Opera is complicated.
The singing is loud and deep. The lyrics aren't in English and they don't bother to translate them in America. The plot and characters of Opera are so exaggerated and ridiculous by today's standards. And every male character is an a-hole and every female character brutally dies at the end.
That being said, there are still plenty of reasons to love opera when done right. It's one of the most compelling and intense forms of entertainment and has the power to suck you in.
If you want to find some opera songs to help you get hooked onto the genre, here are some classics.
1. Nessun Dorma - "Turnadot"
Ok so here's the story: Luciano Pavarotti, the Michael Jordan of male Opera singers, was supposed to perform this opera classic at the 1998 Grammies but was too sick to sing that night. So at literally the very last second Aretha Franklin voluntarily took Pavoratti's place. Anyone who says that Aretha was overrated and didn't deserve the praise she got needs to see this. It may be the greatest moment in Grammy history.
2. Queen of the Night Aria - "The Magic Flute"
Hey, it's MOZART.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the most iconic music composer of all-time because of his incredible ability to compose and construct a complex piece of music without ease.
Mozart has created plenty of great operas such as "The Marriage of Figaro", "Don Giovanni" and "The Abduction from the Seraglio", but maybe the best song from his operas is the Queen of the Night Aria from "The Magic Flute."
The lyrics of this beautifully sung piece are way darker than they appear as the evil Queen of the opera is forcing her daughter to kill her father. But it still doesn't take away from its power and grace.
3. La donna e' mobile - "Rigoletto"
Vocal legend Andrea Bocelli is one of many great singers to perform this overwhelming popular song from Verdi's opera based off a Victor Hugo story.
This wonderfully joyous sounding song is actually about the arrogant Duke of the opera bragging about how "fickle" women are. But don't worry about that because it's not in English so we can make the song how we want it to be.
4. Brindisi (The Drinking Song) - "La Traviata"
We obviously can't have a video performance on this list without the most famous opera singer ever (besides perhaps Maria Callas) in Luciano Pavarotti!
Thankfully this song is about as universal as it gets: Let's drink and have some fun tonight!
So why don't they play this in nightclubs as well?
5. La Habanera - "Carmen"
Ok, even if you've your life under a rock, you've heard of this song.
It's the most instantly recognizable song from arguably the most recognizable opera in "Carmen."
The song is nothing more than a display of the titular character's personality and intentions of the show, but it works so well way. Carmen seduces the audience the way she seduces her lustful supporting characters, but she's not really hiding anything.
You know what they say: Carmen is what you see, and Carmen is what you get.
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