Somehow I wondered how a baritone would do on this one, but I finally settled on the
Swedish tenor Jussi Björling, because his voice seems appropriately mellow for this melancholy piece.

Schubert's Ständchen D 957, n°4
Jussi Björling. tenor

After reading this, I also wondered how a baritone would sound. I found that I prefer the baritone to the tenor, skaltezon, because the baritone sounds even more mellow to me:

Schubert's Ständchen D 957, n°4
Olaf Bar, Baritone
Geoffrey Parsons, Piano



Being able to read the lyrics in this video made me understand them better. I realized that the song isn't as melancholy as it initially sounded to me. Instead, it is a song of longing and hope, with a little wistfulness in there, too:

Schubert's Ständchen D 957, n°4, German Lyrics:

"Leise flehen meine Lieder durch die Nacht zu dir. In den stillen Hain hernieder, Liebchen, komm zu mir. Flüsterned schlanke Wipfel rauschen in des Mondes Licht. Des Verräters feindlich lauschen fürchte, Holde, nicht. Hörst die Nachtigallen schlagen? Ach, sie flehen dich. Mit der Töne süssen Klagen, flehen sie für mich. Sie verstehen des Busens Sehnen, kennen Liebesschmerz, kennen Liebesschmertz. Rühren mit den Silbertönen jedes weiche Herz. Lass auch dir die Brüst bewegen, Liebchen, höre mich! Bebend harr' ich dir entgegen. Komm, beglücke mich. Komm, beglücke mich."

Erica's English translation:

"Quietly my songs beseech you through the night. In the still grove, Darling, come down to me. The slender branches of the treetops rustle, whispering, in the moonlight. Do not fear the hostile eavesdropping of traitors, Beloved. Do you hear the beat of the nightingales' wings? Oh, they are beseeching you. With the tones of sweet lament, they are begging you for me. They understand the longing in one's breast, they know heartache, they know heartache. May the silver tones touch every soft heart. Let yourself also be moved in your breast, Darling, hear me! Trembling, I wait to meet you. Come, make me happy. Come, make me happy."

That's quite lovely, isn't it? "The slender branches of the treetops rustle, whispering, in the moonlight." Reading the German lyrics helped me identify the words I had to look up, such as "Holde" and "Hain."

I think the treetops rustling and whispering in the moonlight might look like this:

http://25.media.tumblr.com/ynYv9f4Vv...qN0do1_500.jpg

True, the lyrics are beautiful. And so is the image.

Nabucco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Watched this, absolutely phenomenon.

Here's a good video production of 'Va Pensiero' at the Met in New York.


Verdi.Nabucco.Va Pensiero.MET.2002 - YouTube

Yeah, that's the one I watched. The female lead was astounding:



How a human being achieves such things with one's voice, I'm not sure. But I'm amazed.

She has a set of lungs on her, all right -- probably a marathon runner. http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...e_999/haha.gif

I really like opera, I mix many styles, like Opera with metallica, nirvana ect, I like watching and listing to opera thats often in movies to .

great music is opera

Der Rosenkavalier, Turandot, Marriage of Figaro, and Don Giovanni....

Opera is the best type of the music. It is the magic of the music .we can easily understand and enjoy the opera songs.

.

A mass is opera, isn't it?

The dramatic Confutatis and Lacrimosa
from Mozart's Requiem Mass in D Minor (K. 626)
English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir
John Eliot Gardiner, conducting (Barcelona 1991)



.

I like that clip but I think that an opera is a piece of theater (like with plots and acts performed in costumes, etc.), not just dramatic music.

.

Actually 'opera' is the plural of 'opus', which means 'work'. Many operatic arias and choruses are performed outside
the context of the parent work and without costumes, and in that respect aren't much different from the purely musical mass.

Here's one of my favorites from Rossini:



Qui Tollis from Rossini's Missa di Gloria
Performed by Tenor Diego Florez, the Chorus Viennensis,
Vienna Boys' Choir, and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra,
directed by Karel Mark Chichon.

.

You're correct but I'm stuck in my own idioms so I don't think of those pieces as operas.
I like La Traviata and La Boheme well enough (as theatrical shows) but almost all operatic vocals turn me off.

I understand -- you'd prefer La Traviata had no singing in it. http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r..._999/smile.gif

Though I haven’t witnessed an actual show, one of my dreams is to watch an opera. I was amazed by the performers, how they managed to sing in great voice by doing an actions and dance in particular.

I like Carmen.

I've only been exposed to Opera through movies but like the idea of going to a concert at some stage.

I'd like to develop a greater appreciation for opera and choral music. Presently I have only two selections in my library - a vinyl collection of Beethoven's choral works (a segment of his Bicentennial Collection) and selections from my copies of the 2-volume 111-disc Deutsche Grammophon Collector's Edition.

For further listening, a friend has suggested highlights and excerpted aria/scenes from:

• La Boheme - Puccini
• Tosca - Puccini
• La Traviata - Verdi
• Rigoletto - Verdi
• Carmen - Bizet
• The Mariage of Figaro - Mozart
• Don Giovanni - Mozart
• The Magic Flute - Mozart

And as for individual singers (other than the obvious ones like Pavarotti, Domingo, Callas, etc.) he recommends:

• Rene Fleming
• Angela Gheorghiu
• Anna Netrebko
• Denyce Graves
• Susan Graham
• Anne Sofie von Otter
• Rolando Villazon
• Jose Cura
• SImon Keenlyside
• Bryn Terfel
• Jose van Dam
• Nathan Gunn

I'd love additional input regarding other suggested listening, key labels to watch for, conductors, choirs, etc.

http://i.imgur.com/Ck0vRua.jpg

[EDIT: UPDATE] I populated a custom RYM list of the highest-rated opera recordings of all time. I've compiled lossless archives of each recording and prepared a playlist of the operas for my 9-5s at the office. Looking forward to taking them in!

Wilhelm Furtwängler / Ludwig Suthaus / Kirsten Flagstad
Tristan und Isolde (1953)

Orchestra and of La Scala Opera House, Milan / Chorus of La Scala Opera House, Milan / Victor De Sabata
Teatro alla Scala: Tosca (1953)

Vienna Philharmonic / Georg Solti / George London / Kirsten Flagstad / Set Svanholm / Gustav Neidlinger
Das Rheingold (1959)

Philharmonia Orchestra / Philharmonia Chorus / Carlo Maria Giulini / Eberhard Wächter / Joan Sutherland / Luigi Alva / Gottlob Frick / Elisabeth Schwarzkopf / Giuseppe Taddei / Piero Cappuccilli / Graziella Sciutti
Don Giovanni (1961)

Philip Glass
Einstein on the Beach (1979)

Wiener Philharmoniker / Georg Solti
Salome (1962)

The Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra & Chorus / Dennis Russel Davies
Akhnaten (1987)

Wiener Philharmoniker / Wilhelm Furtwängler / Martha Mödl / Ludwig Suthaus / Leonie Rysanek / Ferdinand Frantz / Gottlob Frick / Margarete Klose
Die Walküre (1954)

It's not necessarily operatic, but I really like Three Voices for Joan La Barbara by Morton Feldman. I think you'd appreciate it if you haven't heard it already, isb.

I was hooked right at the Opening! I'd previously only been familiar with Rothko Chapel, so I'll certainly be looking for more of his work. Thanks!