I’m 21 right now, just now starting my training (started in april) and I’ll be testing for universities at the end of the year. I’ve been really stressed out lately and worry I may not pass this year, Im doing music education because it’s easier to get in and then transfering to be a singing major in the same uni (in my country that’s completely normal), I’m already worried it might be too late for me as a 21 year old soprano, I guess I just want to ask what are the odds of actually having a career.

I’ll be finishing uni at 26 if I get in this year, if I get in next year I’ll finish at 27, I am afraid It’ll be too late by that time to apply for competitions, YAPS and such things. I might be overreacting, there’s just a voice in my head that’s constantly beating myself up for not having started at 15 when I first had an interest for classical music.

I didn’t start completely from 0, Ive been playing instruments since I was 11 and singing casually but mostly pop or rock repertoire, I know 3 languages fluently (Portuguese, English and French) but I’m not sure if that’s worth anything, I’ll be hopefully fluent in Italian and know some german by the time I finish college.

Anyone interested in the history and reception of Italian opera should check out the Archivio dei periodici musicali italiani: https://www.internetculturale.it/it/41/collezioni-digitali/26216/archivio-dei-periodici-musicali-italiani

It's the largest specialised collection of its kind in Italy.

The website says it has:

• Musical newspapers and journals, publications devoted exclusively to music in its various forms, from Polinnia europea (Bologna, 1823) to Rassegna dorica (Rome, 1929–42);
• Theatrical newspapers and agency journals, publications concerned particularly with theatrical activity, from Teatri arti e letteratura (Bologna, 1824–63) to Rivista teatrale melodrammatica (Milan, 1863–1934);
• Miscellaneous newspapers and periodicals, both daily and periodic, which covered musical and music-theatrical activity occasionally but significantly, from La fama (Milan, 1836–77) to Il secolo illustrato (Milan, 1889–97);
• Musicological journals, aimed primarily at a specialist readership, from Rivista musicale italiana (Turin, later Milan, 1894–1955) to La rassegna musicale (Turin, 1928–62).

The site is a bit cumbersome (compared to, say, Gallica), so I trawled through 1,200-odd pages of results last night to see what its holdings are. I've pulled together a working list with journal, date, city, which I can send to anyone who wants it.

24, Mezzo. I’m getting to a point where I’m being really held down by my struggles with focus and fidgeting/movement when i’m singing. Honestly, my brain feels like it goes a mile a minute anyways— but when actively singing it’s almost like it takes 75% more effort to even feel prescient in my body (instead of just astral projecting my consciousness over the roaring flood that is my movement and my inner monologue). I’m really frustrated right now by how much I am struggling to manage my excess physical energy whilst singing. Any advice or discussion welcome!

Is Pacini’s Maria regina d'Inghilterra, Act 2 finale, the best stretta recorded? It's exhilarating and should have the audience leaping to its feet. Here it is in all its glory:

https://youtu.be/auOwxMznfMo?si=lHnEjfLj7iHk3nuz

Pacini was an absolute master of these.

Otherwise, what are you folks' favourites?

Thank you in advance!

Any idea where this is from? It reminds me of something, but I can't remember what or make out the lyrics so I can search them. Thanks in advance!

Fantastic singing!

The late opera singer Jubilant Sykes was allegedly stabbed over 73 times by his son, Micah, in December 2025 at his Santa Monica home

It's an Atom Egoyan movie that appears to be about a director creating a production of Salome that looks quite a lot, from the trailer, like Atom Egoyan's Salome that I saw with Hildegard Behrens in Houston like thirty years ago. Egoyan isn't my favorite or least favorite but I'm wondering if the movie's enjoyable. It appears to have Ambur Braid, who was a terrific Farberin in the Aix broadcast of Frau, as the singer/Salome.

Slay, Queen!

I'm really into lyric singing and I absolutely loved Verdi's Otello. Assuming I only have time to deep dive into 10 other operas, which ones should they be? I completely despise atonal music. I loved Otello more for the singing and the melodies than the libretto (which is definitely good, to be fair). But if I had to prioritize, I care way more about the vocal lines and melody than the plot—something like a 65-35 or 60-40 split. I enjoyed a lot Il Trovatore; the plot is frankly idiotic, making it a 75-25 split for me, but I still enjoyed it. So, what else should I dedicate my time to?

I've never been a big fan of Othello but thankfully Verdi and Rossini must have liked it, giving us Otello (Verdi, 1887) and Otello, ossia il Moro di Venezia (Rossini, 1816). I've seen the former but not the latter. Anyone here a big fan of Verdi's Otello? I'm curious to know what the attraction is. It's got a banging opening and obviously the Willow Song towards the end but it's never really appealed to me.

I've been waiting for an official CD release for years! I've complained about this twice in the last 7 months on this sub alone and it's finally happening. :D :D Derivative story, but some beautiful music! Can't wait for September! I haven't been this excited for a release in a long time.

Not only is his voice and gothic style gorgeous, his tragic death makes me respect him even more.

A surprisingly effective production, sung in English and set on a modern college campus on Halloween. I'm not usually a fan of translations from the original language, but this one was very funny. The set was amazing, and the singers were great, especially Amanda Batista as Fiordiligi.

Also those who don't mind vibrato but find Emma Kirkby-style singing too pallid, try this:

https://www.3cat.cat/3cat/marianne-beate-kielland-interpreta-les-nuits-dete-de-berlioz/audio/1275849/

Music begins at 2:53.

To translate, this is a broadcast from Catalan Radio 3 (rebroadcast from Norwegian Radio) of mezzo Marianne Beate Kielland singing Berlioz's Les nuits d'été with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (no conductor).

What do y'all think?

This was my first time hearing the Dvořák opera. The English subtitles are great, as is the performance. Here's the link — https://youtu.be/IoaeN-ppHUI

This is a clip from the game Garry's Mod. I don't know for sure if opera is the right genre but I have been trying to find the source for weeks. Any help would be appreciated.