# Best Opera Overture



## welldressedfellow (May 28, 2008)

We've had "Best Opera" threads,but never to my knowledge a thread devoted to opera overtures.Well anyway,my personal favorite is Nabucco.What is yours?


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## AMVanquish (May 24, 2005)

Le Nozze de Figaro


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## Franko (Nov 11, 2007)

*If not favourite, one that stands out.*

William Tell.

Not just because it was utilised for The Lone Ranger.
There is also the little matter that an overture should have some relation to the music that follows, William Tell does not quite do this in the then conventional sense, none of the tunes in it's overture feature in the opera itself, very contrary but landmark.

This reminds me that I miss Rossini posting and hope he pops back in from SF sometime soon.

F.


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## anglophile23 (Jan 25, 2007)

AMVanquish said:


> Le Nozze de Figaro


Seconded


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## Des Esseintes (Aug 16, 2005)

Don Giovanni


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## Carlton-Browne (Jun 4, 2007)

Die Zauberflöte.


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## upr_crust (Aug 23, 2006)

*Die Meistersinger, for a sentimental reason . . .*

. . . the Met Opera was playing it (for the Sat. afternoon broadcast) as I was leaving New York in 1976, at the end of my student internship - my first long-term exposure to NYC. (I remember hearing it in my parents' car as we were driving up the Major Deegan towards New England.)

My first long-term stay in NYC planted the seeds of the addiction to Manhattan from which I have suffered ever since . . .


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## NZNorm (May 9, 2005)

Verdi - La forza del destino. Listen to Toscanini's 1952 recording- amazing.


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## Dhaller (Jan 20, 2008)

How can this be ranked? I know my favorites vary like lunar phases...

I was just listning to Delibes' "Lakme" when I was cooking dinner last night (wife in Japan = comedy of me faring for myself), mostly because I adore the coloratura, but I was thinking how kind of surprising the overture is, sort of grand but with these startling rollbacks. I like it alot, even if it's not "the best" per se; it's surprising.

D.


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## epicuresquire (Feb 18, 2009)

Assuming such a thing should be ranked, I vote Carmen.


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## DCLawyer68 (Jun 1, 2009)

I'll join the Figaro chorus, but don't underestimate the overtures from a LOT of Rossini operas you'll probably never see (get the Giulini recording of Rossini overtures) nor Cosi.


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## Lebewohl (May 21, 2009)

Candide


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## Serenus (Jun 19, 2009)

The Car Horn prelude to Ligeti's "La Grande Macabre". Not "the best", but definitely brilliant.

Observant listeners may notice a little organizational technique right out of Schoenberg's "Der Mondfleck" from Pierrot Lunaire.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

I'm a Rossini man myself!!


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## turban1 (May 29, 2008)

*making rude overtures*

Tannhauser.


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## Luis-F-S (Apr 6, 2009)

AMVanquish said:


> Le Nozze de Figaro


three +


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## amplifiedheat (Jun 9, 2008)

epicuresquire said:


> Assuming such a thing should be ranked, I vote Carmen.


+1. The world needs more cymbals.


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## sko (Jul 1, 2009)

Lebewohl said:


> Candide


Should we include light opera in this discussion? Perhaps that could be a another thread?

Candide is pretty great as operetta overtures go. I would perhaps nominate Die Fledermaus too.


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## stcolumba (Oct 10, 2006)

NZNorm said:


> Verdi - La forza del destino. Listen to Toscanini's 1952 recording- amazing.


In the middle of the overture, where the meter changes from triple to duple, you can hear Toscanini whisper, "Pizzicato!"


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## Dr. NS (Aug 25, 2009)

Haha.. I like how this thread is kept alive. I'll add a vote to Carmen!


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## anglophile23 (Jan 25, 2007)

Barbiere
But how can one choose?


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## Dr. NS (Aug 25, 2009)

anglophile23 said:


> Barbiere
> But how can one choose?


Hahaha. Excellent point!


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## stcolumba (Oct 10, 2006)

I am fond of overtures to operas which are never, or rarely, performed. A favorite is Lalo's overture to Le Roi d'Ys. What a barnburner! French excess to the nth degree.


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## The Wife (Feb 4, 2006)

*Libiam'*

It depends on one's taste, and of course, there are different preferences depending upon mood. It's Saturday night, so "*Libiamo!*"

From *La Traviata* by Giuseppe Verdi:


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## iclypso (Jan 10, 2009)

I'll nominate another Verdi piece: _Coro di zingari_ aka _The Anvil Chorus _from _Il Travatore_


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## The Wife (Feb 4, 2006)

I love the powerful overture from _*Il Trovatore*_, too, Iclypso!


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## The Wife (Feb 4, 2006)

Lest my somewhat inaccurate previous comment confuse anyone: I don't believe that the beginning of Il Trovatore has an actual "overture" or opening instrumental theme. In my opinion, the entire _opera_ is powerful. The well-known "Anvil Chorus" is in the second act, though at the beginning of it. Does that make it technically an _ouverture_? I really don't know!


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## Brevard (Nov 11, 2009)

*Overtures*

It's hard to pick THE favorite. I'm glad to see so many weighing in on Candide - that's some exciting stuff. I would also have to go with the Abduction from the Seraglio as a favorite right out of the gate. I guess the two are similar in some ways - like the circus is about to come to town. Heh!


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