Which do you think is Verdi's most underrated opera?

I would choose Stiffelio, although its reputation has grown in recent years, it hasn't quite made it into the repertoire. it deserves to be performed as often as Boccanegra, Forza or Ballo in my opinion.

N.

 

For the moment I am very fond of Don Carlo in fact I watch it every day.

 

I too love Don Carlo and it is interesting how it has gone from rarity to repertoire piece in the last 60 years.

N.

 

I love all his work, but by far La Traviata and Don Carlo the most , in that order .

 

We've been picking favourites on another thread, and those two are high on my Verdi list. Along with Otello, the top 3. then add Falstaff, Masked Ball, etc. Rigoletto, oddly, I don't like so much though I love the music, because the story is so unpleasant. I find his despair quite upsetting. Under-rated? I reckon Boccanegra should be performed more than it is. Nabucco seems to get more outings.

 

Don Carlo for me too with a quick Otello following right behind

 

Among the less performed / recorded operas by Verdi, my favorite is "I due Foscari".

 

Don Carlo. Don Carlo. DON CARLO! What is it about that opera? I love it, many others here do too. And I don't really have a version preference either (though I'll always give the edge to Italian over French...)

 

Interesting; never before have I read so much Don Carlo love on this forum, until after I decided in one listen that this is my very favorite opera. I am pleased that others appreciate the awesomness of this opera. And by that I mean the truly transcendent "In awe of" and not the simple and overused synonym of "cool" :lol:

My other favorites: Il Trovotore. The story is not quite as confusing to me as it had been made out to me. Maybe the video production I watched did a good job moving the story? I don't know. I'm no fan of infanticide of course, but I really was moved by the character of Azucena, imagining her fear and panic as she watched her mother burn and rush to do SOMETHING. of course what she DID was evil and reprehensible. But again, I really did get emotionally involved in the story.

And Aida....I do love a good Aida!

I think the reason that I love Verdi so much is that he is one of the few opera composers that makes me do what opera is supposed to make you do; get involved with the story. I've enjoyed opera for five years now; and most of the time I didn't feel compelled to go much beyond the synopsis. But Verdi does such a FANTASTIC job of marrying the music to the drama that I get myself sucked in. "I have to know what that dude's singing about!" that I'm reading libretti and watching videos.

 

"I have to know what that dude's singing about!" that I'm reading libretti and watching videos.

I know, and that's what got me hooked on Don Carlo - specifically, the letter scene. "Who is this guy? What is this secret letter? What are they singing about all layered over each other? I need the libretto!"

We probably should have a Don Carlo thread, but then I think someone would complain about duplication of a thread that nobody can find in search...

 

Very important. When you know an opera you don't need the libretto or score, but first time or two I think it is essential. Opera is drama, it's telling a story, it's not like a symphony. Also, it helps you understand the composer's genius to see the little things he (or perhaps she) does to highlight aspects.

 

As some of the 'old timers' on here know cos I've been boring everyone ever since I joined the forum, my favourite opera of all time is Simon Boccanegra.

I love all Verdi though and would take a poor production of one the more obscure ones (eg Alzira or I Masnadieri) over most other operas.

One opera I would love to see performed more often and probably my second favourite Verdi is his second opera Un giorno di Regno. It's creeping into the standard rep and I would just love to see it live.

 

:wave:.........................

 

Interesting discussion here... as today I watched a production of Il Trovatore which is an opera where I never really have read the libretto, at least not in full. I mean, I know the plotline and I know what is happening in each scene. I just don't know exactly what the characters are saying to each other, except for the more well-known arias which I have read translations of. (I suppose that someday I will have picked up enough opera-Italian to be able to understand it all!)

In some operas it may be more important to understand the words than others...

Of course, Verdi librettos are translated into our language if our language is not Italian (or French), so, how do we know we really know what's being said?

 

This wasn't a problem before the days of great big box sets without libretti. The Callas 90-CD EMI set had a CD in it with all the libretti, a good solution.
But those of us who collected LP opera sets (or CD sets with just one opera in the '80s and after) got copies of the libretti with the music. So I have the libretto for the vast majority of the operas I have on disc. If I don't I can sometimes find it online and listen in my study, reading the libretto on screen.
To be frank, I am really surprised so many people don't care what is happening, or what is happening in detail. And I think the composers would be surprised too - but then they generally lived before recorded sound (not Puccini, of course). But, as I noted above, it is not for me to tell anyone else how to listen.

