Opera - Where to go next ...

[s***@nycap.rr.com]

These are all the operas in my collection. What "masterpiece" am I missing, in your opinion? I know there are plenty of masterpieces I'm missing but, where should I go next?

Beethoven - Fidelio
Bellini - Norma
La Sonnambula
Bizet - Carmen
Donizetti - Elixir of Love
Daughter of the Regiment
Lucia di Lammermoor
Don Pasquale
Gounod - Faust
Leoncavallo - Pagliacci
Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana
Mozart - Magic Flute
Don Giovanni
Marriage of Figaro
Cosi fan Tutti
Offenbach - Tales of Hoffmann
Puccini - Madame Butterfly
Tosca
Turandot
Il Trittico
La Boheme
Rossini - La Cenerentola
Barber of Seville
Italian Girl in Algiers
Verdi - La Traviata
Il Trovatore
Falstaff
Aida
Rigoletto
Wsagner - Die Meistersinger

I just bought (but haven't listened yet) Verdi's Don Carlo(s).

So does some particular work stick out like a sore thumb as what should be my next purchase? Alban Berg holds no appeal for me. Otherwise, I'm open.

TIA

MIFrost

[Al Eisner]

Post by s***@nycap.rr.com
These are all the operas in my collection. What "masterpiece" am I missing, in your opinion? I know there are plenty of masterpieces I'm missing but, where should I go next?
Beethoven - Fidelio
Bellini - Norma
La Sonnambula
Bizet - Carmen
Donizetti - Elixir of Love
Daughter of the Regiment
Lucia di Lammermoor
Don Pasquale
Gounod - Faust
Leoncavallo - Pagliacci
Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana
Mozart - Magic Flute
Don Giovanni
Marriage of Figaro
Cosi fan Tutti
Offenbach - Tales of Hoffmann
Puccini - Madame Butterfly
Tosca
Turandot
Il Trittico
La Boheme
Rossini - La Cenerentola
Barber of Seville
Italian Girl in Algiers
Verdi - La Traviata
Il Trovatore
Falstaff
Aida
Rigoletto
Wsagner - Die Meistersinger
I just bought (but haven't listened yet) Verdi's Don Carlo(s).
So does some particular work stick out like a sore thumb as what should be my next purchase? Alban Berg holds no appeal for me. Otherwise, I'm open.
TIA
MIFrost

Who was Wsagner? Did he write anything else? I assume you have
intentionally avoided those, so I won't go there.

Of course, many others. Among composers you list, obviously Verdi's
Otello, maybe Rossini's William Tell (a long one!). But maybe better
to extend the composer list: Berlioz's The Trojans (another long one),
Britten for sure (start with Peter Grimes), Poulenc's Dialogs of the
Carmelites (perhaps the most harrowing of all operas), maybe
Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle (a short
one). Strauss (there seems to be a lot of disagreement about the best
choices, but I would include Elektra). Several Russians. Oddly, I
don't have an immediate Anerican suggestion in the same league.

[Alex Brown]

Post by s***@nycap.rr.com
These are all the operas in my collection. What "masterpiece" am I
missing, in your opinion? I know there are plenty of masterpieces I'm
missing but, where should I go next?
Beethoven - Fidelio
Bellini - Norma
         La Sonnambula
Bizet - Carmen
Donizetti - Elixir of Love
           Daughter of the Regiment
           Lucia di Lammermoor
           Don Pasquale
Gounod - Faust
Leoncavallo - Pagliacci
Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana
Mozart - Magic Flute
        Don Giovanni
        Marriage of Figaro
        Cosi fan Tutti
Offenbach - Tales of Hoffmann
Puccini - Madame Butterfly
         Tosca
         Turandot
         Il Trittico
         La Boheme
Rossini - La Cenerentola
         Barber of Seville
         Italian Girl in Algiers
Verdi - La Traviata
       Il Trovatore
       Falstaff
       Aida
       Rigoletto
Wsagner - Die Meistersinger
I just bought (but haven't listened yet) Verdi's Don Carlo(s).
So does some particular work stick out like a sore thumb as what
should be my next purchase? Alban Berg holds no appeal for me.
Otherwise, I'm open.
TIA
MIFrost

Who was Wsagner?  Did he write anything else?  I assume you have
intentionally avoided those, so I won't go there.
Of course, many others.  Among composers you list, obviously Verdi's
Otello, maybe Rossini's William Tell (a long one!).  But maybe better
to extend the composer list:  Berlioz's The Trojans (another long one),
Britten for sure (start with Peter Grimes), Poulenc's Dialogs of the
Carmelites (perhaps the most harrowing of all operas), maybe
Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle (a short
one).  Strauss (there seems to be a lot of disagreement about the best
choices, but I would include Elektra).  Several Russians.  Oddly, I
don't have an immediate Anerican suggestion in the same league.

