Dark opera music?

Can anyone name a good opera song that has a dark melody that kinda sounds evil its for a project im putting together

Dark opera music?windows live

Verdi wrote a setting to Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. It's not his best writing, according to most opera experts, but one aria stands out. Act IV; Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking scene.

The music itself isn't so "ugly" or "dark", but if you know what the text is, it takes on a very eerie atmosphere. Verdi himslef wrote that the singer should not try for a beautiful tone of voice while singing this- he wanted all the evilness and ugliness to come out and not be softenend by a beautiful singing sound.

Another villain to listen out for is Baron Scarpia in the opera Tosca, by Giacomo Puccini.

He is the head of the secret police in Napoleon-conquered Rome, and has a passionate desire for the heroine of the opera, Floria Tosca. He's been having her spied on, and has tracked her to the church where she ahs gone to meet her own boyfriend. While the church bells are ringing all around, announcing Napoleon's defeat, and the College of Cardinals are preparing a grand service in thankfulness, Scarpia stands ther, and plots further. The aira is titled "Va, Tosca", and describes all his evil intentions to the backdrop of religious music. A nice shiver for those who know what's going on.

For something more modern, and certainly no cliche, check out the 3rd Act of Benjamin Britten's opera, Peter Grimes.

the chorus, the townspeople, are hot on the track of the anti-hero, Peter Grimes. They would really like to lynch him, at least catch him and haul him up before the one-and-only-judge in town. It's a foggy night, there's only a foghorn blowing somewhere out in the dark, and the people are screaming Peter Grimes name. Very scary. Evenually drives Grimes mad, and he wanders through the night, going crazier and crazier.

Have fun listenening to these excerpts- they might lead you astray, huh, and you'll wind up listening to the whole opera!

Nya-ha-ha

Dark opera music?windows media player 11 internet explorer

Mozart's Don Giovanni
The very end of Alban Berg's opera 'Wozzeck'. Its the music the jumps into my head whenever I think of something really dark.
"Mephistopheles's" aria about "A Jug of Wine", from Gounod's opera "Faust": diabolical.

It's rather long, but very darkly shrouded in mystery: The opening scene of "The Three Norns", at the very beginning of R. Wagner's "Die Gotterdammerung".

They are three prophetesses, who spin the fate of the world on their spool of all knowing thread.

Brangane's "Warning" aria, from Act II of the same above composer's "Tristan und Isolde".

Final scene of R. Strauss opera "Salome". She receives the severed head of John the Baptist on a platter, lifted up thru the mouth of a cistern where he has been kept(only the arms %26amp; hands of the executioneer are seen), and proceeds to roll around on the floor, kissing the dead lips of the prophet, almost delirious with her secual appetite.

Altogether a blood curdling, and spine tingling scene. When her stepfather Herod can stand it no longer, he comes out on the balcony and orders the gurads to crush her beneath their shields.

This should be evil and sick enough for you.

Enjoy(?),

Alberich
To Danuta, O Fortuna is written by Carl Orff and is neither Opera nor evil allthough some people might consider Carl Orff to be evil (He was a supporter of the Nazi regime) but that is an entirely different story.

Richard Wagner wrote dark, evil music for the 2nd Act of G?tterd?mmerung. The duet between Alberich and Hagen, both obsessed by the Ring. (I guess that is why Alberich didn't mention it ;-)

Almost the entire score for Electra by Richard Strauss is dark and evil. The opera deals with Electra, being obsessed of seeking revenche for her murdered father and then killing everyone in the house.

The monologue of the Dutchman from Wagner's flying dutchman is also rather dark, but not evil. It deals with the dutchman's frustrations about having to sail on until judgments day.

The Wolfsschluchtscene from Weber's Freisch眉tz is also dark and spooky, but not particularly evil
o fortuna by mozart