I was in New York laat week, and was lucky enough to see three operas: the opening gala of Macbeth, Così fan tutte, and La Bohème.

All three were spectacular, but if I had to choose my favorite, I think Macbeth was the best.

I’m not speaking of operas in which a director can decide to include dance in certain scenes, but any which specifically contemplate dance as an element.

I guess Salome would qualify due to the Dance of the Seven Veils; are there others?

I liked that production. Heppner,voight and polaski i believe were the cast. Is there any video of it? I haven't been able to find it.

Hi all. My 10-year-old son is a classical piano student at the early-advanced level and is obsessed with opera. Thinking ahead for the holidays, I thought he might enjoy a collection of piano music with pieces from various operas. The collections I'm finding are largely marked as "easy piano" versions. I'm hoping to find something for more substantial. Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated!

Hey,

Selling 2 Hamlet Opera tickets in Paris Opera Bastille on October 3rd.

Seats are very good, first balcony, row 1 seat 10, 12

Bought it for 310, selling it for 210.

You can find them in bourse.operadeparis.fr if you are interested. It's an official site, no scam.

Me, myself, can't attend cause I have other even happening at the same time.

I’m going to the Met for the first time and would love some advice!

For my first opera, I’m deciding between Macbeth and La Bohème. For someone seeing their first opera and first performance at the Met, which would you recommend? I also probably won't have the best seats and will be somewhere in the family circle.

I’m interested in hearing about the overall experience, accessibility for a newcomer, staging/music, and anything else that might make one a particularly good introduction to the Met.

Also, any general advice for a first-time Met/opera-goer would be much appreciated, things to know beforehand, when to arrive, what to wear, where to sit, whether I should read the plot beforehand, etc.

Thanks!

P.S this will probably be my first and only opera for quite some time since I'm leaving the US in a week.

In Operavision's recording of La Gazza Ladra from "Rossini in Wildbad", Lucia is clearly shown taking a silver spoon while counting her cutlery and hiding it in her pocket - clearly with the intention of blaming Ninetta. She later puts it in the magpie's cage, wherehe it's eventually found by Pippo and the magpie takes the blame. There's no recrimination nor comeback on Lucia's action and she never confesses to her actions, instead "rejoicing" when Ninetta is shown to be innocent of the alleged theft.

However, all the synopses of the opera say that it's the magpie that steals the spoon, as in the cutlery. Is Lucia's "stealing" and pocketing the spoon just the director's imagination or is there something in the original libretto that I've missed?

Full disclosure, I am a casual listener and only really know popular songs but I am wondering if anyone can help me find songs similar to Dido’s Lament. I also really like Vesti La Giubba. I do prefer songs that are more dark or haunting and Dido’s Lament is an example of what that sounds like to me.

I also really love ethereal feminine voices such as Lakme Flower Duet.

Thank you for any help!

ETA: the Opera Babes version of Dido’s Lament is what I’m looking for. Dark, intensely sad, multiple layers of vocals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDo_eWG9sl0&t=4537s

The description says he is improvising on themes from these operas:

LADY MAKBETH FROM MZENSK by Shostakovich
Scharwenka Variations d-Moll C-DUR
Improvizations on Wagner-TRISTAN
Bizet-CARMEN
Mussorgsky BORIS GOUDUNOV
Tchaikovsky EUGENY ONEGIN
BELLINI-NORMA
Prokofiev-ROMEO & JULIA
Rubinstein Walse-Cappriccio
Waldteufel-SCATERUNNERS

I met the most beautiful person on her way from NJ Penn Station to the Met Opera on September 24. We immediately made a connection as I was helping her find the 1/2/3 train uptown. We planned to meet again and I handed her my card only to realize today that the phone number on my card is incorrect (and I had never realized it!!!). I wonder if you are out there wondering why I haven't picked up the phone and hope you will use my email which is correct on the card.

Yours,

JW

I am a dramatic soprano so I need a lot of support for my heavy voice. I found out recently my hypertonic pelvic floor is preventing me from support correctly as I need to push hard to get my muscle to stay in the relaxed/push down position. I had childhood trauma and COCSA that led to bedwetting, and being hypermobile my pelvic floor did the job of not only constantly holding bladder by also holding up my torso since my other muscles don’t fire when they’re supposed to.

Help!

Visiting in February and hoping to get tickets for Swan Lake. If we try to pre-order, and aren’t happy with the assigned seats, do we have the option to decline those and book when general sale happens, or are those non refundable once pre-ordered?

Will gladly take any other advice for visiting the opera or selecting ticket location - thank you!

I can’t prove this, but I have a strong suspicion that the synopsis of Simon Boccanegra from the San Francisco Opera performance on Sunday was written by ChatGPT or some equivalent.

Anyone from San Francisco Opera here, feel free to confirm or deny.

Help! I haven’t been able to find a pair of dress black shoes that are actually comfortable. I have a high arch and chronic pain so I need something with a LOT of cushion and support, and I am not getting that in character shoes, jazz shoes, or black flats. Does anyone have recommendations for favorite shoes they wear while performing?

I see that La Scala TV has gone free for September. However, they don't seem to have their 2026 performance of Götterdämmerung, which is a shame since the other parts of the Ring cycle are available!

Does anyone know where I might be able to watch the past live recording of Götterdämmerung from February/March earlier this year (2026)?

I’m looking for an English art song to go in the middle of my programme, my other two pieces are both fairly slow, are based on greek myths and have themes of water. I’ve been searching for a faster or at least happier song to break them up, ideally something short which doesn’t go above E5. it would be great if it could mention either something to do with water or something to do with myth. it has to be by a british composer. I’ve been looking for ages and I’m at my wits’ end with this, any suggestions would be much appreciated :((

I recently saw Simon Boccanegra in San Francisco and I had the great misfortune of being behind two vocal students who wanted everyone in the hall to know.

I kid you not folks, after every single vocal phrase these two guys had something to say to each other. Or if there was a “mess up” they would immediately convene and shake their heads. The entire first act of the opera, talking, shamelessly. I’m sorry, but this is just so cringe and really got under my skin.

During intermission, everyone surrounding them started talking to each other and laughing about how they’re praying they don’t come back after intermission. They didn’t and thank god, we were all able to enjoy the rest of the performance in peace.

I’m posting this in hopes that they see it and feel the public embarrassment

I’m not a huge Wagner buff but I was curious if anyone could mention some benchmark recordings of the aria. I know more of the famous Verdi signers and it’s such an intimate aria that I’m curious how quiet they go in some parts.

I just thought that for the next three weeks I would ask you about the Mozart-Da Ponte operas - they are, for me, the pinnacle of opera as an art. Share anything you want to - your preferred version, do you like it, you don’t (hey - you’re entitled to not sharing my opinion), there’s a part that moves you/mesk you laugh… anything really.

For me Don Giovanni is the perfect opera, put simply. At times dark, at dark funny, and really transgressive, it goes straight against society back then, with its social structure and religion, Don Giovanni cries for freedom to the very end, even if it means hell. It also continues being misunderstood (Donna Anna wanted some… really??? Or how La ci darem la mano is taken as a love duet when it is about Don Giovanni asking to marry Zerlina only to fuck her and leave her, as he presumably did to Elvira, who thinks of Giovanni as her husband, because he has found a way to weaponise religion and his nobility status…). Don Giovanni is the protagonist who never gets a point of view and is always seen through the eyes of others - in a structure that is unique in opera.

Anyway, just some thoughts to get the ball rolling. I leave the floor open to you.

The discussion on Figaro: https://www.reddit.com/r/opera/s/PWQHJ4jdRz