So You Want to Sing Light Opera: A Guide for Performers

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Chapter 2  Chapters 3, 4 & 5  Chapters 6, 7 & 8

Introduction – Why Light Opera?

• Candide: “The Best of All Possible Worlds” (performed by New York Philharmonic)
• Richard Tauber: “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz” (conducted by Franz Lehár)

Chapter 1 – Defining Light Opera

• Jacques Offenbach: Can-Can from Orpheus in the Underworld
• Johann Strauss II: The Watch Duet from Die Fledermaus
• Gilbert & Sullivan: Major-General Stanley’s Aria from The Pirates of Penzance
• Victor Herbert: “Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life” from Naughty Marietta

Chapter 2 – Singing Light Opera

Sopranos:

• Linda Ronstadt: “Poor Wandering One”
• Jeanette MacDonald: “Lover, Come Back to Me”
• Barbara Cook: “Glitter and Be Gay”

Mezzo-Sopranos:

• Frederica von Stade: “Tu n'es pas beau, tu n'es pas riche”
• Susan Graham: “Chacun à son gout”

Contraltos:

• Anne Collins: “Sad Is That Woman’s Lot”   
• Patti LuPone: “I Am Easily Assimilated”

Tenors:

• Mario Lanza: “Drink, Drink, Drink!”
• Jonas Kaufmann: “Gern hab' ich die Frau'n geküßt”

Lyric Baritones:

• Nelson Eddy: “Stout-Hearted Men”  
• Kevin Kline: “I Am a Pirate King”   
• Rodney Gilfry: “Lippen schweigen”

Comic Baritones:

• John Reed: “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General”
• Kenneth Sanford "When I good friends was called to the Bar"
• Patter Exercise (featuring Christopher Withrow)                                          

Basses/Bass-Baritones:

• Tony Azito: “When a Felon’s Not Engaged”
• Jon Ellison: “He Is an Englishman”  

Duets:

• Fly Duet from Orpheus in the Underworld
• “Rapture, Rapture” from The Yeomen of the Guard

Trios:

• “Go to Sleep” from Babes in Toyland
• “Three Little Maids” from Blossom Time  

Quartets:

• “Live for Today” from Naughty Marietta
• “Jeanette and Her Wooden Shoes” from Sweethearts

Quintets:

• “The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring” from The Mikado
• “Try We Lifelong” from The Gondoliers

Septet:

• “Women” from The Merry Widow    

Larger Group Numbers:

• “Why Did We Marry Soldiers?” from The Desert Song
• “Im Feuerstrom der Rebe” from Die Fledermaus

Chapter 3 – Acting and Dialogue

• Act I Trio from Fledermaus 

Chapter 4 – Dance and Movement

• Waltz Lesson 
• Cincinnati Pops Plays Operetta Waltzes
• Balanchine’s Ballet Vienna Waltzes
• Deutsche Oper Berlin: Can-Can from Orpheus in the Underworld  
• Metropolitan Opera: Can-Can from The Merry Widow
• Foxtrot             
• Csárdás          
• Bolero Lesson                                                
• “Dance a Cachucha” from The Gondoliers 
• Hornpipe from Ruddigore
• Njegus from The Merry Widow 

Chapter 5 – Stylistic Considerations

• Offenbach’s Ba-ta-clan          
• Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury  
• Kálmán Zsupán in Strauss’s Der Zigeunerbaron
• Romberg’s Maytime  

Chapter 6 – Auditioning for Light Opera

• Adele’s Audition Aria from Die Fledermaus
• Fifi’s Audition Aria from Mlle. Modiste
• International Operetta Singing Competition of Franz Lehár 

Chapter 7 – Directing Light Opera

• Deustche Oper am Rhein: Die Zirkusprinzessin
• “Totem Tom Tom” from Rose-Marie
• New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players (NYGASP): The Mikado
• BBC: Princess Ida
• Josef Weinberger Operetta Listings                                      
• Donald Pippin’s Libretti
• Bernstein’s Candide
• Radio Interview with Dottie Danner 
• Video Interview with Susan Stroman 

Chapter 8 – Zarzuela

• Teatro Calderón de Madrid: El barberillo de Lavapiés
• Gran Teatre del Liceu: Doña Francisquita
• Teatro Real de Madrid: Luisa Fernanda (sung by Plácido Domingo)
• Rolando Villazón: “No puede ser”
• Hae Ji Chang: “Me llaman la primorosa” (conducted by Plácido Domingo)