My introduction to the art form was Lucia di Lammermoor way back in the early 1980's - with Maria Callas. My girlfriend used to put the records on in the mornings on weekends and sort of make me a little pissed because I wanted to sleep in. Then, one weekend she went away to visit some relatives, and I woke up to silence. I got up and turned on Lucia and went back to bed, listing and humming along as was now usual.
After that I knew I was hooked, and so I started listening and recording operas off the radio, building a large collection of recordings, new performances, and historic ones. I had a good buddy in the San Francisco Opera, and he got me in to all of the dress rehearsals, and often could get me free or very cheap tickets: usually in good seats in the orchestra. He had a huge record collection of all the old singers, and I'd visit and we'd listen to these records, comparing singers, and he teaching me what was good and what was not so good. I went almost every week to the opera and became familiar with it, an amateur expert you could say, and met lots of other opera people.
I listened to my recordings while I worked at my woodworking at home, and absorbed them, and I seemed to have a total recall after awhile and could ID an opera with just a few notes. Still can with a lot of them, ask djaza... but, I have sort of fallen away a little bit, pursuing other new interests and obsessions.
Unfortunately I have to admit I am totally ignorant in this matter. I do know some arias and sometimes I sing them, too :-P, but I don't think I have ever listened to an entire opera. I might begin to listen to some Donizetti now, since I have to learn more about my town. For the moment, I am going to read a specific book about the tarsias made for Bergamo by Lorenzo Lotto, but I will move to Donizetti soon.
My introduction to the art form was Lucia di Lammermoor way back in the early 1980's - with Maria Callas. My girlfriend used to put the records on in the mornings on weekends and sort of make me a little pissed because I wanted to sleep in. Then, one weekend she went away to visit some relatives, and I woke up to silence. I got up and turned on Lucia and went back to bed, listing and humming along as was now usual.
After that I knew I was hooked, and so I started listening and recording operas off the radio, building a large collection of recordings, new performances, and historic ones. I had a good buddy in the San Francisco Opera, and he got me in to all of the dress rehearsals, and often could get me free or very cheap tickets: usually in good seats in the orchestra. He had a huge record collection of all the old singers, and I'd visit and we'd listen to these records, comparing singers, and he teaching me what was good and what was not so good. I went almost every week to the opera and became familiar with it, an amateur expert you could say, and met lots of other opera people.
I listened to my recordings while I worked at my woodworking at home, and absorbed them, and I seemed to have a total recall after awhile and could ID an opera with just a few notes. Still can with a lot of them, ask djaza... but, I have sort of fallen away a little bit, pursuing other new interests and obsessions.
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I might begin to listen to some Donizetti now, since I have to learn more about my town. For the moment, I am going to read a specific book about the tarsias made for Bergamo by Lorenzo Lotto, but I will move to Donizetti soon.
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