Classical Music

Presented in the upcoming 2012-13 season at the Met, is a new production of Handel's famous opera, Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar).  For those of you unable to make it to New York City, you'll have the chance to see it in the theater on April 27, 2013  as part of the Met's popular Live in HD broadcasts.  (View the full 2012-13 HD listings.)  If you are not familiar with the story of Julius Caesar, or at least the librettist's take on how he came to fall in love with Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra, read the synopsis of Giulio Cesare today.

A few days ago, I was listening to the famous Intermezzo from Pietro Mascagni's one-act opera, Cavalleria Rusticana. (Listen to Intermezzo on YouTube. It's really quite beautiful.) The opera was written in the short period of two months after Mascagni learned of an opera contest.  He submitted his finished opera on the very last day entries were accepted and won (along with two other operas).  Cavalleria Rusticana was Mascagni's first opera, and subsequently, his most popular.  The world premier garnered him 40 curtain calls and thunderous applause.   Since its creation, the opera has been performed thousands of times.  It is often double billed with Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.  Learn the synopsis of Mascagni's opera, Cavalleria Rusticana.

Here's an opera everyone is familiar with - at least a bit of its music, that is.  The famous bridal chorus to which almost every bride walks down the aisle was actually written by Wagner for this opera.  I just hope no one's marriage turns out as sad as the couple in the story.  Learn the synopsis of Lohengrin to find out what happens.

Having posted the lyrics to Dvorak's "Song to the Moon" just last week, I thought I'd share the synopsis to its operatic home, Rusalka. The opera's libretto was based on the fairy tales of fairy tales of Karel Jaromír Erben and Božena Němcová.  However, most of you may be familiar with the story if you've seen Disney's The Little Mermaid. However, Dvorak's Rusalka, is a much sadder tale - not everyone lives happily ever after.  Learn the story of Rusalka in this opera synopsis.

Here's another sublime aria performed by Renee Fleming (it's one of my favorites).  Unlike most operas that are in French, German, or Italian, Dvorak's Rusalka is in Czech, which is why I have such a hard time understanding the lyrics.  I didn't take any Czech classes in college, and I'm sure most of you reading this blog, didn't either.  Hopefully, this translation will be just as useful to you as it was for me.  Learn the lyrics and translation to Dvorak's "Song to the Moon."

I receive emails frequently asking me what albums I listen to the most and would recommend - in particular, Mozart.  So, this post is for all of you out there looking for the perfect Mozart recordings.  Obviously, these are my recommendations (and favorites), and everyone is entitled to their own opinions.  I'm just happy to share mine!  Find out what I consider to be the top 10 Mozart recordings.   If you have your own favorites, leave a comment below and share your Mozart enthusiasm with everyone.  Happy listening, everybody!

Here's a lovely aria from the famous opera, Carmen, by Georges Bizet - "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée" sung by Don José in act 2.  Learn the lyrics to the flower song and watch a great performance by Placido Domingo linked within.

As a child of the 80s, the older I get, there's less and less time for me to play video games. So instead of sitting in front of the TV and Playstation, I get my fix by listening to some of my favorite video game soundtracks. Here are some of my favorite orchestral video game soundtracks. What's your favorite?

Even with only 9 symphonies, Beethoven is one of the most famous classical music composers the world has ever known.  To this day, 185 years after his death, his music is just as powerful as it was when it was created.  Learn about the life of Beethoven in this Beethoven profile.  For even more about Beethoven, read these helpful facts about Beethoven: fact 1 - the European Union; fact 2 - Patron Archduke Rudolph; fact 3 - Symphony No. 4; and fact 4 - Beethoven and Haydn.

This very unique Wagner opera is special in several ways: it is his only comedic opera, he wrote the libretto as an original story (not based on any outside events or mythology), it contains no magic or supernatural occurrences, and it is one of the longest operas performed today clocking in between 4 and 5 hours.  The story centers around a guild of meistersingers (master singers) where the winner of their upcoming contest will win the hand of the daughter of one of the elder members.  Trouble ensures when the daughter falls in love with someone other than a meistersinger.  Learn how the story unfolds in this synopsis of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.