I thought it would be interesting to consider which were the most
significant operas written in the 20th century:  significant, that is, in
musical terms - but also because they express something of the zeitgeist
of the century that is just ending.  For my own amusement I have made an
open-ended list; and the emphasis is very definitely not on recordings:
all but two of the works listed here I have seen in live performance.
I wonder what other listers think?

1909. Strauss. Elektra.

The breakdown of tonality, the violence of the theme and the music all
proclaim something entirely new in opera.  A case can also be made for
Salome, which came earlier, but I think Elektra is the better opera.  It
has all the vitality of the earlier work, and the dramatic power of the
music has a closer fit with the theme.

1918. Bartok. Bluebeard's Castle.

A strange opera, with very little action, but dramatic music that is very
characteristic of its composer.  And the subject is the impossibility of
human beings ever really knowing each other.

Now come three amazing years:

1924. Janacek. The Cunning Little Vixen.

A unique opera in its expressive pantheism.  Man and his interraction with
and dependence on Nature; the first opera for environmentalists!

1925. Berg. Wozzeck.

One of the towering masterpieces of the century, IMHO.  Partial use of the
12-note scale, lack of key signatures, use of sprechstimme - all proclaim
a new approach to dramatic scoring.  And here we meet for the first time
that archetypal 20th century figure:  the unhappy, isolated, oppressed
individual.

1926. Puccini. Turandot.

The last gasp of Italian romantic melodrama.

1926. Ravel. L'Enfant et les Sortileges.

Magic and fantasy, supported by a sparkling score that is full of
surprises.  I have not seen this opera, which must be very difficult
to stage; I would love to see a performance.

1934. Shostakovich. Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.

A very youthful opera, which successfully challenged hidebound Soviet
ideas of music, as its unhappy history showed.  It plays beautifully on
stage.  One of my favourite comic scenes in opera takes place in the police
station, where the Sergeant and his men have nothing to do and are vexed
that they have not been invited to Katerina's wedding.  The whole work has
tremendous vitality.

1935. Gershwin. Porgy and Bess.

The great American folk opera, which introduced jazz and blues rhythms to
the genre.

1945. Britten. Peter Grimes.

Great dramatic vocalism and an overpowering story.  The isolated outsider
once more.

1947. Poulenc. Les Mamelles de Tiresias.

Poulenc's best known opera is of course The Dialogues of the Carmelites,
and it has to be considered in any account of the century's opera.  But
I have picked Mamelles because it is probably the only surrealistic opera
ever written.  It is farcical and full of fun in a way that is entirely
characteristic of the composer.  And its irreverence is very typical of
the times we live in.

1950. Dallapiccola. Il Prigioniero.

A very impressive dodecaphonic opera, which I was lucky enough to see
performed once.  Its subject is the loss of liberty and the abandonment
of hope; and the effect is overwhelming.

1951. Stravinsky. The Rake's Progress.

A powerful opera, with farcical scenes alternating with episodes that
are both sinister and sad; and showing all the composer's mastery of
the dramatic idiom.

1955. Prokoviev. The Fiery Angel.

An opera of obsession, that could only have been written post-Freud.  A
very violent opera, with music to match; Prokoviev at the height of his
powers.

Of course I am aware that there is a great hole in the second half of the
century.  What are the operas from mid-century to the end that will make
their mark? Perhaps the John Adams operas; perhaps those of Philip Glass.

Another thing that struck me when looking at this list was that the Italian
domination of opera is a thing of the past.

Comments, anyone?

Julia Werthimer
California USA          email: [log in to unmask]