Favorite Opera Houses
 

Thought I would give this a try:<BR><BR>1)What are your favorite opera houses in Europe and 2) what are your favorite operas?

La Scala (naturalmente!)/Opera de Paris/La Fenice (before it burned): Don Giovanni/Le Nozze di Figaro/Die Zauberfloete/Tosca/Rigoletto

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London<BR>Palais Garnier, Paris<BR>Statsoper, Vienna<BR><BR>Most fun: Italian Girl in Algiers [Vienna]<BR>Most intense: Boris Gudunov [ENO - London]<BR>Best set: Turandot [Lyric, Chicago]<BR>Best cry: La Boh&egrave;me [Lyric, Chicago]

State Opera House in Prague. Verdi's &quot;La Traviata.&quot;

For a performance--a vote for the hometown Met<BR>For the physical building--La Scala<BR>Favorite opera--still La Boheme

Under the stars at Arena Verona. Amazing.<BR><BR>Favorite opera -- Tosca.

Garnier in Paris <BR>Carmen:)

Although small, the Mozarteum has one of the most beautful interiors that I have ever seen. It has superb accoustics. The Mozarteum is one of the most prestigious music schools in the world. <BR><BR> I prefer symphonies to Operas and love the last five symphonies that Mozart wrote.<BR><BR>Tannhauser by Wagner is my favorite Opera.<BR><BR>Our Performing Arts Center in Orange County, California is one of the better Opera houses in the USA.....IMHO. It is also a beautiful theatre that was totally built with private funds...no government money.<BR><BR>I have not been to La Scala but hope to do so soon.

Semper Oper - Dresden<BR>Turandot

Surprise, surprise, there is another fan of the Semper Opera in Dresden! It is my favourite Opera house, too (of course, being a Dresden resident).<BR><BR>La Scala, Milano is a close second.<BR><BR>favourite opera: Tosca<BR><BR>What about favourite ballets? Mine is &quot;The Nutcracker&quot;. Have seen it at Christmas Time in Dresden and loved the setting and the costumes as much as the music.<BR><BR>Ingo

pretentious shnobs

At least we can spell snob.

Unless Debby is a Scnurrer or Schmuck, then she got the schpelling right.

Au contraire, Debby. I wouldn't say opera is for the pretentious. Especially after listening to a story yesterday on NPR radio in which they revealed a growing fan base for opera amidst young people. Even more surprising, they were making comparisons betwn these young opera fans and punk rock music! Both are very dramatic, both have love-it or hate-it fans.<BR><BR>Back to query of this thread:<BR>1) La Scala (when's it gonna re-open?)<BR>2) ??? --- still need to see more before I can answer.

NPR?? Debby is right!

Debby is ignorant - that is for sure. Opera is music, they have been doing it and listening to it for hundreds of years now. <BR>Some who know little about such things, think it is for certain people, but if you have ears, anyone can listen to and enjoy opera.<BR>Debby and &quot;NO&quot; are just a good example of those who jabber on and on about opera being posh, etc. Little do these poeople know how terribly boring they are!

I was stuck in Frankfurt for a night and really liked the Alte Oper Frankfurt. <BR><BR>Favorite opera - Marriage of Figaro<BR><BR>And yes I'm an opera snob and proud of it.

Again a perfectly good post has degenerated into name calling by people who feel that posters with different tastes than their own need to be ridiculed - revealling a weekness a weaknes in their own selfworth. Labeling any one who appreciates music, whether opera, concerts, blues, hip-hop or rap with a perjorative is basically downright stupid.

I think it is an American thing to think those who love opera are snobs. In Europe I think it is more common for the general public to enjoy opera. <BR><BR>Last year we were in Amalfi and listened to two taxi drivers compete with each other singing different arias, while they waited for their next fares. It was a moment to keep in memory, they had good voices!

As for opera houses, the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg, Staatsoper in Vienna, and Staatsoper Unter den Lindin in Berlin. <BR><BR>As for operas:<BR><BR>Carmen by Bizet<BR>The Ring Cycle, Parsifal, Flying Dutchman, Tannhauser by Wagner<BR>War &amp; Peace, Fiery Angel, The Gambler by Prokofiev<BR>Prince Igor by Borodin