The Passion of Opera

I remember reading Fred Plotkin's book Opera 101  some time ago. The book listed ten operas that would theoretically take a viewer from an easy, very accessible opera that they would (hopefully) like no matter what ( Rigoletto  was his suggestion). The operas became increasingly less accessible until, at the end, were Wagner operas. Except these were not quite the end. The last of the ten was contained in a chapter called "Psychological Opera: Elektra ," or something along those lines. While Elektra is obviously a different Strauss opera than Salome , I found here the elements that might make this opera inaccesible to some, and definitely one to reserve for only the most prepared audience members. I admit this is my first time seeing Salome , but I must say that I was struck, I think particularly by this production, by how it is not just Salome , but essentially all the major characters, who are fraught with psychological problems. Synopsis & General Inform...

Last night I stood in line and got into Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos , performed by the Wiener Staatsoper. I had a parterre standing room seat, so the view and the sound was incredible. I can say from the beginning that with a plot like that of Ariadne auf Naxos  I always fear that the balance of comedy and seriousness will be off. However, I found that this production had the perfect mix of comedy mixed in due to Zerbinetta's band undergirded by serious questions about love, fidelity, and artistic temperament. Here is a link to the synopsis:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariadne_auf_Naxos#Synopsis Here is the cast list: Jeffrey Tate |  Dirigent Filippo Sanjust |  Regie Filippo Sanjust |  Ausstattung   Alexander Pereira |  Der Haushofmeister Stephanie Houtzeel |  Der Komponist Ian Storey |  Der Tenor (Bacchus) Daniela Fally |  Zerbinetta Camilla Nylund |  Primadonna (Ariadne) Jochen Schmeckenbecher |  E...