Operas... Any fans?

Bizet's "Pearl Fishers" was the opera that I enjoyed the most. Barber of Seville is a fun one too. I agree with rphscv about "The Ring"...as a newbie however, I found that seeing this opera live in it's entirety can be a bit overwhelming as it is actually presented in 4 seperate operas usually over a 5 day period with each segment being quite lengthy 3hrs+ from what I remember. Still, my parents who are quite the opera buffs (travel the world to see operas) saw the Ring Cycle countless times. If you ever get the opportunity, they told me that the best place was in Bayreuth sp? (sounds like buyroit) where the venue was originally built for Wagner.

spoke with my dad...he suggests puccini's Tosca as does Jacpiii and also recommends Rosenkavelier (sp?) by Strauss

just his 2cents...but if there ever were "Deadheads" of opera...my parents were such

If you start out with opera, get yourself the Grammophone Classical Good CD Guide 2003 (ISBN 0-860-24902-6) for 28 dollars. It is an 1400-page-strong encyclopedia of classical CDs, with excellent reviews, comparisons and a lot of info about quality of interpretation and sound.

Another good guide is the Metropolitan Opera's Guide to Recorded Opera. Unfortunately, it is out of print, but you may be able to pick up a copy on eBay or Half.com. The guide only covers operas recorded prior to the early 90s, but covers most of the classic recordings. While everyone one has there own personal taste, if you get one of operas the book recommends, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

As a final note, if you can't find a specific opera you're looking for, try Amazon UK or Tower UK. I have picked up some great recordings that are no longer available in the US.

I have about 1,000+ opera CD's ranging from popular fares to very obsure stuff; from Italian, French, German, Russian and the Vernacular.
I found that Decca generally offers sound that is more present (about 15th row) while Philips adds a warmer glow to their sound although slightly more distant. At the end what matters are the singers, their art and voices.
During seasons, I may attend 2 to 3 performances per week. I have been lucky enough to see some historical performances (Birgit Nilsson, Leonie Rysanek, Leontyne Price, Margaret Price, Joan Sutherland, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballe, Magda Olivero etc. just to name a few) in SF, Chicago, LA, NY etc.

Here are some spine tingling suggestions:

- Puccini: Tosca: Decca Legends 1962 Remastered 24-bit 96KHz: Price, Di Stefano, Taddei cond. by Herbert Von Karajan. (Wow!)
- Puccini: Turandot: DECCA: Sutherland, Pavarotti, Caballe cond. by Zubin Mehta. (Another Wow!)
- Bellini: Norma: EMI: Callas, Corelli, Ludwig cond. by Tullio Serafin (High drama!)
- Boito: Mefistofele: DECCA: Ghiaurov, Pavarotti, Freni, Caballe cond. De Fabritiis (Grand!)
- Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur: CBS SONY: Scotto, Domingo, Obraztsova, Miles cond. James Levine
- Donizetti: Lucia Di Lammermoor: DECCA: Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes cond. Richard Bonynge
- Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana & Leoncavallo: Pagliacci: DG: Cossotto, Bergonzi, Carlyle, Taddei cond. Herbert von Karajan
- Puccini: La Boheme: DECCA: Freni, Pavarotti, Harwood, Panerai cond. Herbert von Karajan (Melting, lovely performance from start to finish!)
- Offenbach: Contes d'Hoffman: DECCA: Sutherland, Domingo cond. Richard Bonynge
- Ponchielli: La Gioconda: DECCA: Cerquetti, Simionato, Del Monaco cond. Gianandrea Gavazzeni (Sizzles! rather hard to find)
- Bizet: Carmen: ERATO: Domingo, Migenes, Raimondi cond. Lorin Maazel (Well paced but not for pure Francophone!)
- Saint Saens: Samson et Dalila: EMI: Meier, Domingo cond. Myung Whun Chung
- Verdi: Aida: EMI: Freni, Carreras, Baltsa, Cappuccilli cond. Herbert von Karajan (Freni was stretched to the limits but Baltsa is unforgettable!)
- Verdi: Don Carlos: Domindo, Cabalee, Verrett, Raimondi, Milnes cond. Carlo maria Giulini (Heavenly!)
- Verdi: La Traviata: DG: Cotrubas, Domingo, Milnes cond. Carlos Kleiber (What can I say, Cotrubas was at the peak of her career!)
- Mozart: Nozze Di Figaro: DECCA: Te Kanawa, Popp, von Stade, Ramey, Allen cond. Georg Solti (Enchanting)
- Mozart: Die Zauberflote: ERATO: Mannon, Dessay, Blochwitz, scharinger, Hagen cond. William Christie (Limpid!)
- Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen: DECCA: Nilsson, King, Crespin, Hotter, Ludwig, cond. Georg Solti (A must for every opera lover. This is singing and engineering at its best ever. It's hard to imagine sound from the late 50s and early 60s this great. It will be the first to buy the SACD version if it ever gets produced!)

I own several versions of each opera. Sic. Some of my faves are mot listed here due to sound quality etc. What I'm suggesting have decent to great sound married with good to great performances; what would qualify as well rounded performances.

For a thorough review of all operas and classical works, one of the best references is Gramophone Magazine.
www.gramophone.co.uk

Happy Hunting!