{"id":43994,"date":"2024-06-12T14:28:45","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T12:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9141ca37-ba36-431d-a0ca-7e9f3b11706f"},"modified":"2024-06-12T14:36:08","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T12:36:08","slug":"these-are-the-most-moving-love-songs-in-all-of-opera","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/these-are-the-most-moving-love-songs-in-all-of-opera\/","title":{"rendered":"These are the most moving love songs in all of opera"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"><\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By <\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Wednesday, 12 June 2024 at 12:28 PM<\/p><hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p><strong>What are the best love songs in opera? Here, conductor Robin Ticciati selects his favourite depictions of love right across the form, from Mozart to Poulenc<\/strong>.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-best-love-songs-in-opera\">Best love songs in opera<\/h2><p>&#8216;Like the changing of seasons, so my choice of moments of love in music are constantly in motion,&#8217; says Robin. &#8216;When you catch me today, soon after the birth of my daughter, these are some moments that spring to mind&#8230;&#8217; <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-love-songs\">Best love songs: ten of the most famous songs about the power and giddiness of love<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p\/><script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/players\/xjL98ot4-lqFafnwo.js\"\/><p\/><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-richard-wagner-tristan-und-isolde-act-ii\"><strong>Richard Wagner: <em>Tristan und Isolde<\/em> \u2013 Act II<\/strong><\/h3><p>Everyone talks about the intoxication of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/richard-wagner\">Wagner<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s writing in <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/guide-wagners-tristan-und-isolde\">Tristan und Isolde<\/a><\/strong><\/em>; almost drug addled. It was only when I conducted it at Glyndebourne that it began to course through my own veins. What strikes me so deeply in the score is the balance between the world of carnal passion and the ephemeral world of the numinous. The love and the Schopenhauer inspired philosophy of their love is played out in Act II \u2013 a love that is released only in death.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/tristan-chord-explained\">What is the 'Tristan Chord'?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/wagner-operas-inspire-great-artists\">Leading musicians name their favourite Wagner operas<\/a><\/strong> <\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-hector-berlioz-romeo-et-juliette-scene-d-amour\"><strong>Hector Berlioz: <em>Rom\u00e9o et Juliette <\/em>\u2013 \u2018Sc\u00e8ne d\u2019amour\u2019<\/strong><\/h3><p>My first memories of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/hector-berlioz\">Berlioz<\/a><\/strong> go back to lessons with the conductor <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/sir-colin-davis-1927-2013\">Sir Colin Davis<\/a><\/strong> when I was 13. He read me passages of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/classical-music-inspired-shakespeare\">Shakespeare<\/a><\/strong> and spoke to me about the poetry, about how to trust the music and what it is to \u2018set up\u2019 a piece. Berlioz\u2019s music is all in the imagination. His feelings were almost too much for an interpreter to capture fully! <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/love-story-behind-berliozs-symphonie-fantastique\">Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique: a pathetic tale of a lovestruck composer desperately seeking a girlfriend<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>In <em>Rom\u00e9o et Juliette<\/em>, nestled in the middle of the love scene is a heart-breaking duet for cor anglais and flute in unison. The flute for Berlioz was an instrument of innocence, of the church, his father\u2026 and in these some 30 bars there is a melody that captures the love in its purest form and foreshadows the loss to follow. Rippling violas and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/whats-a-cello\">cellos<\/a><\/strong> ebb and flow to Hylas and the waters of the Trojans.