Also Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Weber's Der
Freischütz, Dvorak's Rusalka, and some Janáček ...

[Al Eisner]

Post by s***@nycap.rr.com
These are all the operas in my collection. What "masterpiece" am I
missing, in your opinion? I know there are plenty of masterpieces I'm
missing but, where should I go next?
Beethoven - Fidelio
Bellini - Norma
         La Sonnambula
Bizet - Carmen
Donizetti - Elixir of Love
           Daughter of the Regiment
           Lucia di Lammermoor
           Don Pasquale
Gounod - Faust
Leoncavallo - Pagliacci
Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana
Mozart - Magic Flute
        Don Giovanni
        Marriage of Figaro
        Cosi fan Tutti
Offenbach - Tales of Hoffmann
Puccini - Madame Butterfly
         Tosca
         Turandot
         Il Trittico
         La Boheme
Rossini - La Cenerentola
         Barber of Seville
         Italian Girl in Algiers
Verdi - La Traviata
       Il Trovatore
       Falstaff
       Aida
       Rigoletto
Wsagner - Die Meistersinger
I just bought (but haven't listened yet) Verdi's Don Carlo(s).
So does some particular work stick out like a sore thumb as what should be
my next purchase? Alban Berg holds no appeal for me. Otherwise, I'm open.
TIA
MIFrost

Who was Wsagner?  Did he write anything else?  I assume you have
intentionally avoided those, so I won't go there.
Of course, many others.  Among composers you list, obviously Verdi's
Otello, maybe Rossini's William Tell (a long one!).  But maybe better
to extend the composer list:  Berlioz's The Trojans (another long one),
Britten for sure (start with Peter Grimes), Poulenc's Dialogs of the
Carmelites (perhaps the most harrowing of all operas), maybe
Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle (a short
one).  Strauss (there seems to be a lot of disagreement about the best
choices, but I would include Elektra).  Several Russians.  Oddly, I
don't have an immediate Anerican suggestion in the same league.

Also Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Weber's Der FreischÃŒtz,
Dvorak's Rusalka, and some Janáček ...

Seconded. Given the time frame I focused on, I don't see how I could
have omitted Janacek in particular!

[Andy Evans]

Janacek - The Cunning Little Vixen (followed by Jenufa and Kat'a Kabanova if you like that)
Mussorgsky - Boris Godunov
Ravel - L'Enfant et les Sortilèges

[Susan Frost]

Post by Andy Evans
Janacek - The Cunning Little Vixen (followed by Jenufa and Kat'a Kabanova if you like that)
Mussorgsky - Boris Godunov
Ravel - L'Enfant et les Sortilèges

What a wonderful and eclectic list of recommendations there are here! Thanks everyone. Lots to ponder.

MIFrost

[Andrew Clarke]

Post by Alex Brown
Also Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Weber's Der
Freischütz, Dvorak's Rusalka, and some Janáček ...
--
- Alex Brown

Don't forget the other two operas attributed to Monteverdi, 'Il ritorno d'Ulysse in patria' and 'L'Incoronazione de Poppea'. The latter is now regarded as having been possibly a collaborative effort, but Sir John Eliot Gardner regards it as being too great a masterpiece to have been produced by a committee.

I suspect that these two gain by being watched on a videorecording, especially the former.

Andrew Clarke
Canberra

[sci.space]

Berg - Wozzeck I am partial to the Mitropoulos recording with Eileen Farrell singing Marie.

[Oscar]

Post by sci.space
Berg - Wozzeck I am partial to the Mitropoulos recording with Eileen Farrell singing Marie.

A shattering work that I prefer in Levine's 1980 recording at The MET in the MET Opera box set. Mitropoulos is not slouch.

