From operabase.com, the most popular opera composer for the 2008-2011 period is...VERDI.
The ranking, in terms of number of performances, are as follows:
1. VERDI
2. MOZART
3. PUCCINI
4. ROSSINI
5. WAGNER
6. DONIZETTI
7. STRAUSS, R.
8. BIZET
9. TCHAIKOVSKY
10. BRITTEN
The most popular opera, despite the dominance of Italian titles, is...CARMEN
The ranking, in terms of number of performances, are as follows:
1. Carmen (Bizet)
2. The Magic Flute (Mozart)
3. La Boheme (Puccini)
4. La Traviata (Verdi)
5. Tosca (Puccini)
6. Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart)
7. Madama Butterfly (Puccini)
8. Barber of Seville (Rossini)
9. Rigoletto (Verdi)
10. Don Giovanni (Mozart)
Verdi remains undoubtedly the king of opera, followed by Mozart; Puccini remains the most popular in English-speaking countries, however and Wagner and Strauss are widely-performed in the German-speaking countries(Germany, Austria, Switzerland). French opera is represented by Bizet while Russia makes it to the list mostly due to Tchaikovsky's Onegin. Curiously, British opera makes it to the list this time, on the contribution of Britten's musically dull but dramatically adroit operas.
As for individual titles, the standard bearer for French opera, Carmen is the most wildly popular, probably for all time. Mozart's Magic Flute, which is in German comes in second. (Mozart is the only composer who wrote in Italian and German). The Italians lord it over from 3 to 10. It is interesting to note that despite being the 5th most popular composer in the list, none of Wagner's massive operas make it to the top 10 list.
Gounod was once the most popular opera composer, on the strength of Faust and Romeo et Juliette, but he seems to be less and less performed nowadays. I wonder if Gounod will suffer the same fate as Meyerbeer, whose operas once had the status of Verdi and Puccini today.
Clearly, the musical revolution pioneered by Wagner led to the demise of Meyerbeer in the repertory. Wagner was a strident critic of French opera epitomized by Meyerbeer. The ascendant composers now seem to be Janacek (his psychological drama Katya Kabanova is increasingly being performed, and rightly so) and Britten, both 20th century composers whose musical idiom differs so much from the standard repertory.
What is also apparent in the list is the increasing popularity of bel canto, with Rossini and Donizetti in 4th and 6th respectively. Bellini fell out of the top 10, at no. 11. From Verdi's time up until the 1950s, bel canto fell out of style with only Rossini's Barber and Donizetti's Lucia remaining in the repertory. It was Maria Callas, and later on Sutherland, Caballe, Horne and Kraus, among others who tirelessly fought for the reinstatement of bel canto.
That the bel canto recrudescence is in full swing is apparent with the recent revivals of La Fille du Regiment (infamous for the nine high C's in one aria), Don Pasquale and Donizetti's Tudor Queens, and the reexamination of Rossini's neglected works, famously by the Pesaro Festival in the composer's hometown. Next year, Renee Fleming will headline Armida while Juan Diego Florez will finally bring Le Comte Ory at the Met the following year. The rare Matilde di Shabran premiered at Covent Garden last year, also with Florez.
What is surprising is that works that defined verismo, namely Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci are not as frequently performed anymore.
Clearly, the standard repertory is firmly entrenched in mid-to-late 19th century Italian operas dominated by Verdi and Puccini. The Germans (Wagner and Strauss) and the French (Bizet) play second fiddle while the Russians (Tchaikovsky) and the Eastern Europeans (Dvorak and Janacek) seem relegated to the sidelines. The British (Britten) are playing catch up while the Americans remain non-existent.
So which are my favorites?