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-le-nozze-di-figaro-act-iv-finale\"><strong>Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: <em>Le nozze di Figaro<\/em> \u2013 Act IV finale<\/strong><\/h3><p>Friendships come and go, but I\u2019ve always felt that <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/mozart\">Mozart<\/a><\/strong> will be in my life till the end as a source of uplifting comfort. So often the striking moments in opera are made manifest by the dialogue between conductor, director and singer \u2013 what goes on between the count and the countess at the end of <em>The Marriage of Figaro<\/em>? How pure? And how broken? How cynical? <\/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=\"Mozart Le Nozze di Figaro Grande Finale\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xrXP-2AnizI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/mozart-s-marriage-figaro-voted-greatest-opera-all-time\">Mozart's <em>Marriage of Figaro<\/em> voted greatest opera of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>On days when I need comforting, or on days when life seems to be rolling well, I believe that her \u2018yes\u2019 is a \u2018yes\u2019. All is forgiven. Mozart seems to offer us in his music the possibility of what we could be as humans; a utopian world filled with love.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/six-best-mozart-operas\">Six of the best: Mozart operas<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-more-best-love-songs-in-opera\">More best love songs in opera<\/h2><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-francis-poulenc-dialogues-des-carmelites-salve-regina\"><strong>Francis Poulenc: <em>Dialogues des Carm\u00e9lites <\/em>\u2013 \u2018Salve regina\u2019<\/strong><\/h3><p>Working with Barrie Kosky on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/francis-poulenc\"><strong>Poulenc<\/strong><\/a>'s <em>Dialogues des<\/em> <em>Carm\u00e9lites<\/em> in 2023 gave me a glimpse into how a director can push singers to their limits and find a clarity on stage that hits the audience in the solar plexus. There are many touching and anguished moments, but I would choose the final scene, \u2018Salve Regina\u2019 as an example of extreme love in faith. <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/poulenc-figure-humaine-guide-best-recordings\">Poulenc's Figure humaine: a guide to this spectacular choral hymn and its best recordings<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Only female voices, searing strings, the inescapable thud of the basses, and the shock of the unexpected guillotine, culminating in a moment of stillness when Soeur Constance holds the hand of Blanche and goes to her death. It is up to every audience member to decide how to feel about martyrdom, but when conducting the music I can\u2019t but help, in that moment, believe.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-richard-strauss-der-rosenkavalier-final-trio\"><strong>Richard Strauss: <em>Der Rosenkavalier <\/em>\u2013 Final Trio<\/strong><\/h3><p>The trio in <em>Rosenkavalier\u2019s<\/em> Act III is beautiful music even out of context. But it\u2019s only once you have gone through the bluster of Baron Ochs, and the new money of Faninal that the complex relationship between the Marschallin, Octavian and Sophie really presents itself. It is the love of letting go, of detachment, of guilt, of the new shoots of hope. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Strauss -- Der Rosenkavalier, Final Trio -- K. Battle, F. von Stade, R. Fleming (1992)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EXi8U1twwrc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>Through it, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/richard-strauss\">Strauss<\/a><\/strong> spins together heavenly lines, culminating in one of the greatest climaxes in all music. Octavian and Sophie are left to themselves as Strauss returns to the simplicity of a classical dance tinged with <em>fin de si\u00e8cle<\/em> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-harmony-in-music\">harmony<\/a><\/strong>, giving extra poignancy to the new union.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-antonin-dvorak-rusalka-libej-mne-libej-mir-mi-prej\"><strong>Anton\u00edn Dvo\u0159\u00e1k: <em>Rusalka<\/em> \u2013 \u2018L\u00edbej mne, l\u00edbej, m\u00edr mi p\u0159ej\u2019<\/strong><\/h3><p>The first time I conducted <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/antonin-dvorak\">Dvo\u0159\u00e1k<\/a><\/strong>'s <em>Rusalka<\/em>, I met my wife \u2013 a moment never to be forgotten. At my core I am a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/best-romantic-composers\">Romantic<\/a><\/strong>, however what a balance it is (in music) to find true pathos and not leak\u2026 all too easily into kitsch. <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/musics-great-romantics\">Music's great romantic couples<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/romantic-piano-music\">These are the most romantic pieces of piano music ever written<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>With our cast and LPO in the pit at Glyndebourne, I will always have in my heart the Prince's words in Act III, \u2018Kiss me, so I may die.