My vote: La Traviata

Jenufa, hands down. I would be so interested in seeing it done in Prague, since it's a Czech opera. If it's too deep for you, maybe go for the Mozart, which is related to Prague (especially if it's done at the Estates Theatre - I just saw Magic Flute there last week, and have also seen Don Giovanni there). Anyway, the State Opera house is really splendid, so you might want the experience of just going inside. Do you know the locations of these productions? By the way - you are lucky to be going during the main season, when you will see all the best that the city has to offer. The summer months are a bit watered down, as far as offerings.

I was picking Traviata because I'm more familiar with Verdi and because most people enjoy La Traviata because it's melodic and easy to like. I know nothing about Jenufa. But I just read Amp's post and now I'm re-thinking this my response. I do think it would be most interesting and exciting to see a Czech opera in its country of origin.

I think the funniest line in all of opera is from the opera Siegfried. Siegfried, the hero, has brokene through the magic fire where he finds Brünnhilde on that rock where Wotan left her. He inspects the sleeping form of the Walküre and exlaims, Dies ist kein Mann.

You bet your sweet bippy Siggy baby, that shore as shooting ain't a man. That what some us call a woman!!

The most hilarious opera performance I ever saw was when i was in college. A travelling group came through and performed Carmen. Singing the title role was a tall, hefty babe who, shall we say, was well endowed. The role of Don Jose was sung by a little guy who must have been a good 7 inches shorter than Carmen. Each time Carmen hugged him, his head disappeared.

At the end, when Don Jose stabs Carmen, he had to reach up to do it. Then in her death agony, Carmen grabbed Don Jose and fell to the floor, pulling him down with her. He was writhing around trying to get up so he could sing his closing lines but he was unable to do so right away. The conductor had to stop for a few seconds while Don Jose struggled to his feet, far too out of breath to do much loud singing.

I think any opera in Prague will be better than that!! Eastern Europe abounds in talented singers!

111op-

BTW, I didn't cry just because of the plot. It was a combination of the music, the tense atmosphere, the singing & acting, and the plot (that was at the Met).

The only other opera I cried was my first Madame Butterfly - when Cio Cio San was singing fairwell to her son.

Wow, you people are tough. I cry at Finding Nemo.

That's a funny story, brookwood.

Have people heard the story about the bouncing Tosca? It's probably an urban legend, but in some production Tosca jumps off Castel Sant'Angelo (?) and then bounces off the trampoline....

I've never seen a complete "Butterfly" either -- just heard excerpts. But a friend and I have a running joke about "I'll not be ignored." It's not from "Butterfly." It's Glenn Close's famous line from "Fatal Correction." If I remember right, in that movie, Michael Douglas turns down her invitation to see "Butterfly." Of course as we know she turns psycho. For one thing, she stews Douglas's rabbit.

Oops -- sorry: "Fatal Attraction."

That's what happens when you write too early in the morning.

I forgot to mention that whichever opera you pick, if you expect to read the subtitles to figure out what is going on, you need to check to see which language they will be in. At the Estates Theater (geared towards more tourists) they will probably be in English. I've seen operas at the State Opera house & the National Theater in Prague, and both had subtitles in either Czech or German, which are useless to Americans who usually only know one language... That may turn out to be the dealbreaker for you.

111op - I also can't take seriously extremely loud singing whilst dying of consumption; all opera involves some suspension of disbelief but for me, this combination of realistic and daft just goes too far.

But Siegfried deserves a bit of sympathy for stating the obvious - he's only met animals, dwarves and a dragon up to then, so a woman is bound to be a bit of a surprise.

What you say is true about Siegfried.
But nature rapidly took its course after Brünnhilde woke up, no longer a goddess.

Overstuffed Mimis who die of consumption also amuse me.

It is the music first. The acting comes after that.

Jane Eaglen cannot act. But she sings tremendously well. I have heard her do Puccini (Turandot) and Brünnhilde.
She may be famous as a Wagnerian, but she is a great Turandot vocally.

I have wondered if she could develop the style for Aida or Leonora in Trovatore.
Or Desdemona.

amp322: see my previous post - it seems Czech operas at the National Theatre in Prague have English surtitles.

I guess I don't know enough about voice in general. But I think that Birgit Nilsson is another renowned Wagnerian famous for her "Turandot."

I saw Eaglen as Isolde at the Met last (?) year. I bought two standing room tickets and went to two separate performances. That actually made the opera enjoyable, and there's some really amazing stuff in Act 2 (particularly the love duet between the two).

But Eaglen is, shall we say, hefty. :-)

caroline-edin...Maybe National Theater in Prague now has English subtitles.. last time I was there, they were in Czech & German. They may be giving in to using English more & more.

Nilsson recorded Turandot on RCA with Bjorling and Tebaldi as Liu.

She was a terrific singer.

The interesting aspect of the recording is that I doubt if Bjoerling had the vocal heft to sing the role in a big opera house. The orchestra and chorus would have drowned him out.

He also did Aida for RCA with Milanov, Barbieri and Warren. Amazing what microphones can do.

A Turandot with Eaglen, Domingo in his prime, and Patricia Racette as Liu would have been a noteworthy event.

Placido is still active, and if we have lost a Don Jose, we have gained one heck of a conductor.
I heard him conduct Carmen at the Met last fall with Mishura as Carmen and Armiliato as Don Jose. It was a splendid performance.
Placido as the conductor obviously knew the opera top to bottom and side to side.