 

I'm getting into Verdi at the moment. His whole approach appears to me to be vastly superior in character painting then partners than Wagner's. Don Carlo has the most incredible painting of emotions. Powerful stuff!

 

The scene in Don Carlo where the king is alone in his chambers, doubting his queen's affections, doubting himself as a person, is so wrenching. It's glorious in Haitink's recording. And I just love the relationships that Rodrigo has with both Carlo and the king.

I wish Verdi was still alive so I could comission him to write a second opera in Rodrigo's point of view....it would be a fascinating psychological study.

For that matter, I would ALSO another Don Carlo, a historically accurate one focusing more on his descent into madness. And focusing on the king's grief over his struggle as a father as he witnesses this.

Me greedy a little?

 

Bought another Don Carlo yesterday. Guilini and Domingo et al. I never know why Karajan missed off the first act in his recording. Performance I can understand but surely on CD you want all the music Verdi wrote.

 

I just bought that one myself last month. It's the next version I'll listen to. So far I've heard Haitink and Solti. I have not seen a performance yet, I'll check out my local library. I'd love to make Carlo my first live opera experience down the line!

 

I have listened and loved Verdi's Operas more than just about any music these past 30 years. However I can understand those who enjoy the opera's without having read a synopsis. I speak little Italian (and studies show that doesn't help that much) but to be swept along with the force of the music is often enough for me. Sometime I wish surtitles had never been introduced they do distract and they don't follow the rhythm and pace of the libretti. More recently I have travelled to Opera houses where there is no English translation available and hugely enjoyed myself.

That said I've also never regretted growing to know the plots of my favourite works. It's just not essential for me to have that detail.

 

I can understand those who enjoy the opera's without having read a synopsis. .

Then who would want to avoid reading at least a synopsis after hearing a Verdi opera.

 

There used to be an association in London called The Amici Di Verdi. It was run with great enthusiasm by a retired ROH Covent Garden "Stage Hand/Carpenter" called Reg Suter. They organised small productions at Blackheath and the Lindbury Theatre, had master-classes and talks and promoted works exclusively by Verdi. I was a member and went to many events and even contributed an article to the Newsletter on the addresses where Verdi stayed during his London visits, but sadly it no longer seems to exist.

http://spazioinwind.libero.it/davidmac/verdiing.html

Reg did produce his own scrapbook of memories of a different time in Opera. It's the only book I've read that doesn't focus exclusively on all the front of house activities.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reg-Suter/e/B00IYY1I2S

It was loosely affiliated to The Amici di Verdi in Bussetto, who limit their nos to 31(? shocking memory lapse here?) the no of Opera's, including revisions, that Verdi composed. From what I can determine this is an exclusive dining club who's main requirement is that you have a decent voice so you can join in with the after dinner singing!

I do think that one day the web will produce it's own equivalent of these fan clubs.

I would also highly recommend a visit to Busseto, Roncole and Villa Sant'Agata.
http://www.villaverdi.org/

We were in Tuscany on holiday and I was rudely awakened on my 40th birthday by a very early and surprise alarm. My wife had worked out we could drive there and back in the day. We also managed lunch in the hotel owned by the great Verdian Carlo Bergonzi, and were greeted by his son. Memorable.

 

I want a Don Carlo movie. (In Italian please)

The opera has been through so many revisions already that a film adaptation wouldn't hurt too much...

Falstaff is hit or miss for me. You have to have a great Falstaff for it to work or else it gets tedious. I think the recent production with Ambrogio (forget his last name) is a good one to start with if you are a Falstaff newbie.

 

Commercially speaking, a disaster .
Look what happens to the film made by operas.
Some never made it to the big screen and went straight into vcr/ vhs

 

Well, despite my screen name, Verdi is probably my #1 operatic love. And as far as male voice types are concerned, the Verdi baritone is my favorite, no question. I love all those father characters in Verdi, my favorite so far being Miller in Luisa Miller.

Rigoletto is my favorite Verdi opera.

 

Unfortunately I just find Rigoletto's plot too depressing to manage. But, I am also into the daddy issues. Yes, it's so terribly cliched, but didn't Verdi do it before it was a cliche?

Miller is the rare example of a Verdi dad who doesn't really have any problems (except those caused by others). If you forced me at gunpoint to pick a Verdi character to be my dad, I'd probably pick him too.

Who is Verdi's worst father? I'd have to go with Montforte from I Vespri Siciliani, whose love for his son is genuine (as genuine as this guy can feel about anything, which is probably not much) yet deeply stunted and immature.

