The Marriage of Figaro

The greatest opera EVER written. Comments?

Get angry, supporters of Alban Berg's "Lulu"! Ah ah!

Hey, what are you burning there, you sick-o Wagnerian?!

*punch* *bite* *kick*

That's better.

Anyway, one must admit the marriage between Figaro and Susanna isn't the only one in the opera (and so isn't Bartolo's and Marcellina's.) Most impressive is the marriage between libretto and score: one can only be amazed at it.

Sure, when you hear it, you think: "Hey, anyone with a classical idiom can do this!" Then you sit and try, and you can't. Too bad for you.

Well, I'm sure many will disagree. Waiting to hear what your statements could be. I'll be at this corner punching a serialist. Have a good day.

I personaly like the magic flute a bit more.

There are so many amazing operas, why even choose one?

I suppose for the same reason that others elsewhere on these fora are trying to decide the best piano concerto, symphony, composer...even the best single piece of music ever written. It's a pointless exercise, but it's interesting to see what people say. I have trouble narrowing it down that much, and my sensibilities change constantly.

However, I'm a good deal less equivocal when it comes to opera. The question of whether "Figaro" is the greatest opera ever written is open to at least some debate - though some have called it the most perfect. That said, "Figaro" was the first opera I ever heard, and it changed my life.

I saw it when I was 14 in production by a small repertory opera company, in English, accompanied by two pianos. It may not sound like much, but they did a wonderful job. The performance was part of a performing arts series sponsored by the city at the time (hah! those days are long gone...), and it was offered free of charge in a recreation center at a local park. Had it cost anything, my mother wouldn't have taken me to see it...we were too poor. I sat in the front row, no more than 10 feet from the stage, which was only about 18 inches off the ground, so I could see and hear everything perfectly. One by one the musical numbers came and went, each one seemingly more enchanting than the last. I still remember the lump in my throat as the Countess sang her heart-rending aria at the beginning of the second act...the excitement and of the trio in the first act (with Cherubino hiding in the armchair)...the charm of Cherubino's deceptively fine little ditties...the suspense and building tension of the Act II finale...the proud brilliance of Almaviva's grand aria in Act III...the climax and denoument of the Act IV finale, where Almaviva's plot is discovered, he begs his wife for forgiveness, she bestows it tenderly to the marvel of all - and they all run off to make merry for the rest of the night!

The curtain fell on that little performance, and there were 10 minutes of curtain calls. I stood there with tears streaming down my cheeks, and I cried all the way home in the car. That performance of "Figaro" just might be the fondest memory of my life, and I relive it every time I hear it again.

So whether or not it's the greatest opera makes no difference to me. That opera changed me...I'd always been passionate about music, but after that night, I never looked at anything the same way again.

Perhaps the greatest Mozart aria is Soave sia il vento, from Così fan tutte. That much I can say. Actually the only one the that I can think of that rivals it is Dove Sono I Bei Momenti" from Figaro.

In terms of opera though, Puccini is just as good if not better than Mozart ("E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca is quite possibly my favorite aria, although I can't say this for sure). The two hold dear places in my heart. I am also fond of Fidelio, having listened to it several times over the last month... it may not be as great as some other operas, but there is something sublime about the way Beethoven handles music in general which just clicks with me.

Unlike J.L.G., my first experience with Opera was Otello by Verdi, which I did not like and which put a soar taste in my mouth towards the genre for ages. It wasn't until I discovered Turandot (Puccini) that I came to appreciate Opera (and write one), therefore I may have to place this opera or La Boheme at the top of my list.

Ah! It hurt to write that, but there it is. :D Ranking music is always a pain!!

What about Saleri?

Sometimes I find myself digging him a bit more.

I'd say the Marriage of Figaro is the most entertaining, Magic Flute being the best music-wise[/b]

The magic flute seems less complex for the orchestra, so you might say it is in this respect more ingenius.

Ranking music is ludacris of course.

Its just like real life, you can love something (-one) in a for that unic relation fitting way.

math without an equation, how do you like that

I like Puccini, but i hate Purcell with a passion.

Oh, why? I love him. Dido and Aeneas is one of my favorite Baroque operas, along with Monteverdi's Orfeo and some of Haendel's.

Hmmm..... for me I would say The Marriage of Figaro. The Magic Flute has its moments but I still like the Marriage of Figaro a bit more........

-William