Well, this thread has gotten off track (and I need to be blamed for this) -- but Bjorling is the Rodolfo in the classic Beecham/Boheme (Victoria de Los Angeles is Mimi).

I've this recording (well, probably anyone with a remote interest in opera has this recording), and that's all I know of him.

But I know that the Milanov Aida is frequently recommended. If I remember right, Price's Aida also frequently comes up.

111op: If all you know of Jussi Bjoerling is his recording of La Boheme (and it is a magnificent one), then you are in for a treat.

To my mind, Bjoerling was one of the greatest tenors of the last century, before his untimely death in 1960. For starters, try his famous recording of duets with Robert Merrill made in the early 1950s, and never out of the catalogue.

Bob Brown: I think that you are right about Bjoerling and Turandot, as I'm not aware that he ever sang the role on the stage. I never had the chance to hear him live, so his stage voice for me is a matter of conjecture. However he was a mainstay at the Met for many years. While he certainly wasn't a Wagnerian heldentenor, his voice was much more powerful than a typical lyric tenor, and aside from Calaf in Turandot, he sang nearly all of the big tenor roles in the Italian and French repertoire.

A tenor I would like to hear do Turandot in live performance is Ben Heppner, who of course partnered Jane Eaglen in recent years in Tristan. I understand he performed the role in Chicago a few years ago.

I think some people are too literal minded to accept the storylines of operas. The voices are not appreciated and they hone in on the stories which as we all know are mostly lacking in making any sense.

I took a friend to see Rigoletto and at the finale she said "what a fool". I said "who?", she said "the stupid father, if he would have turned around he would have seen his daughter". The staging had him on stage with his back turned while she entered.

Domingo in the pit for a memorable Carmen?
The Met Opera Orchestra knows this opera so well, anyone could "lead" them

"I took a friend to see Rigoletto and at the finale she said "what a fool"."

Too funny, SeaUrchin, the humor of this escaped me the first time. Was that line planned or just an accident?
It was nice that after the entire opera, your friend figured out that Rigoletto was a "fool".

Patrick, I love my friend, she has a different take on things. In West Side Story she said "good, he was a jerk anyway" when Tony was stabbed, she thought Bernardo should have done it sooner.

I have many examples.....

I hope you got the irony --that Rigoletto IS literally a fool -- a court jester. It went over my head the first time.

I was a young man at the time, but I was fortunate enough to hear Bjoerling live at the Albert Hall. He was a big favorite in London.

I have many, many of his recital recordings and several of his operas including La Boheme, Pagliacci Tosca, Aida, Cavalleria Rusticana, Madame Butterfly, and Turandot.

On the non opera side, his recording of the Verdi Requium has the best Ingemisco in captivity. I think he is still my favorite tenor of them all. (I know, there are some who claim the Requium is Verdi's best opera. It may be, but Don Carlo and Aida give it some competition.)

Bjoreling was as good a Cavaradossi as he was Rodolfo. And I doubt if a better Pinkerton exists.

Of the current crop of Turandots, Franco Farina has the vocal strength to sing the role. I heard him in Paris, and he was impressive.

But back to the original. I think one has to have some knowledge of what the plot is about so that the action on the stage is at least followable.

The only opera I know of where I just shut my eyes to the plot is The Tales of Hoffman. It is a real wierdo, but the music is gorgeous.

I have just returned home from seeing La Traviata and it was wonderful. I have seen this opera several times before and have loved it every time.

Last night a group of us saw M. Butterfly, no one had seen it before and we didn't like it. It is so slow, the scenery didn't change and who would stand for a day and a night for her lover to return?

As a female I found the parting of her son quite sad but Miss Saigon was better.

You will not be disappointed with La Traviatia

Yes indeedy... Nilsson did sing Turandot. I was there. The tenor was......Franco Corelli. When he issued his challenge he turned his back (to the 3800 seat Met. Opera),struck a gong, hit his high note and HELLLLD it! Of course, the place went berserk. Nilsson was good too -:)

I was lucky enough in my youth--well before I fell in love with opera--to have heard Bjoerling in Aida at the San Francisco Opera. I will never forget the splendor of his voice.

BTW, it's "Che GElida manina" rather than "chelida manina." But maybe it was a bad diction coach.
We had the luck of hearing Pavarotti and Caballe in Turandot some years back. With them, the rest of the cast, the staging, and the conductor it's the one performance I'd rather see than any other. If only we had been opera fans during Callas's time!

Yes, you're right, Underhill. Sometimes typos just slip in when I type too fast.

I don't know how old you are, but you'd probably have to be at least 65 to be able to hear Callas in her prime and appreciate her singing. Let's say she was at her best in 1955, and one probably had to be at least 15 to appreciate good singing (unless one was a precocious musical prodigy).

There was an interesting story about Corelli in the obituary in the NYT. Corelli died in October. Apparently he was booed in Naples in a performance, so he ran all the way to the offending fan and grabbed him by the neck or something like that.

I believe the article also mentioned the (friendly) rivalry between Corelli and Nilsson in "Turandot" (each tried to outdo the other).

I'd have posted the link but it's become a premium article.

Actually I think that it was more than a friendly rivalry -- if I remember right, Corelli bit Nilsson's ear (or was it the other way around?).

I don't have the article handy so I can't confirm it.

OOOPS Franco Farina sings the role of Calaf in the opera Turandot!
Turandot herself is a girl!!
Boy Big error.
Nobody would be more surprised to be handed an assignment to sing Turandot than Mr. Farina himself.

He is a splendid Rhadames too.