[Ricardo Jimenez]

Post by s***@nycap.rr.com
These are all the operas in my collection. What "masterpiece" am I missing, in your opinion? I know there are plenty of masterpieces I'm missing but, where should I go next?
Beethoven - Fidelio
Bellini - Norma
La Sonnambula
Bizet - Carmen
Donizetti - Elixir of Love
Daughter of the Regiment
Lucia di Lammermoor
Don Pasquale
Gounod - Faust
Leoncavallo - Pagliacci
Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana
Mozart - Magic Flute
Don Giovanni
Marriage of Figaro
Cosi fan Tutti
Offenbach - Tales of Hoffmann
Puccini - Madame Butterfly
Tosca
Turandot
Il Trittico
La Boheme
Rossini - La Cenerentola
Barber of Seville
Italian Girl in Algiers
Verdi - La Traviata
Il Trovatore
Falstaff
Aida
Rigoletto
Wsagner - Die Meistersinger
I just bought (but haven't listened yet) Verdi's Don Carlo(s).
So does some particular work stick out like a sore thumb as what should be my next purchase? Alban Berg holds no appeal for me. Otherwise, I'm open.
TIA
MIFrost

You don't say so explicitely, but my guess is that is that these are
all CD recordings, not DVDs/Blurays. So instead of any particular
work, I suggest you invest in the latter for some operas with which
you are already familiar. I feel there is no comparison - the visual
so much enhances the aural, with the exception of regie versions.

[MELMOTH13]

Post by s***@nycap.rr.com
These are all the operas in my collection. What "masterpiece" am I missing, in your opinion? I know there are plenty of masterpieces I'm missing but, where should I go next?

Orphée (Monteverdi)...
Wozzeck (Berg)..
Le Grand Macabre (Ligeti)...
Write on the Skin (Benjamin)...

[Bob Harper]

Post by s***@nycap.rr.com
These are all the operas in my collection. What "masterpiece" am I missing, in your opinion? I know there are plenty of masterpieces I'm missing but, where should I go next?
Beethoven - Fidelio
Bellini - Norma
La Sonnambula
Bizet - Carmen
Donizetti - Elixir of Love
Daughter of the Regiment
Lucia di Lammermoor
Don Pasquale
Gounod - Faust
Leoncavallo - Pagliacci
Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana
Mozart - Magic Flute
Don Giovanni
Marriage of Figaro
Cosi fan Tutti
Offenbach - Tales of Hoffmann
Puccini - Madame Butterfly
Tosca
Turandot
Il Trittico
La Boheme
Rossini - La Cenerentola
Barber of Seville
Italian Girl in Algiers
Verdi - La Traviata
Il Trovatore
Falstaff
Aida
Rigoletto
Wsagner - Die Meistersinger
I just bought (but haven't listened yet) Verdi's Don Carlo(s).
So does some particular work stick out like a sore thumb as what should be my next purchase? Alban Berg holds no appeal for me. Otherwise, I'm open.
TIA
MIFrost

A suggestion for something completely different:
Philip Glass, Akhnaten. Mesmerizing.

Bob Harper

[c***@gmail.com]

Post by s***@nycap.rr.com
These are all the operas in my collection. What "masterpiece" am I missing, in your opinion? I know there are plenty of masterpieces I'm missing but, where should I go next?
Beethoven - Fidelio
Bellini - Norma
La Sonnambula
Bizet - Carmen
Donizetti - Elixir of Love
Daughter of the Regiment
Lucia di Lammermoor
Don Pasquale
Gounod - Faust
Leoncavallo - Pagliacci
Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana
Mozart - Magic Flute
Don Giovanni
Marriage of Figaro
Cosi fan Tutti
Offenbach - Tales of Hoffmann
Puccini - Madame Butterfly
Tosca
Turandot
Il Trittico
La Boheme
Rossini - La Cenerentola
Barber of Seville
Italian Girl in Algiers
Verdi - La Traviata
Il Trovatore
Falstaff
Aida
Rigoletto
Wsagner - Die Meistersinger
I just bought (but haven't listened yet) Verdi's Don Carlo(s).
So does some particular work stick out like a sore thumb as what should be my next purchase? Alban Berg holds no appeal for me. Otherwise, I'm open.
TIA
MIFrost

I'm assuming that you collected these operas because you *like* them; also that you're not looking for "something completely different."

Gluck - Iphigénie en Tauride
Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin
Rimsky-Korsakov - Sadko (or Tsar Saltan)
Nielsen - Maskarade

I also agree with Alex's recommendation of Weber's Der Freischütz.