King Phillip from Don Carlo is kind of a dick, but we do at least have the privilege of getting into his head. He is caught in the middle of everything too, which is one of the aspects that makes Don Carlo unique - that there's this other layer of "big bad daddy figure" even above him (the Grand Inquisitor).

And then there's Papa Germont... who, in my opinion, is often not carefully cast. It takes more than just any old baritone to properly play him. It ought to be one of those roles where not every singer is a good fit (like Scarpia or Falstaff), but usually it seems to me that as long as the guy can wear old age makeup and a wig, they'll take him. It needs more than just a proper old man - Germont needs to have charisma and persuasiveness or else the whole opera just doesn't work.

 

It takes more than just any old baritone to properly play him. .

They can take a young baritone and dye his hair grey.

 

Yes, unfortunately that's what they often have to do! I guess vocally it's an okay part for a younger baritone, but in terms of the sort of performing experience required, it ought to be one of those roles that is considered a capstone and not just bread-and-butter. But Traviata is performed so often, and the beast needs baritones...

 

Graziesignore wrote:
Who is Verdi's worst father? I'd have to go with Montforte from I Vespri Siciliani, whose love for his son is genuine (as genuine as this guy can feel about anything, which is probably not much) yet deeply stunted and immature.

King Phillip from Don Carlo is kind of a dick, but we do at least have the privilege of getting into his head. He is caught in the middle of everything too, which is one of the aspects that makes Don Carlo unique - that there's this other layer of "big bad daddy figure" even above him (the Grand Inquisitor).


If there's one personality type I can't stand, it's that of a religious bigot or tyrant (and I'm a Christian myself). King Philip is this type of character, which is why I've never been able to muster much sympathy for him, despite his sad aria. I don't know I Vespri Sicliani well at all, but isn't Monforte a religious tyrant, too (the real-life Monforte tortured heretics, I believe)?

 

I can get thru about an hour and a half of DC. Then I'm bored stiff.

 

But you haven't even got to the fantastic Act IV Scene i by then, one of the greatest scenes in all opera. Beginning with Philip's magnificent Ella giammai m'amo, moving on through the superb duet for the two basses, then the wonderful quartet and finishing with Eboli's thrilling O don fatale, this is one of the best things Verdi ever did.

The opera always ranks very highly with most Verdi enthusiasts.

 

Wikipedia is helpful for telling all the DC versions apart, particularly the two most performed lengths which are labeled "Milan version" and "Modena version." The five-act, non-ballet version (Modena) is the one that has become more increasingly seen since the mid 20th century. This five-act version is often seen in Italian as well.

 

(Stuffing fingers in ears) LA LA LAA, I can't hear you...

(I hate it when real life has nothing to do with my favorite opera plots, yet it's so common)

The ending of Don Carlo? Abrupt, far fetched, yet... I have never had a problem with it. It's mysterious and such a contrast to the realistic politics, and yet, totally in line with the themes of the opera. I suppose directors could have a field day with "regie" interpretations of the ending, but even just playing it straight is fine with me. Let's just say in my theoretical Don Carlo movie I would definitely play it straight. Which is to say, mysterious...

 

I like the ending.
I hope no director take into consideration that Don Carlos was actually a unruly psychopath.

 

I think I know what you mean. There is a kind of existential sadness in both those operas. I love the ending of Simon Boccanegra even though it is very sad. In Don Carlo the sadness comes from everyone wanting to do the right thing (Posa, Elisabetta, in the end Eboli, etc) but the right thing still not being done. Posa comforts himself while dying telling Carlo "Regnare tu dovevi" but it's never going to happen. One must take comfort, I suppose, in Carlo being snatched into the hereafter...

I guess for me Rigoletto's ending does not have the same, hm, redeeming quality. It's sort of a "gotcha" ending, very black. But for me also the whole situation is kind of depressing - the nasty court, profligate duke, and of course poor Gilda.

 

I was reading about Verdi's interest in writing an opera based on King Lear. The libretto in fact was near completion of a first draft! Ahhh what might have been.......

 

What I always wondered about that was how he would have portrayed Lear's madness and the odd whimsy of his fool. More than Othello, which deals with straightforward, very "Latin" passions, Lear is a drama of ideas and words and strange, subtle states of mind, and this may have stymied Verdi, whose work is not fundamentally intellectual. In a way, Lear actually seems more of a natural for the composer of Tristan und Isolde: Tristan's plunge into darkness and lacerating self-analysis in Act 3 is perhaps not so remote from Lear on the heath.

 

Wow! That would be even awesomer than an opera of Ben-Hur...