Schoenberg's grand opera "Moses and Aaron"

This is grand opera.....twelve-tone style. It might hurt your ears but go on...give it a try! If you have survived both of Berg's operas, you should have no problem with this masterpiece!

Discover and be amazed!

Bodily functions in opera?

Notice that in opera bodily functions are almost never mentioned, with the only exception(that I know of) being Act I scene 4 of Alban Berg's opera "Wozzeck". The doctor goes on and on about how he caught Wozzeck urinating in the street. Almost comical if the story wasn't so bleak and stark.

Wozzeck....a 20th Century classic!

Mozart by Stravinsky

This is a classical opera written by Stravinsky. I wonder what Mozart would have thought of this great opera.

Vaughan-William's "Riders to the Sea"

Vaughan-Williams most successful opera. I have always considered his earlier opera "Hugh the Drover" to be just as excellent! This is an excellent example of an opera that is successful and takes only 45 minutes to perform, much like Bartok's masterpiece!

ENJOY!

Bartok's glorious masterpiece "Duke Bluebeard's Castle"

One of the greatest of all 20th Century operas! This is a masterpiece depsite it's short duration time of just around one hour. Truly glorious music especially after Judith opens the fifth door!

ENJOY!

Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress

Another great 20th Century opera that I really should know! This is marvelous music and eventhough I first discovered it about 25 years ago, I didn't get to deep in to this work. It is a 20th Century "Mozartian" opera with totally accesible music and melodies. Take some time to discover it!

ENJOY!

French Baroque fireworks

Rameau's music never fails to excite me as he was an orchestrator who was ahead of his time. There are things he wrote in his operas that we would not see again until the emergence of the Romantic Period especially in the person of Hector Berlioz!

Figaro....the greatest opera of all time

I love this opera.....Mozart is divine!

Srauss' Ariadne auf Naxos

Another immortal favourite Opera!

Janacek's Kata

Janacek's opera "Kata Kabanova" is a dark story of love and the glorious music conveys this. As much as I love this opera it is Janacek's opera "Vec Makropulos" that remains one of my favourite opera by any composer.

Wagner's Rienzi Overture

As Parsifal was the last piece Wagner wrote, Rienzi Overture is the earliest most recognizable piece that he wrote. Isn't it a wonderful work.....thrilling and majestic! I hope you like this, Raul!

Wagner at Bayreuth!

Having witnessed this glorious opera performed at Bayreuth in 1977, I can testify that Parsifal should be performed ONLY at the Wagner Festspielhaus. This is my very favorite opera of all time!!! I visited the grave and Haus Wahnfried where I paid my respects to this great German master. I adore Wagner!!

Ein Wunder!

Korngold was an amazing opera composer as he knew so well how to write for the voice. His melodies melt the heart in a way that so few composers have ever done!

Please enjoy!

You must hear this!.......WOW!

WOW!

Rameau's "Castor et Pollux".....c'est magnifique!

This aria from has amazed me from the first moment I heard it. What caught my ear was that it is apparent that Hector Berlioz had been influenced much more by Rameau than I had previously thought. Hearing this one aria made me think of "Les Troyens" and mainly from an orchestration standpoint. Rameau was the Baroque era's greatest orchestrator and it would seem that Berlioz had to have picked up something from the works of the master. This music blows me away.......magnifique!

Looking forward to "Mid-Summer"

This is one opera I absolutely love! I have never delved into English opera as much I really should have as there are many jewels that the English have left for us. Vaughan Williams, Delius, Britten and many more have written operas that should be heard and performed more often. Sir Michael Tippett left us with this masterpiece and it remains to this day as one of my top favorite operas of all time!