I've started to listen to some of the orchestral pieces written by the Russian composer, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, for operas. I still have to listen to much of the actual *singing* but here is one of his compositions from the ballet-opera "Mlada" that I enjoy because of its happy, brilliant sound. I especially like 1:12 - 1:30, which is great fun to play on the violin. It feels exciting!
Rimsky-Korsakov - "Mlada" opera, "Procession of the Nobles"
Next is a scene from the actual opera-ballet (which features background singing). Seeing this scene (below) made me wonder what the heck is going on. So I looked it up
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mlada_(Rimsky-Korsakov) and find that the plot is rather interesting to me (although typically melodramatic as operas and ballets often seem to be) because of the second murder, which disturbs me more than the first one.
Plot: A woman kills a man's bride to try to claim him as her own. The bride's ghost hovers around her love. Eventually he realizes the murderess for what she is and kills her after she confesses her sin (eek! So much for forgiveness
). The bride and groom are reunited in heaven.
Nina Ananiashvili in "Mlada":