Witches and Bitches: Opera that goes bump in the night…

Join me as we explore some spooky operas, with ghosts, witches, and scary characters designed to chill you to the bone.

Each opera will get a spooky rating out of 5 (yes that’s right, I’ll be judging, comment with your opinion, it’s always welcome!), these are perfect operas to listen to on these dark and stormy nights… just don’t take any life lessons from this lot!

The Turn of the Screw, Britten

Aren’t kids lovely?… em. Yesssss, when they aren’t possessed or summoning ghosts.

This young Governess arrives at a bleak house far from anywhere, to look after two children. She has never met her employer, and has strict instructions not to contact him… which is surely a fairly big employment red flag, pre modern safeguarding procedure!

Various spooky ghostly moments and stories of terrible things happening in the past lead up to the boy being posessed, and admitting he didn’t deliver the letter which was written to get help, and blaming it all on a ghost. This gets rid of the ghost but also kills the boy.

There is no happy ending just regret, tears, and questions. Lots of questions!

SPOOKY RATING: 5/5

Lulu, Berg

A rare night out away from your darling children, babysitter watching your netflix, expensive Ubers, this is probably not the ‘date night’ opera for you… not unless you are both into some fairly serious dark things.

We follow femme fatale Lulu as she spirals from affluent mistress in Vienna, to prostitute in London who brings home Jack the Ripper and becomes one of his victims.

Lulu is described as the woman ‘who became the destroyer of all because everyone destroyed her.’ A. Elliott, A History of Twentieth-Century Music in a Theoretical-Analytical Context, Hoboken: Taylor and Francis

All the characters are seen as victims of society, leading awful lives, the music is very complicated serialism (don’t expect to go home singing any tunes), there is often a film element added, it is an artistic triumph but not a toe-tapping upbeat experience.

If you love dark stories exploring the dark corners of society and ‘man’s inhumanity to man’ (not forgetting women’s inhumanity to women) this is the opera for you. Maybe not spooky as such, but very dark…

SPOOKY RATING: 4/5

Macbeth, Verdi

Ah yes. The Power Couple who want it all, and are happy to get it any way they can… We all know ‘The Scottish Play’ and the many superstitions in the theatre associated with it.

This opera features witches, battlefields, refugees, revenge, ghosts, executions, castles, a very persuasive wife, and some tricky laundry and cleaning issues. Turns out, blood really is a tricky stain.

SPOOKY RATING: 5/5

Un ballo in maschera

Hands up who loves a good party?… - thank you, I can see you all, you may put your hands down now- well, this opera has a party, a masked ball. But think ‘Married at First Sight’ dinner party around week 5 and times that by 10, and you’ll not be far off the levels of drama.

Set at the end of the 18th century, Riccardo loves Amelia, Amelia loves Riccardo. But, Amelia is married to Renato.

Riccardo learns of some conspiracies against him, and is also told that a local woman, Ulrica, is guilty of witchcraft. There are calls for her to be banished. They go to her house in disguise to find out for themselves.

Instead, Ulrica makes a prophecy, advises on a magic herb, and generally sets about several storylines that end with multiple misunderstandings and people vowing to kill someone else.

In the end, Riccardo is killed at the Masked Ball, but discloses that Amelia was entirely faithful to her husband and did not break her marriage vows… He pardons the conspirators and dies.

SPOOKY RATING: 1/5

Lohengrin, Wagner

Wagner’s opera sets a story that could easily be a new action movie to music.

The people of Brabant suffering political quarrels and division, and also from an evil power from pagan times, seek to return the region to pagan rule. A mysterious charismatic Knight sent by God arrives with superpowers, to unite the people and defend Elsa, who has been wrongly accused of murder.

The one condition is no one must ask the Knight his name, or his origin… Batman?… Mandalorian?…!

