# Opera Recommendations, Anyone?



## Queen of the Nerds (Dec 22, 2014)

Though I have listened to much classical music, I have not heard much opera. I am trying to resolve this, so can you please send in the recommendations? I would also like to know what recordings are best.
Thank you!!


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Some that are very different from each other:

- Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail (= The Abduction ..)/ Solti
- Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (=The Magic Flute) / Böhm
- Weber: Der Freischütz / Kleiber
- Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov / Ermler, Nesterenko

+ "Mass for Rossini", collective work in a very operatic, Italian style, by Verdi & other composers / Rilling


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Please be sure to add Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur" with Olivero/Corelli/Bastianini/Simionato to your collection.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

*Verdi's La Traviata* , if that don't work , forget it.:lol:


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Donizetti's _Lucia di Lammermoor_ has drama, good melodies and choruses. Some versions are better than others (as is always the case) but this one's my favourite.


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

I've got a few people started on opera with the Colin Davis conducted Tosca


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

La Cenerentola conducted by Abbado, but you really ought to watch it on DVD, which in this case I also recommend the Abbado production:


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Where you should begin depends partly on what styles and periods of music you most enjoy. Operas of Monteverdi, Mozart, Verdi, Wagner and Britten sound nothing alike. Some may hit your sweet spot and others may not.


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## Fagotterdammerung (Jan 15, 2015)

I'd suggest starting with your favorite composers and exploring their operas e.g. if you like Mozart's symphonies, you'll probably like his operas, too.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I would suggest the operas of Mozart starting with The Marriage of Figaro.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

DavidA said:


> I would suggest the operas of Mozart starting with The Marriage of Figaro.


I still think it rather depends on the kind of music one likes. When I was young and first getting into opera my preference was for big orchestras and lush textures, hence it was Puccini that really got me into opera, and then Verdi. My love of Mozart came much later. If I'd been into the music of the baroque, I might have been better starting off with Handel. I think it's very much down to individual taste, as Woodduck points out above.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Pugg said:


> *Verdi's La Traviata* , if that don't work , forget it.:lol:


Make sure to get the one with Gheorghiu and Lopardo.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Make sure to get the one with Gheorghiu and Lopardo.


It wouldn't be my top choice. Solti's unlyrical, four square conducting totally ruins it for me. Lopardo is overparted and Nucci a dry old stick as Germont. I saw this performance on stage at Covent Garden and his acting was as wooden as his singing. Gheorghiu was wonderful, especially considering it was her first stab at the role, but her surroundings were not. I can't help wondering what she might have achieved with a more considerate conductor.

Top choice for a studio performance is probably Carlos Kleiber with Cotrubas, Domingo and Milnes.

Better still, and probably the best performance of *La Traviata* I have ever heard is Callas's live Covent Garden performance of 1958, wonderfully supported by Cesare Valetti and Mario Zanasi, and with Rescigno inspired to give of his very best in the pit. Callas takes us beyond the notes to the stuff of genuine tragedy. She doesn't just sing the role. She feels it with every fibre of her being.

I'd also recommend the Zeffirelli film with Teresa Stratas, Domingo and Cornell MacNeil. Stratas, such a natural actress, is almost unbearably moving. _Sempre libera_ strains her to the limits, but once past that hurdle, she actually sings the role very well.


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## Loge (Oct 30, 2014)

There about four operas that people who have never heard an opera can enjoy straight out to bat.
They are:

Puccini - La boheme
Puccini - Madama Butterfly
Bizet - Carmen
Verdi - La Traviata

For good recordings try and buy the best latest versions on DVD. You will have subtiltes and great high def images of the performances. Get live performances rather than film versions. In film versions the lip synch looks odd and drains the performance.


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## musivc (Dec 27, 2014)

Die Zauberflöte, Mozart....or any of his four greats.

Perhaps, if not necessarily opera, then a vocal CD of arias or lieder by any of the great singers. This may get one accustomed to the sounds of classical singing. (I really hate that word, classical, when describing such music!)


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Wagner's Ring is worth tackling so that you can ease into his luxuriant orchestration. I found it a good introduction worth revisiting in a lifetime.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

DavidA said:


> I would suggest the operas of Mozart starting with The Marriage of Figaro.


