[Itullian]

Boheme, Turandot, Butterfly, Tosca. Lescaut. Fanciulla. Trittico. etc,

vs

Rosenkavalier. Salome, Elektra, Frau Ohne Schatten, Capriccio. Ariadne. Arabella. Daphne. etc

Both great composers.

Who's your pick? And why?
:tiphat:

Thought this was an interesting pair to do.

 

[StlukesguildOhio]

Der Rosenkavalier, man! Der Rosenkavalier!

Our Marschalin (Blair) will undoubtedly see to it that you are well castigated for such an oversight.

Gah!!! Etc... indeed!

Oh... by the way... count me as a vote for Strauss.

 

[Sloe]

Der Rosenkavalier, man! Der Rosenkavalier!

I must say Der Rosenkavalier is the Strauss opera I have most difficult to get into.

 

[Itullian]

Der Rosenkavalier, man! Der Rosenkavalier!

Our Marschalin (Blair) will undoubtedly see to it that you are well castigated for such an oversight.

Gah!!! Etc... indeed!

Oh... by the way... count me as a vote for Strauss.

Thank you! Remedied.

 

[MimiPinson]

Puccini- the best composer. His music is so moving and I was born to love him.

 

[Itullian]

Puccini- the best composer. His music is so moving and I was born to love him.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Loge]

I really like Salome, but it's Puccini for me. He is the king of the Aria, he wrote the most famous ones in the popular imagination. I also like his use of dramatic pauses in the music. And despite what the snobs think he was a great composer, his music really drives the story.

 

[nightscape]

Strauss. Though, I'm probably not trustworthy as I'm not exactly a huge fan of opera to begin with, but Strauss has acted as a gateway. Salome, Ariadne auf Naxos, Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier....all musical monuments.

 

[Woodduck]

As a lifelong Wagnerian, it was natural for me to get into Strauss, and at a certain age (long ago) I found Salome and Elektra fascinating and exciting. That wore off slowly over the years, and I now find those operas rather shallow and campy, if brilliantly composed. Rosenkavalier never did much for me except for the presentation of the rose scene and the trio; Ariadne auf Naxos is somewhat interesting, though I don't know it well, and I do rather like the mythical/magical atmosphere of Die Frau ohne Schatten, maybe because it's a bit Wagnerian. His other operas don't hold my attention.

At the same time, however, I've come to appreciate Puccini more, especially when he isn't tormenting and killing off lovely young women like Manon, Mimi, Butterfly and Liu (Madama Butterfly is just too painfully cruel and I can't bear to listen to it). Puccini is so theatrically effective and emotional that it's easy to overlook the fact that he's simply a brilliant composer quite capable of using harmony and orchestration in unusual and evocative ways. I love listening to the orchestra create atmosphere in La Fanciulla del West and Turandot.

So, Puccini for me.

 

[soundoftritones]

Puccini has made a very big mark in the world of opera, and I think that his soaring, light arias are what sets him apart from most other operatic composers of his day and age. I believe he made the biggest contribution to the bel canto style and there's no denying that the melodies of those sopranos give me goosebumps. Perhaps I'm just extremely partial to lovely soprano voices that really suit the roles and express so much emotion. >< Puccini has won my heart over in this poll.

 

[Albert7]

Sorry but Puccini has nothing on Strauss. Strauss is a true master of innate psychology in every single opera he wrote from Salome to Arabella.

Puccini is great but depends too much on melodrama and dramatic conventions to prove his point. Turandot is my favorite opera of his but even that masterpiece has nothing on Rosenkavalier.

 

[silentio]

Puccini.

Strauss shined in Salome, Elektra, Ariadne and Die Frau. Between these and (unfortunately) his very late opera Capriccio, his outputs are not very brilliant, though there are quite a number of lovely moments scattered in Arabella, Daphne, Intermezzo and Die ägyptische Helena.

The outputs of Puccini, on the other hand, are quite consistent in term of quality. He might have struggled here and there a little bit when trying to expand the subject matters in Trittico, Rondine, and La Fanciulla, but these works are as enjoyable as their predecessors IMO.

Off topic for a while, I would bring my favorite Janacek into these, in case someones think that Strauss and Puccini share the operatic monopoly of the early 20th century. After his first breakthrough - Jenufa, his style kept maturing significantly until From the House of the Dead.

 

[Itullian]

Since I only really enjoy Tosca and Turandot I vote Strauss.
not hot on Salome and Elektra, but enjoy the rest.

 

[Pugg]

I can't choose and as there's no penalty on it I voted that way

 

[ArtMusic]

Both great but it is Puccini who had better grasp of emotions and theatre and naturally expressed the emotions without too much atonal music style, or when he did especially in Turandot, he did it so effectively that it doesn't alienate. My vote for Puccini.

 

[sharik]

they're equal. love them both.

 

[PetrB]

Well, I find that a God-awful pair to choose between, and not because I'm at all torn to choose between two loves.

I think Strauss was by far the better composer of opera, with a much deeper characterization of the Dramatis personæ beyond the mere soap-opera predictable simplistic schtick as found in about all of Puccini.

 

[sharik]

I think Strauss was by far the better composer of opera, with a much deeper characterization of the Dramatis personæ beyond the mere soap-opera predictable simplistic schtick as found in about all of Puccini.

however, going by Der Rosenkavalier or Arabella it is Strauss' more soap-opera-like.

 

[schigolch]

Love them both.

Then again, I think I love Puccini a little bit more.

What's about the just about perfect blend of Strauss and Puccini that was "Die Tote Stadt"?.

 

[sharik]

moreover, even such Strauss operas as Salome and Electra are in fact soapers all the way, whereas Puccini has nothing of that sort; his operas have more to do with lofty tragedy, not soap. Strauss biggest problem is that he always shied from tragedy, thus undermining his own works' grandeur.