The Opera Blog

Opera is literally my life. And I feel as though some of the followers on my main blog do not appreciate it as much as I do, so I made a blog dedicated to my opera shenanigans. Basically, I am in the position that any sane arts loving person would be in- follow your heart and dreams and work really hard to do what I love or go the income earning route. At this point I am taking a leap of faith and going with what I love. Most of the things on here have been found allover the internet, and I prefer sharing things where I can give the atrist the credit due for their work. I hope you enjoy this page.

[barcarole]

Dvořák’s autograph of Jirka’s aria in Act One Já ubohej ovcácek from the opera Čert a Káča (The Devil and Kate), Op. 112; dated June 26, 1899.

[biscuitsarenice]

imagine… Alma Deutscher: Finding Cinderella

Musical prodigy Alma Deutscher aged 11 (seen here with younger sister Helen), is staging her first full-length opera, Cinderella.

Composer, pianist, violinist… Alma learned to read music before she could read words. She began playing the piano aged two and at four years old she was composing her own music.

[tragedyposting]

Your Fave is Problematic: Mabel Stanley

Tried to marry Frederic, who, reckoning by his natal day, is a little boy of five!

[probablybadrpgideas]

The only character classes are Sorcerer, Captain of the Pinafore, Pirate of Penzance, Milkmaid, Half-Fairy (the top half), dual-classed Princess/Schoolmistress, Emperor of Japan, Baronet of Ruddigore, Yeoman of the Guard, Gondolier, Flower of Progress, and Grand Duke.

[faehaseul]

“i’m sad i wasn’t born in the era of -” bitch do it! if you like love letters, write them! if you like poodle skirts, wear them! society is imploding as we watch on in abject horror! do whatever you want!

[violaboss]

I’ve seen a lot of curious people wanting to dive into classical music but don’t know where to start, so I have written out a list of pieces to listen to depending on mood. I’ve only put out a few, but please add more if you want to. hope this helps y’all out. :)

stereotypical delightful classical music:

battalia a 10 in d major (biber)

brandenburg concerto no. 5

brandenburg concerto no. 3

symphony no. 45 - “farewell” (haydn)

if you need to chill:

rondo alla turca

fur elise

anitra’s dance

in the steppes of central asia (borodin) (added by viola-ology)

if you need to sleep:

moonlight sonata

swan lake

corral nocturne

sleep (eric whitacre) (added by thelonecomposer)

if you need to wake up:

morning mood

summer (from the four seasons)

buckaroo holiday (if you’ve played this in orch you might end up screaming instead of waking up joyfully)

if you are feeling very proud:

pomp and circumstance

symphony no. 9 (beethoven; this is where ode to joy came from)

1812 overture

symphony no. 5, finale (tchaikovsky) (added by viola-ology)

american (dvořák)

if you feel really excited:

hoedown (copland)

bacchanale

spring (from the four seasons) (be careful, if you listen to this too much you’ll start hating it)

la gazza ladra

death and the maiden (schubert)

if you are angry and you want to take a baseball bat and start hitting a bush:

dance of the knights (from the romeo and juliet suite by prokofiev)

winter, mvt. 1 (from the four seasons)

symphony no. 10 mvt. 2 (shostakovich)

symphony no. 5 (beethoven)

totentanz (liszt)

quartet no. 8, mvt. 2 (shostakovich) (added by viola-ology)

young person’s guide to the orchestra, fugue (britten) (added by iwillsavemyworld)

symphony no. 5 mvt. 4 (shostakovich) (added by eternal-cadenza)

marche slave (tchaikovsky) (added by eternal-cadenza)

if you want to cry for a really long time:

fantasia based on russian themes (rimsky-korsakov)

adagio for strings (barber)

violin concerto in e minor (mendelssohn)

aase’s death

andante festivo

vocalise (rachmaninoff) (added by tropicalmunchakoopas)

if you want to feel like you’re on an adventure:

an american in paris (gershwin)

if you want chills:

danse macabre

russian easter overture

egmont overture (added by shayshay526)

if you want to study:

eine kleine nachtmusik

bolero (ravel)

serenade for strings (elgar)

scheherazade (rimsky-korsakov) (added by viola-ology)

pines of rome, mvt. 4 (resphigi) (added by viola-ology)

if you really want to dance:

capriccio espagnol (rimsky-korsakov)

blue danube

le cid (massenet) (added by viola-ology)

radetzky march

if you want to start bouncing in your chair:

hopak (mussorgsky)

les toreadors (from carmen suite no.1)

if you’re about to pass out and you need energy:

hungarian dance no. 1

hungarian dance no. 5

if you want to hear suspense within music:

firebird

in the hall of the mountain king

ride of the valkyries

night on bald mountain (mussorgsky) (added by viola-ology)

if you want a jazzy/classical feel:

rhapsody in blue

jazz suite no. 2 (shostakovich) (added by eternal-cadenza)

if you want to feel emotional with no explanation:

introduction and rondo capriccioso

unfinished symphony (schubert)

symphony no. 7, allegretto (beethoven) (added by viola-ology)

canon in d (pachelbel)

if you want to sit back and have a nice cup of tea:

st. paul’s suite

concerto for two violins (vivaldi)

l’arlésienne suite

concierto de aranjuez (added by tropicalmunchakoopas)

pieces that don’t really have a valid explanation:

symphony no. 40 (mozart)

cello suite no. 1 (bach)

polovtsian dances

enigma variations (elgar) (added by viola-ology)

perpetuum mobile

moto perpetuo (paganini)

pieces that just sound really cool:

scherzo tarantelle

dance of the goblins

caprice no. 24 (paganini)

new world symphony, allegro con fuoco (dvorak) (added by viola-ology​)

le tombeau de couperin (added by tropicalmunchakoopas)

carnival of the animals (added by shadowraven45662)

if you feel like listening to concertos all day (I do not recommend doing that):

concerto for two violins (bach)

concerto for two violins (vivaldi)

violin concerto in a minor (vivaldi)

violin concerto (tchaikovsky) (added by iwillsavemyworld)

violin concerto in d minor (sibelius) (added by eternal-cadenza)

cello concerto in c (haydn)

piano concerto, mvt. 1 (pierne) (added by iwillsavemyworld)

harp concerto in E-flat major, mvt. 1 (added by iwillsavemyworld)

and if you really just hate classical music in general:

