New to Opera, have some questions

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.

Pretty much any opera by Mozart. Then again, I am very partial to Wolfie. :)

I respectfully disagree with Ellery911 and some of the others. As a professional orchestral musician, I've sat in my fair share of orchestra pits, and I've had quite a lot of experience with opera. You DON'T need to know the language or have supertitles to the enjoy the opera. While nothing subsitutes for a real staged performance, there's plenty to be said for listening to the music without having a visual cue. In fact, opera singers perform arias all the time as concert pieces, with no staging.

There are some amazing operas out there, and some amazing performances. For me, Mozart has always been the pinnacle. The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute, as well as Don Giovanni and Cosi Fan Tutti, are all great places to start.

Good luck!

In addition to the Callas recording of Puccini's Tosca that was mentioned by Rja, I would suggest Puccini's La Boheme. I have been listening to von Karajan's 1972 Decca recording, which features Pavrotti in his prime. I own this recording on vinyl, and the sound is spectacular. Here is a link to the CD version of the recording:

Puccini: La Boheme

The music is simply beautiful, and there is no need to understand the Italian language or see the performance to appreciate this musical masterpiece. Also, this opera is very manageable in length (70 minutes), so it is a work that you can appreciate in one sitting without ever feeling that you are sitting through a marathon.