AC

[Andy Evans]

Try some of Debussy's Pellleas et Melisande on YouTube in the Boulez Cardiff version. Gorgeous music, and an excellent video.

[MickeyBoy]

Post by s***@nycap.rr.com
These are all the operas in my collection. What "masterpiece" am I missing, in your opinion? I know there are plenty of masterpieces I'm missing but, where should I go next?
I just bought (but haven't listened yet) Verdi's Don Carlo(s).
So does some particular work stick out like a sore thumb as what should be my next purchase? Alban Berg holds no appeal for me. Otherwise, I'm open.
TIA
MIFrost

I'll second the suggestions for Ravel (both operas) and Mussorgsky and add French opera, starting with Massenet and Saint-Saens. And Rimsky and Borodin for Russian. Get the Blu-Rays.

[Peter]

A couple of items not mentioned by others:

Doktor Faust (Busoni)
St. François (Messiaen)

The second of these is probably a terrible opera, but it doesn't matter.

[gggg gggg]

Post by s***@nycap.rr.com
These are all the operas in my collection. What "masterpiece" am I missing, in your opinion? I know there are plenty of masterpieces I'm missing but, where should I go next?
Beethoven - Fidelio
Bellini - Norma
La Sonnambula
Bizet - Carmen
Donizetti - Elixir of Love
Daughter of the Regiment
Lucia di Lammermoor
Don Pasquale
Gounod - Faust
Leoncavallo - Pagliacci
Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana
Mozart - Magic Flute
Don Giovanni
Marriage of Figaro
Cosi fan Tutti
Offenbach - Tales of Hoffmann
Puccini - Madame Butterfly
Tosca
Turandot
Il Trittico
La Boheme
Rossini - La Cenerentola
Barber of Seville
Italian Girl in Algiers
Verdi - La Traviata
Il Trovatore
Falstaff
Aida
Rigoletto
Wsagner - Die Meistersinger
I just bought (but haven't listened yet) Verdi's Don Carlo(s).
So does some particular work stick out like a sore thumb as what should be my next purchase? Alban Berg holds no appeal for me...

According to this:

- Alban Berg’s Wozzeck is arguably the most important opera composed in the first half of the 20th century. It is certainly one of the most powerful, and its emotional impact remains as strong today as when it was first performed in 1925.

https://theconversation.com/decoding-the-music-masterpieces-alban-bergs-wozzeck-an-apocalyptic-descent-into-madness-107896#:~:text=Alban%20Berg's%20Wozzeck%20is%20arguably,was%20first%20performed%20in%201925.

[gggg gggg]

Post by gggg gggg

Post by s***@nycap.rr.com
These are all the operas in my collection. What "masterpiece" am I missing, in your opinion? I know there are plenty of masterpieces I'm missing but, where should I go next?
Beethoven - Fidelio
Bellini - Norma
La Sonnambula
Bizet - Carmen
Donizetti - Elixir of Love
Daughter of the Regiment
Lucia di Lammermoor
Don Pasquale
Gounod - Faust
Leoncavallo - Pagliacci
Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana
Mozart - Magic Flute
Don Giovanni
Marriage of Figaro
Cosi fan Tutti
Offenbach - Tales of Hoffmann
Puccini - Madame Butterfly
Tosca
Turandot
Il Trittico
La Boheme
Rossini - La Cenerentola
Barber of Seville
Italian Girl in Algiers
Verdi - La Traviata
Il Trovatore
Falstaff
Aida
Rigoletto
Wsagner - Die Meistersinger
I just bought (but haven't listened yet) Verdi's Don Carlo(s).
So does some particular work stick out like a sore thumb as what should be my next purchase? Alban Berg holds no appeal for me...

- Alban Berg’s Wozzeck is arguably the most important opera composed in the first half of the 20th century. It is certainly one of the most powerful, and its emotional impact remains as strong today as when it was first performed in 1925.
https://theconversation.com/decoding-the-music-masterpieces-alban-bergs-wozzeck-an-apocalyptic-descent-into-madness-107896#:~:text=Alban%20Berg's%20Wozzeck%20is%20arguably,was%20first%20performed%20in%201925.

