The 20 Greatest Symphonies of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>
What is the difference between a concerto and a symphony?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>
The 50 Greatest Composers of All Time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>
The 20 Greatest Conductors of All Time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>
The best overtures<\/h2>
Weber\u2019s Euryanthe<\/i><\/h3>Weber<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Euryanthe <\/i>is such a special piece, with a double quartet of eight violins alone creating a shimmering, mysterious mood. A really fascinating overture \u2013 and virtuosic to the last. (Chosen by Sir Antonio Pappano<\/em>)<\/p>
Rossini\u2019s The Siege of Corinth<\/i> <\/h3>Rossini<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s The Siege of Corinth<\/i> has very big bones and is very grand \u2013 yet it is hardly ever played considering it is one of the finest opera overtures. (Chosen by Sir Antonio Pappano)<\/em><\/p>
Verdi\u2019s Force of Destiny <\/i><\/h3>Of course, I couldn\u2019t do without Verdi<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Force of Destiny <\/i>overture! The Sicilian Vespers <\/i>is wonderful, but the Forza<\/i> somehow plays better. (Chosen by Sir Antonio Pappano)<\/em><\/p>
Berlioz’s The Corsair<\/em><\/h3>Berlioz<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s The Corsair <\/i>is a particularly brilliant piece of writing by a master of the orchestra. (Chosen by Sir Antonio Pappano)<\/em><\/p>
<\/div><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Beethoven’s <em>Leonore No. 3<\/em><\/h3><p>Both the musical and the philosophical content of<i> Leonore No. 3<\/i> are the result of a long search by <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/ludwig-van-beethoven\/\">Beethoven<\/a><\/strong> for what he really wanted for his opera<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/best-recordings-beethovens-fidelio\/\"><i> Fidelio<\/i><\/a><\/strong>. <em>(Chosen by Domingo Hindoyan)<\/em><\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mendelssohn’s <em>The Hebrides<\/em><\/h3><p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/fanny-mendelssohn-5\/\">Mendelssohn<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s <i>The Hebrides<\/i> is a favourite overture of mine from an early period of my studies, and probably one of the first pieces I ever conducted. <em>(Chosen by Domingo Hindoyan)<\/em><\/p><ul><li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/why-was-scotland-so-important-for-mendelssohn\/\">Why was Scotland so important for Mendelssohn?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wagner’s <em>Tristan und Isolde Prelude<\/em><\/h3><p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/richard-wagner\/\">Wagner<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s <i>Tristan und Isolde Prelude<\/i> is one of the biggest and best opera overtures in which I can feel a synthesis of the deeply emotional content of what\u2019s going to happen in the opera. <em>(Chosen by Domingo Hindoyan)<\/em><\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wagner’s <em>Parsifal<\/em><\/h3><p>In the Prelude to Act I of<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/guide-wagners-parsifal\/\"><i> Parsifal<\/i><\/a><\/strong>, Wagner has this perfect way of writing about hope, faith and devotion: right from the beginning, it\u2019s like looking at the sky and the stars! <em>(Chosen by Domingo Hindoyan)<\/em><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Richard Wagner - \" tristan=\"\" und=\"\" isolde=\"\" prelude=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/J-qoaioG2UA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Weber\u2019s <i>Der Freisch\u00fctz<\/i><\/h3><p>Weber\u2019s <i>Der Freisch\u00fctz<\/i> is one of the most wonderful opera overtures: strong, substantial and a Hall\u00e9 favourite \u2013 not just of our founder conductor, Charles Hall\u00e9, but also of John Barbirolli. <em>(Chosen by Sir Mark Elder)<\/em><\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Berlioz’s <em>Benvenuto Cellini<\/em><\/h3><p>Berlioz wrote some of the best overtures and <i>Benvenuto Cellini<\/i> is a fine example: it always gets a good hand from the public. It\u2019s like saying \u201cOK, we\u2019re ready, we\u2019re off\u201d. <em><em>(Chosen by Sir Mark Elder)<\/em><\/em><\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wagner’s <em>Tannh\u00e4user<\/em><\/h3><p>\u2018The Hall\u00e9 and I had a terrific success with Wagner\u2019s <i>Tannh\u00e4user<\/i> overture on a German tour a few years ago. The original overture (without the Venusberg Music) is not often done, because the ending has this incredibly difficult violin writing; but if you\u2019ve got time to prepare it, it makes a very big effect.\u2019 <em>(Chosen by Sir Mark Elder)<\/em><\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reznicek\u2019s <i>Donna Diana<\/i><\/h3><p>I think Reznicek\u2019s <i>Donna Diana<\/i> is quite tricky. I should probably foist it on the Hall\u00e9 when they\u2019re least expecting it\u2026 <em>(Chosen by Sir Mark Elder)<\/em><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Reznicek: Donna Diana \u2013 Ouvert\u00fcre \u2219 hr-Sinfonieorchester \u2219 DaYe Lin\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2QAszol-yoo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By BBC Music Magazine Published: Wednesday, 21 February 2024 at 12:29 PM The overture was once an important part of a concert’s programme, but have now declined in popularity to the dismay of many. It is usually an orchestral piece which forms the opener for an opera or play. An overture provides an opening to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":39432,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/the-best-opera-overtures-of-all-time-scaled.jpg",2560,1746,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/the-best-opera-overtures-of-all-time-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/the-best-opera-overtures-of-all-time-300x205.jpg",300,205,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/the-best-opera-overtures-of-all-time-768x524.jpg",768,524,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/the-best-opera-overtures-of-all-time-1024x698.jpg",800,545,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/the-best-opera-overtures-of-all-time-1536x1047.jpg",1536,1047,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/the-best-opera-overtures-of-all-time-2048x1396.jpg",2048,1396,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By BBC Music Magazine Published: Wednesday, 21 February 2024 at 12:29 PM The overture was once an important part of a concert’s programme, but have now declined in popularity to the dismay of many. It is usually an orchestral piece which forms the opener for an opera or play. An overture provides an opening to…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/39431"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

The best overtures<\/h2>