I've just discovered opera

[PoachesPeaches]

I've been looking for something new and inspiring to bring me joy alongside day to day life and I've found it!

It was Habanera from Carmen that got me!

I'm going to try and see it next year. What else will I like?

Welcome to the best thing in the world!

'Carmen' is addictively tuneful and dramatic - Puccini also has those qualities. Try Tosca or La Boheme, but don't forget the tissues.

I’ve just got into opera myself! So no expert advice but a bit of solidarity.

Earlier this year I saw Madama Butterfly at the cinema but it was broadcast live from Covent Garden. I was mesmerised and transported! I cried so much 😭 First opera ever and I loved it.

So for my birthday this year my mum got us tickets to see a production of Marriage of Figaro in the Edinburgh Festival. So different from MB but brilliant and hilarious. I’m now desperate to see more but tickets are pricy!

My big plan is to take my mum to Milan to see an opera for her 70th in 2026.

Rigoletto can be an accessible intro to opera; it was my first one. Enjoy your journey!

La Boheme

The Marriage of Figaro - Mozart
The Barber of Seville - Rossini

Both are comedies based on Beaumarchais plays about love and master/servant shenanigans. Both have very accessible, delightful music, some of which you’ll recognise.

If you don’t mind taking tissues along, La Traviata by Verdi is a gorgeous tragedy.

I love Carmen too! I recommend looking out for the live streaming performances from the ROH at your local cinema. They are absolutely brilliant and include interviews with artists and directors etc.

L’Elisir d’Amore. I attend opera I frequently but I’ve seen Tursndot to hear Nessus Dorma. The above opera was great staging and I saw Pretty Yende in it. So fabulous.

It’s a bit snobbish of me but - always see a top notch production if you go. It’s expensive but you get more from it.

I would also highly recommend ballet. Fabulous music too. Really like Don Quixote and you cannot go wrong with The Nutcracker. Again - see the best!

Oops! I meant to say I attend opera infrequently! However I choose carefully!

Thank you so much! Dipping back in for suggestions today and I'm going to have a lovely hour at the weekend having a proper look - I love the idea of starting with a cinema screening as I'm fairly stretched financially at the moment. I have Spotify premium so I will look at these on there too!

I meant to endorse the cinema screenings too. Well worth it to see the best!

I saw my first ever opera at the cinema recently - Marriage of Figaro.
I loved it.

The cinema screenings are great, but can also be weird in that you’re not hearing the sheer power of voices that can make themselves heard over a full orchestra in a huge auditorium, and opera was never meant to be seen in such close-up. (I saw a very good Madama Butterfly relayed from the Met last season, and Asmik Grigorian’s fillings kept pulling me out of her lovely singing!)

Do try and get to a live production as soon as you can. I used to get cheap ROH day tickets a lot when I lived in London, but those have been abolished for ‘Friday Rush’:

https://www.rbo.org.uk/ticket-deals/friday-rush

Enjoy it. I only discovered opera in my 30s and it’s been an utter delight.

Cinema screenings are a great start. However I also find making your living room cosy and warm. Some candles and low lightening and then put on the opera of choice. That is a wonderful experience.

I love the mariage of Figaro and La Traviata

I really badly want to go to see Le Boheme for the Christmas production but sadly noone to go with. Feels a long way to go alone

Also I agree go see a ballet they are amazing. Nutcracker at Christmas

Oh I LOVE Carmen too!
I'm a big fan of the Magic Flute (Mozart) and the Barber of Seville (Rossini) which are (mostly) comedic. Turandot by Puccini is also a cracking opera, very melodramatic in a similar vein to Carmen so you will need tissues.
PPs mentioning the Nutcracker ballet have got me feeling all Christmassy already, great call :)
Enjoy!

Madame Butterfly, The Barber of Seville

This is very inspiring, I used to go with my grandmother as a child and haven't been for decades! I am going to make going to the opera my new mission.

What should I see in London?

@EngineEngineNumber9
What a lovely idea to take your Mum to Milan!

A night at the Verona opera is also an amazing experience. It's set in a Roman amphitheater, and the stagings are just so breathtaking and dramatic.

ROH has La Traviata, Eugene Onegin, Fidelio, Contes d’Hoffmann on the main stage, and some interesting stuff in the Linbury, including a couple of Leonard Bernstein operas.

If you look on their website there are also free lunchtime recitals, and opportunities to sing opera chorus pieces in the Linbury, so if you fancy singing the Anvil Chorus or ‘Va, pensiero’ with a chorus master en masse, now is your chance!

Alas I am a terrible singer myself, but will look up those performances - thank you!

There’s also English National Opera, which sings in English, and also tours.

https://www.eno.org/your-visit/london-coliseum-season/

And Opera Holland Park, which does a summer season in a temporary auditorium in HP annually — this is what they’re putting on in 2025:

https://operahollandpark.com/news/announcing-the-2025-season/

But also non-London opera like

https://www.operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/genres/opera/

And festivals like Garsington and Glyndebourne and others.

Also English Touring Opera (though I’ve never attended anything of theirs).

I'd be interested to go to an opera for the first time. This has inspired me to look into it!

I've never been to see an opera but listen a lot. My absolute favourite is Bellini's Norma - the aria Casta la Diva is perfection. Try listening to Joan Sutherland or Renee Fleming singing it.

Talking of cinema screenings, Tales of Hoffmann is coming up - presented by the Royal Ballet and Opera together! I think this is the one with the Can Can in it, it certainly has the gorgeous piece generally called Barcarolle (Belle Nuit), and I'll go for those alone!

I love opera and attend the ROH when I can (travel is a pain!). I also go to the Paris opera when there and recently saw a stunning production Turandot.

re Milan, get your game plan on! Sign up to the website and research the opera you want. Find out the day and time the tickets go on sale and work out the time difference so that you are online on time. Sign in before the sale time and keep a close eye on the clock. I did this to the second and managed to snag tickets for fidelio, which was on the one night I was in Milan. I had to have a few goes at getting the cheaper tickets into my basket as they sold about 5 goes before I could confirm the sale. I think I got seats for about €100 each. Within 5 mins the only remaining seats were the €250+ which would have ruled it out of my holiday budget. It was an amazing experience.

I would have preferred an Italian opera - Puccini or Verdi but like to be open to new experiences - the opportunity to attend La Scala couldn’t be missed and is an amazing memory.

if you can, see Tosca. Preferably at the ROH - tickets don’t have to be astonomical and there are matinee productions.

La Traviata is wonderful - the ROH version is terrific. It’s the whole package as the orchestra is superb as well as the singing and surroundings. I often have a tear through the magic of being there in such a bringing together of artistic talent.

I love some operas, others can be too long and convoluted for my liking...

I would recommend to always read the libretto.

mozart - zauberflöte
wagner - fliegender holländer
rossini - thieving magpie
bartok - bluebeard's castle