According to this:
- ...Berg's opera [Lulu] seems an indisputable candidate for the greatest opera of the 20th century.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jun/01/opera-lulu-alban-berg

[[e-mail]]

Post by s***@nycap.rr.com
These are all the operas in my collection. What "masterpiece" am I missing, in your opinion? I know there are plenty of masterpieces I'm missing but, where should I go next?
long list snipped
Falstaff
Aida
Rigoletto
Wsagner - Die Meistersinger
I just bought (but haven't listened yet) Verdi's Don Carlo(s).
So does some particular work stick out like a sore thumb as what should be my next purchase? Alban Berg holds no appeal for me. Otherwise, I'm open.
TIA
MIFrost

Janacek with Cunning Little Vixen. Jenufa, etc. is well worth exploring if you admire his harmonic and speech-type palate.

Britten is also a must. Peter Grimes, Billy Budd, Albert Herring, Turn of the Screw. Probably the best later opera composer imho.

Adams with Nixon in China.

And then there are the Russians, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky Korsakov, Shosty, Mussorgsky.

From your list I consider Verdi's Falstaff absolute tops. Bernstein is superb in this work.

Ray Hall, Taree

[Tassilo]

Haydn: La fedeltà premiata
Haydn: Orlando Paladino
Gluck: Armide
Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Méhul: Ariodante [no recording exists]
Cherubini: Medea [Médée, but most often performed in Italian]
Spontini: Agnes von Hohenstaufen [no remotely adequate recording exists]
Glinka: A Life for the Tsar [Ivan Susanin]
Bellini: I puritani
Berlioz: Benvenuto Cellini
Berlioz: Les troyens
Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénédict
Verdi: Luisa Miller
Verdi: Un ballo in maschera
Verdi: La forza del destino
Verdi: Simon Boccanegra
Verdi: Otello
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde
Wagner: The Ring
Mussorgsky: Boris
Mussorgsky: Khovanschina
Massenet: Werther
Debussy: Pélléas et Mélisande
Puccini: La fanciulla del West
Strauss: Die Frau ohne Schatten
Busoni: Doktor Faust
Stravinsky: Le rossignol
Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex
Stravinsky: The Rake’s Progress
Schoenberg: Erwartung [30 minutes long]
Schoenberg: Die Glückliche Hand [20 minutes long]
Schoenberg: Moses und Aron
Berg: Lulu [more fun, voluptuous, & more accessible than Wozzeck]
Dallapiccola: Il prigioniero
Tippett: Midsummer Marriage [far more interesting than a Britten opera]
Zimmermann: Die Soldaten
Roger Sessions: Montezuma [no commercial recording exists]
Birtwistle: Gawain
Hèctor Parra: Hypermusic Prologue

[number_six]

Despite many worthy suggestions, I can still add these --

for early opera, try Platee by Rameau

for grand opera try Les Huguenots by Meyerbeer

for 20th century opera, try The Devils of Loudun by Penderecki

[Tassilo]

I should have added these to my list:

Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie
Jommelli: Demofoönte [I couldn’t begin to determine which of Jommelli’s vast slew of operas are his best. I do know that Mozart, Charles Rosen, and Riccardo Muti had or have the greatest respect for his remarkable music. I chose Demofoönte because Muti has performed it.]
Weber: Der Freischütz
Johann Strauss II: Die Fledermaus [This music was received with the greatest affection and respect by Bruckner, Wolf, Mahler, Schoenberg, Webern, & Berg: as soon as he heard it Mahler insisted on performing Fledermaus at the Vienna Staatsoper, and it has been a part of the standard repertory of opera houses ever since]

-Tassilo

[Andy Evans]

Don't forget Gershwin's Porgy and Bess

You might also like to check out Kurt Weill - The Threepenny Opera, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny

Kurt Weill wrote some gorgeous jazz standards like Mack the Knife, My Ship, Speak Low and September Song

And of course, there is the wonderful West Side Story by Bernstein.

[gggg gggg]

Post by Andy Evans
Don't forget Gershwin's Porgy and Bess
You might also like to check out Kurt Weill - The Threepenny Opera, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Kurt Weill wrote some gorgeous jazz standards like Mack the Knife, My Ship, Speak Low and September Song
And of course, there is the wonderful West Side Story by Bernstein.

