An Opera that involves horses?

Question: An Opera that involves horses!?

My friend is in love with horses and opera, so I wanted to see if I could combine the two!. Does anyone know of any operas that involve horses to any degree!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

There are indeed many horses in opera!. Of course, on the practical side, most opera houses are nervous about bringing unpredictable animals onto the stage, but it is sometimes done!. When I saw Strauss's "The Woman Without a Shadow" ("Die Frau ohne Schatten") at the Met a few years back, the Emperor rode a live horse onto the stage in Act II!.

But I'd have to say Wagner's "Ring" is one of the best when it comes to horses!. In the final scene, the heroine, Brunnhilde, rides her horse, which was a gift of the hero Siegfried, into his funeral pyre!. Talk about dramatic!! It goes without saying that this has rarely been interpreted litterally on the stage, though I did hear about one attempt!. And of course the Valkyries are all supposed to be on horseback for "The Ride of the Valkyries", though, once again, as the other author mentioned, this is rarely done on real horses!.

Another "horse opera" is Puccini's Western opera "The Girl of the Golden West" ("La fanciulla del West"), which is set during the gold rush in California!. At the climactic moment, the heroine Minnie rides in on a horse to save her love who's about to be hung!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

There are many operas where horses are
"staged" (like flying horses) in Richard Wagner's operas but none real !.
I only attended one opera at the old Met
in NYC where live horses came on stage!.
The opera was Aida (G!.Verdi)!.
The old Met had an enormeous stage where
tthe staging could accomodate animals
(even an elephant)!
Most of the opera houses I have attended
no longer have such a large stage space as the old Met!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

The Hollywood Bowl once played the Ride of the Valkyries and had riders come down out of the hills!. But I doubt they could do that now, animal activists might not like it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com