Friday, August 13, 2010

Easing into Opera with Rossini overtures

Certain types of well-established music I simply don't get. I admit it. Jazz is one. Opera is another, although I'm starting to appreciate it some more. The Luciano Pavarotti album I wrote about a while back certainly helped. (Maybe one of you opera lovers can enlighten me.)

But one entry-level way to learn to appreciate the art form is through overtures (classic Looney Toons work just as well). So this morning I put on a record I hadn't listened to yet: "The Rossini Overture Album," released on Columbia Masterworks in 1979.

Perhaps overtures are the gateway drug to the genre: the cough medicine that leads to a lifetime of heroin use, if you will.

So here's a video of the overture to "The Barber of Seville," for no other reason than I hope it helps brighten your morning:

Posted by Adam Richter at 10:30 AM
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousAugust 27, 2010 at 8:59 AM

    Overtures are a wonderful way to ease into opera! But you have to try Mozart's overtures. He rewards careful listeners every time. Don G is stirring, entertaining, surprise, a little schizophrenic, if schizo can be endearing. But Marriage of Figaro is one of my favorites--maybe my favorite. Here's a great link to Figaro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcuXkicCTro

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