Concerning WSS:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-i-feel-pretty-is-not-in-the-west-side-story-revival-60-minutes-2020-07-12/

[gggg gggg]

Post by Andy Evans
Don't forget Gershwin's Porgy and Bess
You might also like to check out Kurt Weill - The Threepenny Opera, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Kurt Weill wrote some gorgeous jazz standards like Mack the Knife, My Ship, Speak Low and September Song
And of course, there is the wonderful West Side Story by Bernstein.

If you like the song I FEEL PRETTY from WSS:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-i-feel-pretty-is-not-in-the-west-side-story-revival-60-minutes-2020-07-12/

[Andrew Clarke]

Post by Tassilo
Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie
Jommelli: Demofoönte [I couldn’t begin to determine which of Jommelli’s vast slew of operas are his best. I do know that Mozart, Charles Rosen, and Riccardo Muti had or have the greatest respect for his remarkable music. I chose Demofoönte because Muti has performed it.]
Weber: Der Freischütz
Johann Strauss II: Die Fledermaus [This music was received with the greatest affection and respect by Bruckner, Wolf, Mahler, Schoenberg, Webern, & Berg: as soon as he heard it Mahler insisted on performing Fledermaus at the Vienna Staatsoper, and it has been a part of the standard repertory of opera houses ever since]
-Tassilo

Lully: Atys; Armide. Powerful stuff. Try the videos of both with the great Stephanie d'Oustrac.

For the vision splendid of a younger Mme d'Oustrac in her underwear, I recommend Offenbach's "La belle Helene" from Paris with Yann Beuron and Dame Felicity Lott, conducted by Marc Minkowsky. A very witty and stylish performance.

Andrew Clarke
Canberra

[James Goodzeit]

So are there favorite recordings (audio or video) of these operas? I've just started building a collection on DVD/Blu-ray since I won't be visiting the opera house soon.

[Susan Frost]

Post by James Goodzeit
So are there favorite recordings (audio or video) of these operas? I've just started building a collection on DVD/Blu-ray since I won't be visiting the opera house soon.

I can give some suggestions of CDs but I'm afraid I don't have a DVD collection. But I've seen "Magic Flute" on DVD conducted by Arnold Ostman and it's just outstanding, IMHO.

MIF

[Ricardo Jimenez]

On Fri, 21 Aug 2020 08:22:38 -0700 (PDT), Susan Frost

Post by Susan Frost

Post by James Goodzeit
So are there favorite recordings (audio or video) of these operas? I've just started building a collection on DVD/Blu-ray since I won't be visiting the opera house soon.

I can give some suggestions of CDs but I'm afraid I don't have a DVD collection. But I've seen "Magic Flute" on DVD conducted by Arnold Ostman and it's just outstanding, IMHO.
MIF

Maybe around 10 years ago there was quite a bit of discussion here
about opera DVDs. I remember Simon Roberts giving good
recommendations for traditional performances of Mozart operas. About
the same time, Netflix stopped buying new opera discs. For reasons
unknown, the operaphiles have seeded this NG mostly to the pianophiles
and have pretty much disappeared. I invest heavily in my Blu-ray/DVD
collection and rely on both Amazon and Google for recommendations. My
2 latest Blu-ray purchases have been Pfitzner's Palestrina with
Christopher Ventris in the title role and the first performance in
modern times of Ferdinando Paer's Agnese done by the Teatro Regio
Torino.

[Owen]

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
On Fri, 21 Aug 2020 08:22:38 -0700 (PDT), Susan Frost

Post by Susan Frost

Post by James Goodzeit
So are there favorite recordings (audio or video) of these operas? I've just started building a collection on DVD/Blu-ray since I won't be visiting the opera house soon.

I can give some suggestions of CDs but I'm afraid I don't have a DVD collection. But I've seen "Magic Flute" on DVD conducted by Arnold Ostman and it's just outstanding, IMHO.
MIF

Maybe around 10 years ago there was quite a bit of discussion here
about opera DVDs. I remember Simon Roberts giving good
recommendations for traditional performances of Mozart operas. About
the same time, Netflix stopped buying new opera discs. For reasons
unknown, the operaphiles have seeded this NG mostly to the pianophiles
and have pretty much disappeared. I invest heavily in my Blu-ray/DVD
collection and rely on both Amazon and Google for recommendations. My
2 latest Blu-ray purchases have been Pfitzner's Palestrina with
Christopher Ventris in the title role and the first performance in
modern times of Ferdinando Paer's Agnese done by the Teatro Regio
Torino.