I think Verdi, Donizetti and Bellini are more accessible than Mozart because many people find the recits irritating.

It's taken me a long time to like Mozart's operas. If The Marriage of Figaro had been the very first opera I'd heard, I'd have been put off by the recits and would never have explored the genre which has become such a joy and passion. Still don't like them but hate listening to an opera which has been cut.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Queen of the Nerds said:


> Though I have listened to much classical music, I have not heard much opera. I am trying to resolve this, so can you please send in the recommendations? I would also like to know what recordings are best.
> Thank you!!


What classical music do you like. What are your favourite films. TV serials and novels?


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## Celesta (May 4, 2013)

Bizet - Carmen - the Price/Corelli/von Karajan recording.

Verdi - La Traviata - Sills/Gedda/Ceccato recording.

Puccini - La Boheme - Freni/Pavarotti/von Karajan recording

Puccini - Madama Butterfly - Freni/Pavarotti/von Karajan recording

Wagner - Tristan & Isolde This may be heavy going for an opera novice. Try to get the recording starring Margaret Price's luminous Isolde conducted beautifully and frenetically by Carlos Kleiber.

Debussy - Pelleas et Melisande Another esoteric work for a novice, but stunning nonetheless. Look for the von Stade/von Karajan recording. von Stade is the most gorgeous Melisande out there.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Before making any purchases, you may want to do some listening on YouTube. There are many excellent recommendations here, but as has been pointed out, which operas you may like will depend on your musical preferences in general. YouTube is an easy way to sample different operas and also find out which singers' voices appeal to you.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Reading your other posts you like Tchaikovsky so why not see or listen to an opera by Tchaikovsky.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Celesta said:


> Verdi - La Traviata - Sills/Gedda/Ceccato recording.
> 
> Puccini - Madama Butterfly - Freni/Pavarotti/von Karajan recording
> 
> Wagner - Tristan & Isolde This may be heavy going for an opera novice. Try to get the recording starring Margaret Price's luminous Isolde conducted beautifully and frenetically by Carlos Kleiber.


La Traviata and Madama Butterfly are good suggestions. But I would recommend Tosca and Turandot instead.
Tristan und Isolde can be tricky Wagner is the greatest victim of so called alternative stagings and I admit that these stagings have made it difficult at least for me to get into Wagner. The music is on the other hand very beautiful. I still think the Ring Cycle Flying Dutchman and Lohengrin are better suggestions because of their flow then people react different. I have difficulties to get into Tannhäuser which is supposed to be an accessible opera.


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## Admiral (Dec 27, 2014)

I might try highlights or compilations before a whole opera. My introduction to opera was the EMI Great Duets LP series and that's a great place to start. 
This mixes up up the voices so you're not turned off by one singer.

Picking one opera to start with, I'd say La Boheme, gorgeous music, well-known story, and lots of great recordings.


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## Admiral (Dec 27, 2014)

Here's another thought: the Puccini 100, a box set with highlights from 10 Puccini operas, including some of the great casts. Costs about $15 for 6 CDs and will get you oriented.









I see that EMI has these sets for Verdi and "Best Opera Classics" but I don't own those sets. I'm assuming they are likewise great compilations and easy intros into this form. On Amazon for $12-15 per set of 6 CDs.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

The way I approached it was to read the synopses of many operas (I think it was about 75) and found a few where the story particularly interested me. I liked all of them. Then I found a book with several hundred opera synopses and picked a few more. So far I have liked every opera I found in this manner.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Observes that you are an LP listener... the good news, as you probably know, is that there are great opera box sets available used, and if your opera collection is currently small I recommend keeping an eye out for some big collections for sale. It's a lot cheaper than acquiring piecemeal. And for the right collection it's worth the journey to collect them.

Personal favourites (LPs): 

Tosca, Callas, di Stefano. Particularly on LP it feels like entering into another world... the power, the passion, the golden era!

Bohm's Ring set


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Admiral said:


> Here's another thought: the Puccini 100, a box set with highlights from 10 Puccini operas, including some of the great casts. Costs about $15 for 6 CDs and will get you oriented.
> 
> View attachment 61406
> 
> ...


I would say it is not the highlights that make an opera good it is when the whole opera contains of highlights.


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