeds as he tries to win back the ring from its evil owner, Alberich. The final opera in the cycle, Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods), tells the story of Ragnarok, the end of the world.
The Ring Cycle is one of classical music’s most famous and popular works. It is also one of its most controversial, with some critics finding its length and complexity difficult to appreciate. Nevertheless, it remains an essential part of the operatic repertoire and is regularly performed all over the world.
The music
The music of The Ring has been extremely influential in the development of Western classical music. Wagner’s approach to tonality and harmony, as well as his use of leitmotifs, had a profound impact on other composers, including Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and Arnold Schoenberg. Many of the Wagnerian leitmotifs that appear in The Ring have become some of the most commonly used pieces of music in film and television.
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Italian libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. It is based on the legends of Don Juan, a fictional libertine and seducer. Giovanni was first performed on October 29, 1787, at the National Theater in Prague. The opera was a success and was performed in Vienna, Budapest, Bologna, and other European cities.
The story
One of the most popular and controversial operas of all time, Mozart’s Don Giovanni is the story of a charismatic libertine who goes to extreme lengths in pursuit of his heart’s desires.
The opera begins with a spectacular feast given by Don Giovanni in honor of the woman he has just seduced, Donna Anna. However, this event is quickly overshadowed by tragedy when Donna Anna’s father, the Commendatore, confronts Don Giovanni and is killed in a duel.
Donna Anna is understandably distraught at her father’s death, but she is also consumed by thoughts of revenge. She enlists the help of her fiancé, Don Ottavio, and together they set out to track down and punish the man responsible for the Commendatore’s death.
Meanwhile, Don Giovanni has already moved on to new conquests. One of his victims is Zerlina, a young peasant girl who he seduces at her own wedding feast. Donna Elvira, another one of Giovanni’s many ex-lovers, shows up just in time to try and stop the wedding. But Giovanni is undeterred and quickly sweeps Zerlina away to begin his next conquest.
As Donna Anna and Don Ottavio continue their search for justice, they are joined by Donna Elvira and Zerlina’s husband Masetto. The foursome eventually catch up to Don Giovanni at an inn where he is trying to seduce yet another woman, Leporello.
After a tense stand-off, Leporello manages to persuade his master to leave without him. As Giovannine tracks down Leporello alone in the dark streets of Seville, he finally meets his comeuppance at the hands of the vengefulGhostof the Commendatore.
The music
While the overture to Don Giovanni is one of Mozart’s best-known pieces, much of the opera’s music is actually quite dark and full of suffering. The character of Don Giovanni is obsessed with sex and violence, and his victims often sing some of the most anguished music in all of classical opera.
La Bohème
La Bohème is an opera in four acts, composed by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger. The world premiere performance of La Bohème was in Turin on 1 February 1896 at the Teatro Regio. Since then, La Bohème has become part of the standard operatic repertoire and is one of the most frequently performed operas worldwide.
The story
The story of La Bohème is set in Paris in the 1830s and is about a group of young artists and degenerates living a life of poverty and bohemianism. The central characters are the poet Rodolfo and the seamstress Mimi. The two fall in love and their love blooms amidst the joys and sorrows of their impoverished lifestyle. But as was so often the case in those days, death eventually comes knocking at the door, taking Mimi away from Rodolfo just when their love had started to grow stronger.
The music
The music in La Bohème is some of the most beautiful ever written, and yet it is also incredibly sad. Part of this is because the story is sad, but part of it is also because the music itself expresses a lot of emotion.
One of the things that makes La Bohème so special is that the music is able to convey both the joy and the pain of love. It does this by using a range of different musical techniques.
For example, in the first act, when Mimì first meets Rodolfo, the music is very light and airy. This represents the feeling of love at first sight – it’s all butterflies and excitement. But later on, in the second act, when Mimì is dying, the music becomes much more dark and depressing. This represents the pain and anguish that comes with losing someone you love.
The music in La Bohème is some of the most beautiful ever written, and yet it is also incredibly sad. Part of this is because the story is sad, but part of it is also because the music itself expresses a lot of emotion.
One of the things that makes La Bohème so special is that the music is able to convey both the joy and pain love. It does this by using a range moves between different tempos joyous melodies to heart-wrenching tunesladen with emotions..
Aida
Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida is one of the most popular operas in the classical music repertoire. It tells the story of an Ethiopian princess who is captured and brought into slavery in Egypt. The opera explores the themes of love, betrayal, and redemption.
The story
The story is set in Egypt, in and around the city of Thebes, during the reign of the Pharaoh. It begins with Radamès, captain of the guard, being in love with Aida, daughter of the Ethiopian king Amonasro. Although she loves him too, she is reluctant to admit it because Radamès is an Egyptian and she knows that her father wants her to marry the Ethiopian prince Ramses instead, in order to gain favor with him.
Aida’s father Amonasro has been captured in battle by the Egyptians and is being held prisoner. He manages to convince Radamès to help him escape, on the condition that he takes Aida with him. Radamès agrees and helps Amonasro escape, but is caught in the act by the Pharaoh’s daughter Amneris.
Aimeris confronts Aida and tells her that she knows about her love for Radamès. Aida denies it at first, but eventually confesses. Amneris tells her that she will not tell anyone about what she has seen, but warns her that if she does not stop loving Radamès then she will kill him.
Aida and Radamès continue to meet in secret and discuss their plans to escape together. However, before they can put their plan into action,Radames is summoned by the Pharaoh to lead an army into battle against the Ethiopians. He leaves reluctantly, telling Aida that he will come back for her.
The Egyptians are victorious in the battle andRadames returns triumphantly to Thebes. Aimeris confronts him again about his love for Aida and this time he does not deny it. She tells him that he must choose between his love for Aida and his loyalty to Egypt, or else she will have him killed.
Radames chooses his love for Aida and plans to flee Egypt with her. However, before they can leave they are both captured and sentenced to death. As they are about to be executed, they declare their undying love for each other and prepare to meet their fate together.
The music
Aida is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette. It was first performed at the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo on 24 December 1871, with Verdi conducting.
Since its premiere, Aida has been one of the most popular operas in the repertoire. It is frequently performed at the Metropolitan Opera and other top opera houses, and has inspired many productions throughout the world, including several ballet productions.
Carmen
Carmen is an opera in four acts by French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, with a French-language libretto.
The story
Carmen is an opera in four acts by French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, where its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalized its first audiences.
Bizet died suddenly after the 33rd performance, before completing the final act, and the opera’s fortunes began to improve markedly only after being successfully revived in Lyon in 1880. Carmen subsequently became one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the entire repertoire; today it is one of the most frequently recorded too.
The central character of Carmen is a confident seductress who finds herself torn between her independence and her love for the ill-fated sergeant Don José. Their story unfolds against a backdrop of political tension in Seville during the Napoleonic Wars. This was hugely controversial material at the time, as was Bizet’s highly innovative musical approach, which draws elements from various musical genres including Italian bel canto, Spanish traditional folk music and French opéra comique.
The music
Carmen is an opera in four acts by French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, where its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalized its first audiences.
Bizet died suddenly after the 33rd performance, before completing the last act; Opera comique was not part of the repertory of most nineteenth-century opera houses outside France (see List of operas#By century), and Carmen did not achieve international renown until the 20th century.
The music of Carmen has been hailed for its brilliance, originality, and ear-catching melodies. Bizet’s style incorporates both lighthearted elements as well as dark and suspenseful passages. Musicologist Roger Parker writes that “Bizet drew on all manner of musical resources in Carmen – popular song, dance music, allusions to other operatic works, even snippets from military bands heard by chance while he was out walking.”