I've always enjoyed the Ponnelle productions, particularly Marriage of
Figaro, Barber of Seville and La Cenerentola. Looking at the list of
videos he made just now, I would like to watch more.

-Owen

[number_six]

Has anyone mentioned Partch - Revelation in the Courthouse Park
Is it "opera" -- if not, why not?

[Alan Fekete]

Post by James Goodzeit
So are there favorite recordings (audio or video) of these operas? I've just started building a collection on DVD/Blu-ray since I won't be visiting the opera house soon.

A very knowledgeable and detailed (if sometimes idiosyncratic) set of surveys of the discography of many operas can be found at http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/Ralph_Moore.htm

A somewhat different set of briefer recommendations/ratings came about 15 years ago from Geoffrey Riggs under the title of "The Collector's Guide to Opera Recordings and Videos". Some sites can be found by web search, which provide an archive copy of this web resource, but I have no idea whether they are "cybersafe" to use.

[number_six]

I have not heard Pfitzner's Palestrina, but Kubelik's recording is up in my queue

[James Goodzeit]

Post by James Goodzeit
So are there favorite recordings (audio or video) of these operas? I've just started building a collection on DVD/Blu-ray since I won't be visiting the opera house soon.

One general observation is that you can divide opera on video into two eras: Blu-ray and pre-Blu-ray. The recorded sound, video, and cinematography of the older recordings is atrocious, the video is grainy 4:3, the cinematography is painfully amateurish and lacking any artistry - the contrast with how well it is done now couldn't be more stark!

[Susan Frost]

Post by James Goodzeit

Post by James Goodzeit
So are there favorite recordings (audio or video) of these operas? I've just started building a collection on DVD/Blu-ray since I won't be visiting the opera house soon.

One general observation is that you can divide opera on video into two eras: Blu-ray and pre-Blu-ray. The recorded sound, video, and cinematography of the older recordings is atrocious, the video is grainy 4:3, the cinematography is painfully amateurish and lacking any artistry - the contrast with how well it is done now couldn't be more stark!

I don't have Blu-ray, only DVD. But I see a lot of videos in great, modern, widescreen style. Recordings from the early '60s and before are a different story. But modern videos, even pre-Blu-ray are usually quite excellent.

MIFrost

[number_six]

As expected, the thread now includes most major operatic touchstones.

But I have one more up my sleeve --

for zarzuela Cubana, try MARIA LA O BY Lecuona

[M&S Frost]

Post by s***@nycap.rr.com
These are all the operas in my collection. What "masterpiece" am I missing, in your opinion? I know there are plenty of masterpieces I'm missing but, where should I go next?
Beethoven - Fidelio
Bellini - Norma
La Sonnambula
Bizet - Carmen
Donizetti - Elixir of Love
Daughter of the Regiment
Lucia di Lammermoor
Don Pasquale
Gounod - Faust
Leoncavallo - Pagliacci
Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana
Mozart - Magic Flute
Don Giovanni
Marriage of Figaro
Cosi fan Tutti
Offenbach - Tales of Hoffmann
Puccini - Madame Butterfly
Tosca
Turandot
Il Trittico
La Boheme
Rossini - La Cenerentola
Barber of Seville
Italian Girl in Algiers
Verdi - La Traviata
Il Trovatore
Falstaff
Aida
Rigoletto
Wsagner - Die Meistersinger
I just bought (but haven't listened yet) Verdi's Don Carlo(s).
So does some particular work stick out like a sore thumb as what should be my next purchase? Alban Berg holds no appeal for me. Otherwise, I'm open.
TIA
MIFrost

So, just an update. I've been listening to Don Carlos (French version) and while much of the music is luscious and sweeping, none of it is memorable, at least not to these ears. Unfortunate. The next opera I chose to get is La Gioconda by Ponchielli. I'll take that one up shortly.

MIFrost

[number_six]

Post by M&S Frost
So, just an update. I've been listening to Don Carlos (French version) and while much of the music is luscious and sweeping, none of it is memorable, at least not to these ears. Unfortunate. The next opera I chose to get is La Gioconda by Ponchielli. I'll take that one up shortly.
MIFrost

Well, re Ponchielli, I'm pretty sure you will not have the same "none of it is memorable" reaction...