[acidtripwow]

Does anybody have any suggestions for good Opera recordings? I'm only beginning to get into Opera and thought I'd ask for suggestions. Any on SACD yet?

 

[KR...]

Ok, I love Wagner.

I would suggest that you start with these two CDs :

Birgit Nilsson – Sings Wagner : Opera Arias
Richard Wagner – Love Duets: Tristan Und Isolde/Siegfried

 

[acidtripwow]

Thanks KR, I'll check them out.

 

[TerriblySorry]

Puccini's Turandot.

 

[redshifter]

puccini and wagner are great suggestions.

also check out mozart's "the magic flute".

 

[DarkAngel]

Perhaps it is best when just starting to get samplers to see what you like. If you want great collection of female opera arias it would be hard to beat Joan Sutherland double CD:

Art of the Prima Donna

 

[huy_ha]

If you decide to get The Magic Flute, I've been really happy with EMI Classics with Klemperer conducting (EMI 5 67385 2).

 

[beowulf]

Quote:

Originally posted by acidtripwow Does anybody have any suggestions for good Opera recordings? I'm only beginning to get into Opera and thought I'd ask for suggestions. Any on SACD yet?

If you are starting, I'd suggest the friendlier ones:

Tosca. My favourite is the version with Mirella Freni,Placido Domingo,Samuel Ramey. Conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli, on Deutsche Grammophon, DDD

Don Giovanni. Very good. I particularly like the version with Rodney Gilfry on Deutsche Grammophone conducted by Gardiner. Good DDD sound too.

Barber of Seville. With Callas and Luigi Alva, on EMI. It is older, but studio recording with good sound. Performance is excellent.

Magic Flute. There are many good versions. If you want to go the cheap way, Naxos's edition with Hellen Kwon is very good.

L’italiana in Algeri . Great opera buffa from Rossini. I like Decca's version with Luigi Alva. It is somewhat similar to Barber of Seville, full of nice melodies.

Il Trovatore. Verdi's most famous... well, one of the most famous at least. For modern DDD versions you have two with Placido Domingo, one on Deutsche and one in Sony Classical. Both are good. Domingo excels in the DG version, but sound engineering and the Leonora role are a bit better in Sony's.

These were my first operas, and they ignited my interest in that kind of music.

Most of all, if you are indeed starting and have good sense of humour, I'd strongly suggest you get the Opera for Dummies book. There is no shame in doing it just because it is yellow and usually associated with people who don't know what they are doing.

David Pogue is hilarious, the book is not only fun but informative and very good to raise the opera passion in newbies.
It also includes a CD with excellent pieces of great operas, with great performers and pretty much leads you on which operas to try first and how to evolve along with your preferences.

I recommend it all the time... in fact, I think it should be #1 purchase for any newcomer to opera with a good sense of humour! Very worth the price for the jokes alone, not to mention the information and the CD. Who said opera books always have to be dull. I've been lazy... I have to fully review it here one of these days...

I found Turandot and Wagner a bit harder to digest in the beggining, and focused mostly in Mozart and Rossini. Now that I think about it, I think the closer to Puccini I got back then was Madame Butterfly. If you want something a bit darker (I guess I recommended mostly opera buffa), Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci" is a good starting choice.

 

[acidtripwow]

Thanks everyone for their suggestions. Like I said I'm just starting to look into Opera and purchased a couple of very cheap sampler CDs at $3.99 each. One of them skips and the other one has terrible sound. I'll stay away from the cheap CDs from now on.

Beowolf, I'll have to check out that book, I'm always looking for a good laugh.

On the cheap CD that I have that does work, I really like Verdi and Puccini. I will probably start there and work my way to others.

 

[beowulf]

Quote:

Originally posted by acidtripwow Beowolf, I'll have to check out that book, I'm always looking for a good laugh.

Do that really. Run to get it. It is really pretty fun and informative. Should be your first purchase.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...725307-1501558

 

[XXhalberstramXX]

Turandot hard to digest??? Operas like 'Lulu' are hard to digest. Turandot's like a steamroller of emotion! IMO if you don't get that opera, you're asleep or thinking way too hard. it's not all that deep, just rather melodramatic. but that's just my opinion. sorry to sound so elitist here. I think it's a great starting opera though. Get the Mehta/Pavarotti/Sutherland recording. it has very good sound despite being AAD.

The suggestions here sound great, although if you want the best sound, you'll probably shy away from the older recordings with artists of the likes of Callas or Nilsson, although artists today (or at any time) that are in the same league are rare.

I've found John Eliot Gardiner's recording of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro to be extremely involving and entertaining. It's a live proformance, so you'll hear footsteps, but it adds to the feeling of being there, so it's fine. good sound too. All the singers involved have a keen sense of drama, and are excellent, especially Byrn Terfel.

Another great choice (and I'm sure many of y'all will disagree with me here) is Alban Berg's Wozzeck. Very nightmarish, crazy music. very involving though, it sucks you into Wozzeck's world of decay and madness. The Claudio Abbado recording of it is reccomended, but i don't remember how the sound quality was.

Actually, you might also want to try Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischutz. It's very easy to follow both musically and plot-wise. The Kubelik recording has great sound and good soloists, plus a very impressive Samiel (agent of the devil).

 

[KR...]

Quote:

The suggestions here sound great, although if you want the best sound, you'll probably shy away from the older recordings with artists of the likes of Callas or Nilsson, although artists today (or at any time) that are in the same league are rare.

That's what makes that CD I recommended so great, it rated very high in the sonics by stereophile, it may very well be the best recording of her and Hotter that you can find, and their were both at the top of their careers when they made it! It's a must have for any and all Opera fans!

 

[XXhalberstramXX]

*crunch* *crunch* *crunch* (me eating hat)


i guess it'd be more appropriate to eat my words, but the phrase "i'll eat my hat" is appealing. So appealing in fact...

Der Aufsteig und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (the rise and fall of the city of mahagonny)
an opera by Kurt Weil. get it!!
Grammophone and BBC magazine just reviewed a DVD of this rarely proformed opera from the Salzburg Festival and they both gave it top marks. Having seen the VHS version of said proformance, i agree. it's great. and great fun. song, dance, and social commentary. it's wunderbar as they sing in the opera. Anyways, theres an aria about eating one's hat.

 

[beowulf]

Quote:

Originally posted by XXhalberstramXX Turandot hard to digest??? Operas like 'Lulu' are hard to digest. Turandot's like a steamroller of emotion! IMO if you don't get that opera, you're asleep or thinking way too hard.

Well, Lulu is a bit on the extreme, and perhaps not addequate to take your girl to on the first date.

But this just proves that opera can be a highly personal experience, perhaps even much more than with "popular" much.

Turandot didn't do it for me at the beginning, while others like Don Giovanni had a much stronger effect.

While sometimes not being on the "Your first 10 to hear" lists, well, Puccini is always Puccini, and always worth it.
Turandot in particular is still not one of my most loved operas as a whole, but is now definitely one I enjoy, probably because of some interesting emotional moments.