4′33″ (cage)

a lot of these pieces apply in multiple categories, but I sorted them by which I think they match the most. have fun exploring classical music!

also, thank you to viola-ology, iwillsavemyworld, shayshay526, eternal-cadenza, tropicalmunchakoopas, shadowraven45662, and thelonecomposer for adding on! if you would like to add on your own suggestions, please reblog and add on or message me so I can give you credit for the suggestion!

[neurodiversitysci]

I love this!

The Sean from Carnival of the Animals by Saint Saens is also great falling asleep music.

[parmandil]

Sondra Radvanovsky and Joyce DiDonato in Norma. Metropolitan Opera, 2017. (Photo: Ken Howard)

[latinxa-deactivated20180331]

don’t let my cool funny exterior fool you i am still a theatre kid and, by extension, a horrible person on every possible level

[bachtothefugue]

Visit Original Link

It’s a little out of season but here’s a short version of Spooky, Scary Skeletons for 2 oboes, string quintet, and harpsichord.

[wordsnquotes]

If you keep playing it safe, you’ll never know who you are. I know who you are, and I love who you are. Why don’t you trust me?

Stephanie Perkins, Isla and the Happily Ever After (via wordsnquotes)

[wordsnquotes]

If you keep playing it safe, you’ll never know who you are. I know who you are, and I love who you are. Why don’t you trust me?

Stephanie Perkins, Isla and the Happily Ever After (via wordsnquotes)

[omg-horns]

Music Conservatories:

- NO !!!!!!!! MATH!!!!!!!! CLASSES!!!!!!!!!

- when you meet people you ask them “what instrument do you play?” instead of “uh, do you by any chance play an instrument?” 

- the person you’re walking out of your dorm building with…? THEY’RE A MUSICIAN

- :O NO ONE CLAPS DURING MOVEMENTS??!?!?!??! ::OO

- everyone’s so understanding and respectful to when you say “sorry, I have to practice.” 

-THAT ONE HOT! GAL/DUDE OVER THERE???? YEAH..THEY’RE A MUSICIAN…(AND THEY’RE REALLY GOOD AT THEIR INSTRUMENT TOO…)

- literally everything is music related.EVERYTHING.

- the little girl with the case thing on her back standing in the lobby of your school? SHE’S A MUSICIAN TAKING A LESSON FROM A MUSICIAN WHO TEACHES OR ATTENDS YOUR SCHOOL!!!!!!!

- FREE concerts practically every night

-literally music 24/7 ok?

- your roommate? MUSICIAN

- NO SCIENCE CLASSES

-the teacher teaching you about theory? MUSICIAN duh

- hearing the word ‘practice’ about 58688 times a day

- singing 5 notes to a symphony and BOOM everyone is singing along with you

- Getting mad at your roommate for practicing aurel skills to a metronome at 1am

- NO HISTORY CLASSES (well, there’s music history, bUT ITS MUSIC RELATED!)

- that old dude walking down the stairs with a cane???? MUSICIAN and not only a musician, buT ONE OF THE PROFESSORS and you probably shouldnt ever call him ‘that old dude walking down the stairs with a cane’ in public

- …seriously…the amount of times one hears the word ‘practice’

- the amount people walking around conducting to the music on their headphones 

- see that person eating across the room from you???? MUSICIAN

-EVERYONE’S A MUSICIAN. EVERYONE !LOVES! MUSIC. EVERYONE’S AMAZING AT THEIR INSTRUMENT. 

*EVERYONE KNOWS THEY DON’T HAVE A HUGE CHANCE OF SUCCESS WINNING A JOB IN THIS… “DYING ART FORM,” BUT.STILL.DO.IT.ANYWAYS.*

[musicmajor]

this post made me want to go to a conservatory

[le-immorte]

[hubbubbaloocreative]

Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There’s not some trick involved with it. It’s pure and it’s real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things.

Tom Petty (via hubbubbaloocreative)

[behindthegrooves-deactivated202]

Born on this day: September 23, 1930 - “The Genius” Ray Charles (born Ray Charles Robinson in Albany, GA). Happy Birthday to this musical icon on what would have been his 87th Birthday.

[la-madamina]

A quick short update on life

I got to sing in my first fully staged grand opera this summer! No, edit: I got to go live in Berlin, Germany to participate and perform in my first fully staged grand opera this summer. I got to sing Puccini. As an undergrad. In Germany. No, I still don't believe it myself, but it was heaven. Pure heaven. Now, I am preparing for my senior recital. The hearing is next week, and after my rehearsal with my accompanist today, we're having another rehearsal this weekend to make sure that we're as ready as possible because, well, nothing seemed to be clicking. I'm a little bit terrified of what will happen next Thursday at the hearing. It was an early hearing/recital date, anc combined with the fact that my teacher had me change 50% of the rep on there only 2 weeks ago, I am a tiny bt freaking out.

[la-madamina]

Theres nothing quite like going to the Symphony to reinvigorate your life and give you the energy and magic to make through another stressful week.