Dark Opera and Orchesral Music?
 

Hey guys, by the way, I'm new here.
I just love that heavy dark full-of-bass style of orchestral and opera music, um, like Phantom of the Opera for example.
Heavy basses with chelos and violins, and organs in the background filing the high-pitch void, with opera singers leading the tune. Its like heavy metal with the drums. lol.
So, are there any composers who write similar music that you know of? I tried Vagner, but him being an anti semi and me being a jew, well, it bothers me.
Note: This type of music was noted in Metal: A headbanger's journey as the roots of heavy metal. :P

I won't comment on Andrew Lloyd Webber's music.

Here are some much better composers and pieces:

Shostakovich - 8th symphony (Bernard Haitink conducting) or his string quartets (played by the Borodin String Quartet.

Sibelius / 4th Symphony (Simon Rattle) / lots of bass with this one

Alfred Schnittke / Ritual / Concerto Grosso I / try his string quartets as well

George Crumb / Black Angels (for amplified string quartet) / very "discordant", but you say you like metal so I figure it's no big deal

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Opera

Richard Strauss / Salome

Richard Strauss / Elektra

both with Solti conducting and Birgit Nilsson singing

Hiya Jake,
You'd probably like Verdi's opera... or Richard Strauss. Try searching Youtube clips for 'La forza del destino' (the overture is quite famous) or 'Astrid Varnay as Elektra'... or 'Astrid Varnay Jenufa' (that one's by Leos Janacek)... or 'Verrett Lady Macbeth Sleepwalking Scene'. Dark and thrilling indeed! :o)

You mentioned Vagner (Wagner) being antisemitic.
Actually there is reasonable speculation that he himself was the illegitimate son of a Jewish tenor (with whom his mother was having an affair at the time)

I was wondering if there more opera oriented music as well, dark-ish.

I'm into metal, and I loved the album Quo Vadis - Defiant Imagination.. One of the more filler oriented songs, Ego Intuo Et Servo Te was really emotional and catchy. That's somewhat what I'm looking for, pardon my ignorance. :/

Check out "Gyorgy Ligeti" he is about as brutal as music can get.

Is putting his name in quotes supposed to mean something?

Brutal? Ha, ha...you kids these days.

Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" is four pieces of opera or "epic music al dramas" that are really dark and amazing. Particularly "Die Walkure" is one of my favorites.

Has anyone mentioned The Kronos Quartet?

They're really good, really dark and avant, and the best thing is.. they're still alive!

Schoenberg's Music for Piano.. his String quartets..and well being atonal music altogether ..i think you'll like him + Shostakovich late String Quartets..there's a lot more..you'll find it