You’ve already heard all about La Traviata (by Giuseppe Verdi), which is my very favorite opera. I thought I’d tell you about some others I like almost as much.
La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini. The plot’s pretty basic. A starving “bohemian” artist, Rodolfo, falls in love with a poor girl. Eventually, she dies. What makes it cool is the very romantic music. Like, when Rudy meets Mimi, it’s in the hallway. She comes over to get him to light her candle because she has no fuel. He sings a song called “Che Gelida Manina” (which means “What a Frozen Little Hand”). If you watch the movie Rent (which is totally based on La Bohème, only with AIDS instead of tuberculosis), you’ll see this scene made into a song called “Light My Candle.”
The character I’d play in La Bohème is Musetta, Mimi’s friend. It’s a good part. Most high soprano characters are idiots who go crazy, or girls like Peyton and Ashley, who only care about flirting. Musetta starts out that way (she sings a song called “Quando M’en Vo’ Soletta,” which is basically about how hot she is!), but she actually grows a soul in the course of the opera! When Mimi gets sick, Musetta sells her earrings to buy her medicine. “Quando M’en Vo’ Soletta” is one of the most famous opera arias. You’ve definitely heard it in commercials for pizza and spaghetti sauce!
Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti. Donizetti wrote over seventy operas. This is probably his most popular. A lot of the girls in Donizetti’s operas go nuts, and Lucia is no exception. When Lucia goes mad (because her parents won’t let her marry her true love, Edgardo, and make her marry ugly, old Arturo instead), she stabs her husband, and then sings about it to all the wedding guests (who’ve been waiting downstairs for the, um, wedding night to take place). There’s this cool part where Lucia sings along with a flute, which is supposed to represent, I assume, all the little birdies twittering around in Lucia’s head. How can anyone think opera is boring???
The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach. This French opera is totally weird! It’s based on the stories of E.T.A. Hoffmann (who also wrote the story of The Nutcracker), but Hoffmann is also a character in it. It’s about four girls he falls in love with. The coloratura (my voice) part is a mechanical doll named Olympia, which Hoffmann believes is real because he’s wearing magic glasses given to him by the evil Coppélius. But really great sopranos like Joan Sutherland played all four soprano roles. I’d love to do that!
The Old Maid and the Thief by Gian Carlo Menotti. Yes, operas come in English too! This one is about an old lady, Miss Todd, and her maid, Laetitia, who live together. When a hot, young wanderer named Bob comes wandering by, they try anything to get him to stay. They even knock over a liquor store to get him booze (because, of course, respectable ladies like them couldn’t be seen buying the stuff). Laetitia sings this beautiful aria called “Steal Me, Sweet Thief,” about how she doesn’t want to be an old maid (reminds me of Mom). Finally, Bob runs off with Laetitia.
Menotti wrote other operas in English, including The Telephone, which is about this guy who wants to propose to his girlfriend, but he can’t get her off the phone. This was even before cell phones, but still relatable.
Another American composer is Carlisle Floyd, whose most famous opera is Susannah. It’s about a girl from Tennessee, who everyone thinks is a sleaze even though she didn’t do anything. He also wrote an opera based on Of Mice and Men.
Turandot by Giacomo Puccini. (Can I just say … don’t you just love the name, Giacomo? Jack for short, maybe? Don’t you think a guy named Giacomo would have to be a hottie? It’s pronounced “Jee-a-CO-mo,” by the way. And “Poo-CHEE-nee.”) The story of Princess Turandot is a lot like Princess Jasmine in Aladdin. Turandot’s supposed to get married but doesn’t want to. So guys come from all over, trying to win her hand. Turandot’s a little bloodthirsty for Disney, though. She makes all the husband-elects take a test and, if they fail, off with their heads! Calàf, the tenor, passes, but tells her she doesn’t have to marry him if she can find out his name (here it gets a little like Rumpelstiltskin). Of course, they fall in love in the end. Calàf’s aria, “Nessun Dorma,” is probably the most famous aria ever.