To ask for your opera recommendations?

[lawanddisorder]

Got a big birthday coming up and I want to see an opera. I’m toying with the idea of seeing something at (eg) the royal opera house, but it is sooo expensive. So should I start with something cheaper? Or should I start with something world class and necessarily expensive?

I have never seen an opera before! I just fancy it

If abroad is an option:
https://www.salzburgerfestspiele.at/en/

There's a short Whitsun festival and a longer summer one. Unfortunately the Von Trapp family don't sing there any more after disappearing to Switzerland.

Madame Butterfly, The Magic Flute, Aida.

Yes that is a great idea @OhOneOhTwoOhThree

RCM also do student concerts - Merry Widow coming up soon:

https://www.rcm.ac.uk/events/festival-details/?id=RCM%20Opera

As well as opera masterclasses you can go and watch by Sir Thomas Allen etc

In fact, most conservatoires will put student operas on so others in London such as Trinity Laban and RAM events would be worth checking our for more affordable operas.

English touring opera do tour London their stop off is the fabulous Hackney empire.

In the summer there are some outdoor opera shows. I think maybe Holland Park or even Regent’s Park?

Definitely Puccini or Mozart. Lakme by Delibes is lovely too.

Best opera experience we had was at the Puccini festival in Tuscany - big open air arena - saw Turandot and it was a very rowdy, joyous affair! The tenor had to sing Nessun Dorma twice because the crowd wouldn't shut up until he did 😂

Hmmm. I’m not sure what is on in London at the moment. When are you planning to go?

• ENO - affordable but sung in English. You may prefer that. Tip - you may have to go to the box office to book but for a special occasion, you may enjoy booking a box.
• Royal Opera House/Covent Garden - expensive, good wow factor, big name singers, usually impressive scenery.
• Opera Up Close - saw them many years ago but, wow, they made an impact! Most memorable opera/musical/theatre experience I have ever had. Sung in English with humour. It makes things very understandable and relatable.

If you are considering particular operas:

• Carmen is a great ‘starter opera’. Probably the best to see first.
• La Traviata and La Boheme would be my next choices. All very popular and in a lot of repertoires.
• Turandot - there will almost certainly be an encore.
• Avoid the Germans until you have a taste for it, even if it is being sung in English.

PS- Happy Birthday!

My only recommendations are to see a company that you know has a good reputation, and to choose a performance you'll be able to follow. You'll find you already know some of the big songs from popular works; the other part is a story you can understand. The three above are good choices; Carmen and Figaro both have some stonking tunes as well.

The ROH is still doing a fortnight's free streaming trial. https://www.roh.org.uk/stream/offer

Yes, there are two live streams coming up fairly soon from the ROH, Madam Butterfly and Carmen. We usually see the ballet ones in our local cinema, but I'm toying with the idea of going to see Carmen next time.

@lawanddisorder There are bound to be some London cinemas showing the live screenings.

I saw M Butterfly by WNO, absolutely incredible.

The cheapest tickets at the ROH start at £13. They are not terrible either; you can book the Upper Slips and the only downside is that you can't see the edge of the stage nearest to you. You can set a reminder on your phone for the day when general bookings open (usually at 9 a.m.) Just avoid buying standing tickets unless you don't mind being on your feet for 3h+ (harder to fall asleep LOL). I think there are also flash sales on Fridays at 1? Easy operas for beginners are: La Traviata, Rigoletto, La Bohème, Lucia di Lammermoor, Carmen, The Magic Flute, Le Nozze di Figaro.

I second the idea of student productions (Royal Academy, Royal College of Music, Guildhall School). You may hear a future star and be able to say you saw them first! Seriously, they can be of a very high standard and cost far less than many professional productions.
In terms of which work to see, Carmen would be
a good start or most Mozart or Rossini. If you want to try operetta, The Merry Widow as previously mentioned or some Gilbert and Sullivan.
There are lots of small companies putting on opera for far less than the big names so you could look at listings such as Opera magazine or Opera Now.

The most fun is definately Glyndebourne Summer Festival. Tickets start at £30 if you're happy to stand (or are under 30). You get the amazing experience of the rounds/dressing up/picnic regardless of what the ticket cost.

You could for example try this one: https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/cosi-fan-tutte-by-jan-philipp-gloger-dates General bookings start on 27 Mar, and you should then be able to buy tickets for under £20 if you reserve them straight away. I've been to the ROH 6 or 7 times, and the most expensive cost was always the train (or being tempted by a glass of bubbly in the interval), not the opera / ballet itself.

Magic Flute. It's fun, dramatic and very accessible. Go to ROH. You can do it for the price of a couple of pints if you plan.

You could also consider Opera Holland Park.

Do Carmen! It was my first and I absolutely loved it!

This. Mozart is melodic and fun. Try it on Youtube and see if you like it, then go if you do.

This.

Also ROH Friday Rush tickets, as mentioned by a PP

Cant beat Carmen to start, you will have heard many of the tunes.
La Boheme to cry your eyes out.

Whilst the famous arias are the show stoppers , a thing to consider is the spectacle which is often provided by the big chorus numbers. You are likely to have heard a few of the famous choruses as well. Puccini, opera composing megastar though he is, didn't feature chorus very much in his best known pieces. He did write some nice choruses but nothing really on the scale of the big Verdi chorus numbers.

Someone mentioned the one act Cavalleria Rusticana. I agree, blood guts and vendetta. The Intermezzo you will know and it also has the most amazing chorus, Easter Hymn which will make you believe in god by the end of it!

I adore Mozart operas but they are long and maybe less accessible for new opera goers.

Ditto Der Rosenkavalier, stunning ( I want the final trio at my funeral!) but I think it's not good starter music, you need to work up to all the Strauss operas.

Don't just consider the big houses. ( And remember ENO have just fucked over their chorus). Scottish opera and Opera North are award winning. And smaller touring companies such as ETO do great stuff and give many stars of the future a leg up.

Recommend the ENO’s current Magic Flute. Lots of trucks and humour.

Tricks not trucks.

Garsington is also lovely. https://garsingtonopera.org/

Ah I thought the trucks would have been some interesting staging!

I'd definitely look for something that has good reviews. Makes such a difference if there's good performances and entertaining staging. And is actually on obviously! Decide whether you want tragic or comic. La Boheme as pp said is great for a sob fest. The Barber of Seville is fun on the other hand.

I’d definitely go to the Royal Opera house because the building is so incredible that it’s really part of the experience and their productions are almost always fantastic. For the cheapest seats look at the top floor (amphitheatre).

Royal Opera has some really affordable tickets (ten years ago I used to go for a tenner and sit in the restricted view seats at the top!) but they sell out very quickly. Might be worth buying a ticket for something cheaper this time, then if you want a bigger production wait till next season if the cheaper tickets have sold out. If you like it it’s worth getting a membership to have early booking access. I used to sit at the computer the moment early booking opened and buy a pair of cheap seats for everything I could find (including the ballet which was definitely not my “thing”). That’s really the way to get to know operas and ballets and get to know what you like.

Carmen is the best opera to start with… you will recognise a lot of the music because it’s so popular. It’s also very powerful, fun and just a rollicking good story!