(1) Semiramide (Rossini)
(2) Tosca (Puccini)
(3) Carmen (Bizet)
(4) I Puritani (Bellini)
(5) Aida (Verdi)
(6) Falstaff (Verdi)
(7) La Boheme (Puccini)
(8) L'Elisir d'Amore (Donizetti)
(9) Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni)
(10) Madama Butterfly (Puccini)
The ranking, in terms of number of performances, are as follows:
1. VERDI
2. MOZART
3. PUCCINI
4. ROSSINI
5. WAGNER
6. DONIZETTI
7. STRAUSS, R.
8. BIZET
9. TCHAIKOVSKY
10. BRITTEN
The most popular opera, despite the dominance of Italian titles, is...CARMEN
The ranking, in terms of number of performances, are as follows:
1. Carmen (Bizet)
2. The Magic Flute (Mozart)
3. La Boheme (Puccini)
4. La Traviata (Verdi)
5. Tosca (Puccini)
6. Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart)
7. Madama Butterfly (Puccini)
8. Barber of Seville (Rossini)
9. Rigoletto (Verdi)
10. Don Giovanni (Mozart)
Verdi remains undoubtedly the king of opera, followed by Mozart; Puccini remains the most popular in English-speaking countries, however and Wagner and Strauss are widely-performed in the German-speaking countries(Germany, Austria, Switzerland). French opera is represented by Bizet while Russia makes it to the list mostly due to Tchaikovsky's Onegin. Curiously, British opera makes it to the list this time, on the contribution of Britten's musically dull but dramatically adroit operas.
As for individual titles, the standard bearer for French opera, Carmen is the most wildly popular, probably for all time. Mozart's Magic Flute, which is in German comes in second. (Mozart is the only composer who wrote in Italian and German). The Italians lord it over from 3 to 10. It is interesting to note that despite being the 5th most popular composer in the list, none of Wagner's massive operas make it to the top 10 list.
Gounod was once the most popular opera composer, on the strength of Faust and Romeo et Juliette, but he seems to be less and less performed nowadays. I wonder if Gounod will suffer the same fate as Meyerbeer, whose operas once had the status of Verdi and Puccini today.
Clearly, the musical revolution pioneered by Wagner led to the demise of Meyerbeer in the repertory. Wagner was a strident critic of French opera epitomized by Meyerbeer. The ascendant composers now seem to be Janacek (his psychological drama Katya Kabanova is increasingly being performed, and rightly so) and Britten, both 20th century composers whose musical idiom differs so much from the standard repertory.
What is also apparent in the list is the increasing popularity of bel canto, with Rossini and Donizetti in 4th and 6th respectively. Bellini fell out of the top 10, at no. 11. From Verdi's time up until the 1950s, bel canto fell out of style with only Rossini's Barber and Donizetti's Lucia remaining in the repertory. It was Maria Callas, and later on Sutherland, Caballe, Horne and Kraus, among others who tirelessly fought for the reinstatement of bel canto.
That the bel canto recrudescence is in full swing is apparent with the recent revivals of La Fille du Regiment (infamous for the nine high C's in one aria), Don Pasquale and Donizetti's Tudor Queens, and the reexamination of Rossini's neglected works, famously by the Pesaro Festival in the composer's hometown. Next year, Renee Fleming will headline Armida while Juan Diego Florez will finally bring Le Comte Ory at the Met the following year. The rare Matilde di Shabran premiered at Covent Garden last year, also with Florez.
What is surprising is that works that defined verismo, namely Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci are not as frequently performed anymore.
Clearly, the standard repertory is firmly entrenched in mid-to-late 19th century Italian operas dominated by Verdi and Puccini. The Germans (Wagner and Strauss) and the French (Bizet) play second fiddle while the Russians (Tchaikovsky) and the Eastern Europeans (Dvorak and Janacek) seem relegated to the sidelines. The British (Britten) are playing catch up while the Americans remain non-existent.
So which are my favorites?
(1) Semiramide (Rossini)
(2) Tosca (Puccini)
(3) Carmen (Bizet)
(4) I Puritani (Bellini)
(5) Aida (Verdi)
(6) Falstaff (Verdi)
(7) La Boheme (Puccini)
(8) L'Elisir d'Amore (Donizetti)
(9) Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni)
(10) Madama Butterfly (Puccini)
No comments:
Post a Comment