\u2019 A sentiment that rises out of the lowest part of the tenor tessitura and soars to a top A. I will never cease to give thanks for how art can open up worlds of such emotional depth, however sad or traumatic.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-claude-debussy-pelleas-et-melisande-c-est-le-dernier-soir\"><strong>Claude Debussy: <em>Pell\u00e9as et M\u00e9lisande<\/em> \u2013 \u2018C\u2019est le dernier soir\u2019<\/strong><\/h3><p><em>Pell\u00e9as<\/em> should be like a play\u2026 whispers, dark corners, forest murmurs; it has to be led by the text. The more I travel through these wonderful operas, the more I analyse the hierarchy between the text, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-a-melody\">melody<\/a><\/strong>, harmony, orchestration. In <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/claude-debussy\">Debussy<\/a><\/strong> the play IS the thing: the rhythm of text, punctuation, speed are integral to the drama. <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/nine-most-inspirational-debussy-works\">The most inspirational works by Debussy<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>In Act IV, M\u00e9lisande confesses to Pell\u00e9as that she has loved him from the first moment\u2026 their kiss is immediately interrupted by Goloud. Debussy gives us a smallest glimpse of a cosmic, almost supernatural, love and then cuts it down. Their tender, sweet, sexual love is encroached upon by a monster, the music curdles, twists, stopped horns, timpani, screams\u2026 it turns bloody so quickly. A miracle in dramatic pacing.<\/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=\"&quot;C'est le dernier soir&quot; - Pell\u00e9as et M\u00e9lisande (Opera de Oviedo)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z9RgOHnxt_g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-who-is-robin-ticciati\"><strong>Who is Robin Ticciati?<\/strong><\/h2><p>Born in London, Robin Ticciati trained as a violinist, pianist and percussionist. He was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain when, aged 15, he turned to conducting under the guidance of Sir Colin Davis and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/who-is-simon-rattle\">Sir Simon Rattle<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p><p>He holds the position of Sir Colin Davis Fellow of Conducting at the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ram.ac.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Royal Academy of Music<\/a><\/strong>, and was awarded an OBE for services to music in the 2019 Queen\u2019s Birthday Honours. Ticciati has been music director of Glyndebourne since 2014 and marks his 10th anniversary in the role in 2024. Earlier this summer he conducted a new production of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/georges-bizet\">Bizet<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s <em>Carmen<\/em> that opened the 2024 Glyndebourne Festival. On 29 July, he will conduct a revival of Nikolaus Lehnhoff\u2019s production of Wagner\u2019s <em>Tristan und Isolde<\/em>.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Wednesday, 12 June 2024 at 12:28 PM What are the best love songs in opera? Here, conductor Robin Ticciati selects his favourite depictions of love right across the form, from Mozart to Poulenc. Best love songs in opera &#8216;Like the changing of seasons, so my choice of moments of love in music are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":43995,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"6"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/06\/these-are-the-most-moving-love-songs-in-all-of-opera.png",1232,816,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/06\/these-are-the-most-moving-love-songs-in-all-of-opera-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/06\/these-are-the-most-moving-love-songs-in-all-of-opera-300x199.png",300,199,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/06\/these-are-the-most-moving-love-songs-in-all-of-opera-768x509.png",768,509,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/06\/these-are-the-most-moving-love-songs-in-all-of-opera-1024x678.png",800,530,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/06\/these-are-the-most-moving-love-songs-in-all-of-opera.png",1232,816,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/06\/these-are-the-most-moving-love-songs-in-all-of-opera.png",1232,816,false]},"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 Published: Wednesday, 12 June 2024 at 12:28 PM What are the best love songs in opera? Here, conductor Robin Ticciati selects his favourite depictions of love right across the form, from Mozart to Poulenc. Best love songs in opera &#8216;Like the changing of seasons, so my choice of moments of love in music are&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/43994"}],"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\/43995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}