SPOOKY RATING 3/5

Hansel and Gretel, Humperdink

Ahhhh, more cute kids in a lovely fairytale! not quite. Humperdink writes a few beautiful tunes in this opera based on the Grimm brother’s fairy tale, so it’s not as dark as some of the other operas in the list.

The opera was proposed to Engelbert Humperdink (No, not that one) by his sister who had written a few sketches and tunes, which they fleshed out with her libretto into the opera.

Hansel and Gretel are meant to be doing their chores, but are too hungry to work. When their mother returns, she is furious they haven’t don’t their chores, threatens to beat them, a jug of milk is upturned… so she sends them out into the woods to pick strawberries.

When their father returns home drunk but having bought lots of food, he is shocked to hear the children are in the wood where the evil Gingerbread Witch is said to live. She lures children with her sweets and cakes, then cooks them in the oven where they turn into gingerbread and she eats them. Yes. Really.

In the forrest the children are protected by angels and the Sandman, and the Dew Fairy. Inevitably, this is not enough, and the children are caught nibbling on the gingerbread house… however, the children manage to trick the Witch and push her into the oven instead, also undoing her magic and freeing lots of other children who have been turned into gingerbread, turning them back into children again.

Mother and Father return, hugs all round, and stern warnings about naughty people getting their comeuppance! This popular opera often performed at Christmas is a dark fairytale but definitely full of fun and magic suitable for children.

SPOOKY RATING 3/5

Faust, Gounod

Like all good stories, this opera starts with a pact with the Devil. Well, we all know that will go well!

Marguerite is young and beautiful, Faust is an ageing scholar. He curses his age, fails to kill himself due to his faith, but when Mephistopheles agrees to help him gain his youth in exchange with helping him in Hell, he readily agrees thinking he will win Marguerite with his new youthful appearance.

Let’s not go into all the troubling and ridiculous issues this opera raises, least of all why Faust spends less time agreeing to the terms given to him than most of us spend choosing our daily coffee order.

This opera has a long and complicated story full of witches, angels, and the theme of being saved… based on Goethe’s poetic drama, a gothic ‘good versus evil’ horror movie set to music. It really ticks all the Spooky boxes.

SPOOKY RATING: 5/5

I hope you’ve enjoyed this bonus Spooky rundown of operas - there are many more I could have added. What is your favourite? As ever get in touch in the comments with your pick.

Witches and Bitches - strong women in opera

It’s autumn, the wind is blowing, the nights are drawing in… and I am thinking about the dark stories and characters that we love to indulge in at this time of year. What does opera have to offer? Grab a mug of hot chocolate, stick another log on the fire, cuddle up in your favourite blanket and read on… if you dare!

Not all is as it seems in opera… we love a spooky story, and we love a villain! But occasionally we are guilty of creating a one-dimensional character who we wrongly judge to be ‘bad’… are we being entirely fair? I’m going to take you through a few spooky or ‘bad girl’ female roles in opera so we can decide. Some you will know, some you may not. No sitting on the fence, thumbs up or thumbs down.

All rise, the court is in session, with Judge Lisa presiding, please be seated and solemnly swear to take this very seriously!

Defendant 1 : Carmen, from the opera Carmen, Bizet

Look, we’ve all been there. You like a boy, but he’s a little dull, you like parties… you read your cards at a party and decide death is your fate and spiral out of control eventually having yet another knife fight and being killed by the dull boy. It’s a tale as old as time.

Carmen is a strong woman who uses sex and her allure to control, but her chaotic life, love of playing games and run-ins with the law catch up with her mentally and leave her unable to see a way out from her life.

Verdict: Guilty of being very bad

Sorry Carmen, you aren’t very kind (slashing your friends face…), and you are probably guilty of gaslighting Don Jose which ultimately ends in Don Jose stabbing you. You are the opera character we all love to hate, but modern eyes see your crimes with similar eyes.

Defendant 2: Emilia/Elina, from the opera The Makropolous Case, Janacek

Who wants to live forever?… Well, actually, nope, not really, thank you.

