New to Opera, have some questions

Several members of my family were/are associated with the Metropolitan Opera in NY. as a result, I have been "exposed" to opera, but I would not consider myself a fan. That being said, I can suggest what I consider to be a very accessible opera as a way of easing into these types of works: Aaron Copeland's "The Tender Land". As far as I know, there is only one recording of the entire opera, and that is by the Minnesota Opera Chorus. It's a wonderful opera about a midwest farm family, music has that Copland-esqe American feeling. Bonus: It's in English!

For traditional European opera, some of the Mozart operas are easy on the ears (Magic Flute, Marriage of Figaro).

Female voices: Montserrat Cabal, Dorothy Kirsten, Callas

I totally hated opera until the Three Tenors Concert in 1990 was aired repeatedly on PBS in my area as part of a fundraising campaign. The quality of the performances and the camaraderie of the performers swayed me. It must have been a wonderful experience to witness it live.
Try that one, and I would strongly suggest Tosca, esp. the one with Placido Domingo and Hildergarde Behrens.
Enjoy.
Ray

Joan Sutherland ~ The Art of the Prima Donna. I purchased it based on a recommendation from this forum and I was not disappointed. You can sample some of the tracks on Amazon or try this link. It's not a complete Opera but the performance by Joan Sutherland is nothing short of spectacular.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000042EK/002-2237525-6829633?v=glance

As Ellery911 an Sid42 point out, there is no substitute for seeing live performances of operas. Most opera houses now have supertitles, which removes the requirement for an understanding of the language. It is also true, as has also been pointed out, that DVD and laserdisc versions of operas are quite enjoyable. The Metropolitan Opera DVD (and laserdisc) of Carmen is certainly worth watching. In fact, "The Met" has recorded many operas, and they are available on DVD. Wagner's Ring cycle is also splendid, but all of these productions are worth owning: one watches them again and again.

Try Tosca with Maria Callas. It's from the 50s and monaural but worth a listen. I'm also a fan of some of the earlier stuff such as Montiverdi.