Poor Elina was born in 1585 and has spent 3 centuries living an itinerant life escaping any long connections, because her father invented and tested his successful potion on her. She lives currently as Emilia, a world famous opera singer - she’s had a lot of extra time to perfect her craft!

Youthful and beautiful, she has had a string of lovers and admirers, but by the time we see her in the opera she is tired of life and love, apathetic to others.

A mix up of papers and wills eventually leads to her confession. At the same time the potion is finally wearing off and she ages in front of her friends, convincing them of her fantastical story. She offers the parchment with the potion to another young singer, who refuses it and burns it in front of her. Emilia dies reciting the Lords Prayer in Greek.

This spooky story plays on the human fascination with ageing and death - playing out the scenario of how it might feel to live longer and experience more of life than our allotted 3-score-year-and-ten.

Verdict: not guilty of being bad

Emilia certainly is a very string woman, but was a child when she was given the potion to try, so would not have been able to refuse or see the consequences. The criticism that she is cold and emotionless is just, but she is a victim of her very very long life and the struggle to stay young. A story still relevant today!

Defendant 3: Mimi, from the opera La Bohème, Puccini

Surprised to see this opera included?… read on!

La Bohème is a fairly standard love story - between two bohemian artists living in poverty in Paris. Deeply in love, Mimi is ill with what is probably tuberculosis.

Rodolfo breaks up with Mimi telling his friend at first this is because she is a flirt, and then admits it is because she is ill, and that he hopes she can find someone wealthier who can pay for help with her illness. She hears this. (Yes. Pretty brutal.)

Mimi then tells Rodolfo that she is in fact leaving him… which is a pretty strong move to save face. However their love is ‘too strong’ and they agree to stay together until the spring as no one should be alone in the winter.

We cut to the spring and the men are talking about their past girlfriends who have found much wealthier partners, except that we learn Mimi is now severely weakened by illness and alone. They go to her, but she dies shortly after and Rodolfo is heartbroken.

Mimi is in the dock because a director once described her to me as ‘a b****’. emmmm SHOW ME THE EVIDENCE?

Verdict: not guilty of being bad

Isn’t this just a story of young impetuous people who are in love and don’t always act the way we all probably should? I still don’t see that Mimi has anything to answer for, Rodolfo however…

I’d love for you to supply me with fresh evidence that might reverse my judgement, but for now, NOT GUILTY

Defendant 4: Violetta from the opera Traviata, Verdi

She loved parties, she lived as a courtesan, and she fell in love. Original audiences were shocked at this tale which portrays Violetta as a moral and good person who just so happens to be a prostitute to pay her bills. She is independent and free in a way women were not at that time, her only reliance was on men and financial.

Holed up in the country with the love of her life, Alfredo, she is visited by her father-in-law, who begs her to give up his son for the sake of his family, as living unmarried was scandalous. The scandal would ruin them. Heartbroken she agrees.

Violetta returns to her old life, sad, and fatally ill with tuberculosis (yes… another female victim of ill health).

She is finally visited by her dashing Alfredo just as she dies.

Verdict: not guilty of being bad

Violetta is a victim of poverty, societal judgement, and of course the lack of a medical cure! The one time she follows her heart, she is persuaded to give up her happiness for the good of others, and does so.

Luckily, we all see this story with more modern eyes, and instead it is the sadness of the situation that stays with us.

The court thanks you all for your time and fair judging - did I miss anyone out? How do you feel about Mimi? Pop your comments and other suggestions in the comments box below.

Join me next time on All Hallows Eve, when we will discuss some very spooky operas, if you dare!…

“I love Italian opera - it’s so reckless. Damn Wagner, and his bellowing at Fate and death. Damn Debussy, and his averted face. I like the Italians who run all on impulse, and don’t care about their immortal souls, and don’t worry about the ultimate”

— D.H. Larence