# What's your favorite opera cd cover?



## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Post it here 
More than one is fine.
:tiphat:


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I find it very, very difficult to choose just one. Can we choose favourites?

N.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

This is one of my favourites.










It's not my favouite Callas Lucia, though it was my first recording of the opera, and I had it in this incarnation. Love this cover too.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

The Conte said:


> I find it very, very difficult to choose just one. Can we choose favourites?
> 
> N.


Sure, it's all for some fun.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

OK, my favourite recording of one of my favourite operas:









I also love the simple, classic lines of these Myto releases and I ADORE these photos of Callas as Violetta with elegant gloves and the off the shoulder dress. There are a number of these, but the one chosen here is one of the best. So all round this is great cover art for a great recording.

N.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

I like these for being hilariously over the top.

















I'm also a fan of the Neu Bayreuth covers from the 60s.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> OK, my favourite recording of one of my favourite operas:
> 
> View attachment 119367
> 
> ...


Photos from the same session were used for her Verdi Heroines recital too, though Violetta doesn't appear on that disc.










French EMI had the more appropriate, but less glamorous Macbeth photo on the cover.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)




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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Elvira's heart is broken to the point of madness, a picture can speak a thousand words.......










Betrayed by lady Seymour, death's cold embrace awaits......


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

I really like this one.
The way they have Wagner's picture there it looks as if he's there with them
pitching in.


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## MozartsGhost (May 9, 2014)

Not a CD, I don't have many opera CD's, but I've always liked this cover:


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

KenOC said:


>


I was hoping someone would post this! Ah, the memories. My first Ring cycle, too.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I've always liked this one - the once smart-alec jester who laughed at the Duke's philandering now suffering anguish and torment as he discovers what it's like to be on the receiving end.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Another category of covers I like are Wagner covers using symbolist, pre-Raphaelite and deco designs. I think it's a good reminder that Wagner inspired this yearning for an aesthetized imagined history and mythology that spoke to those artists around the turn of the century.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

For orchestral opera without words, these cds were certainly eye-opening. I bought them only because of the cover art, but they turned out to be quite enjoyable musically as well.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Just a few .


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)




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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)




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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I really liked the series that EMI used for a number of issues on CD back in the 90s. Simple, yet colourful, I find them very elegant.

































N.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> I really liked the series that EMI used for a number of issues on CD back in the 90s. Simple, yet colourful, I find them very elegant.
> 
> N.


I rather prefer the covers on the original LPs, though admittedly that might just be nostalgia. I've never much liked making the covers of a particular series too uniform. It was always harder to remember what I already had when browsing record stores - ah, those were the days.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I rather prefer the covers on the original LPs, though admittedly that might just be nostalgia. I've never much liked making the covers of a particular series too uniform. It was always harder to remember what I already had when browsing record stores - ah, those were the days.


That's an interesting point, I tend to have a very good memory for what I already have and am especially careful when I see a new release on CD with singers that are no longer singing. I agree that some series can be bland, but I do find the more simple, classical designs on CD artwork in general easier on my eyes. Whilst we are used to talking about our different tastes here on TC when it comes to our ears, one fascinating aspect of this thread is our different tastes when it comes to our eyes.

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Talking about the artwork on opera CD reissues versus the original artwork used for a vinyl release, there has been an interesting development where CD editions have gone back to that original artwork. This can be done in a number of ways, for example with my latest purchase (Fricsay's Don Giovanni).

The original release on vinyl:








The first CD release (which I don't like as it looks incredibly old fashioned and has no link to the original artwork. If they were going to go with a new design, they could have created something far more attractive IMO):








The first CD remaster went back to the original artwork and presented it with a slant on a new cover in Universal's 'The Originals' series. I really like the design here, modern and elegant with a nod to the original:








The recording has been remastered _again_ with a straight reversion (albeit slightly modified) to the original artwork:








This seems to be a growing trend in CD cover design.

N.


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## Minor Sixthist (Apr 21, 2017)

High on my to-listen pile, literally. The swan!


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## gellio (Nov 7, 2013)

The single sexiest opera recording artwork ever. HOT AF!


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Whilst in general I am a fan of returning back to the original cover art as has become a trend for recent CD releases, I find the designs for Warner's Callas Remastered set rather uninspiring (unlike most of the recordings).









(I've chosen this one solely because I like the blue colours.) I also don't like the fact that there is nothing linked to the opera on the covers of these releases other than the La Scala outline because it is the orchestra and chorus that appears on most of them (those with other orchestras have different designs).

This cover, however, is stunning:









N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Sticking with Callas and CD designs, I loved the 1990s EMI Callas Edition for it's classic simplicity and elegant monochrome look:

































And here's that Mad Scenes album in this earlier design:









N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

More Callas (I can't resist).

























N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Now for something totally different:

















Bright, bold and colourful. Great cover art.

N.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)




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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

This old LP-one was pretty daring in its days (1971)


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Joan looked spectacular here.






This one is tied... campy and spooky


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

SALOME on DG from 1990-91. I love the silver lettering.


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

Hard pick, but I guess this one:


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)




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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Another art historical reference I like are those Strauss recordings by Bohm on Deutsche Grammophon--the allusion to the Vienna Secession is very apt.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Young unknown Maria making waves in opera world, FONO label has great "antique" looking cover pix


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

The Conte said:


> Whilst in general I am a fan of returning back to the original cover art as has become a trend for recent CD releases, I find the designs for Warner's Callas Remastered set rather uninspiring (unlike most of the recordings).
> 
> View attachment 119998
> 
> ...


I on the other hand really like these original covers. I have the first Tosca on vinyl and it looks pretty great. For me the La Scala outline works and it's nice to see the singers on the front. I think it looks rather classy. All Callas recordings, studio or live, have really good covers.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Although I do prefer original covers, this one always intrigues me.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Diminuendo said:


> I on the other hand really like these original covers. I have the first Tosca on vinyl and it looks pretty great. For me the La Scala outline works and it's nice to see the singers on the front. I think it looks rather classy. All Callas recordings, studio or live, have really good covers.


These aren't solely Callas covers, however. They're just the covers that were used for La Scala recordings. Here's Stella's Traviata for instance.









I agree with Conte. I almost always use the original artwork when I'm organizing records into iTunes, with the exception of these La Scala covers--too similar to the others, and there's too many of them not to be needlessly identical in my library. I generally use the coolest covers I can find from the later issues, and there's always a lot of choices for these Callas classics.


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## Open Book (Aug 14, 2018)

There are some Don Giovanni's here already, this is my favorite.


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## Open Book (Aug 14, 2018)

mbhaub said:


> I was hoping someone would post this! Ah, the memories. My first Ring cycle, too.


The Walkure cover with VW hubcaps has to be the old Westminster Gold label, source of many provocative covers.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Open Book said:


> There are some Don Giovanni's here already, this is my favorite.
> View attachment 120456


My favorite part of this cover is the STEREOPHONIC logo at the top!


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Fritz Kobus said:


> My favorite part of this cover is the STEREOPHONIC logo at the top!


I, on the other hand, like Siepi's earring (and if you squint it looks like he's making a rude gesture!)

N.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

No persons on it, just this, very good artwork.
( and very good recording)


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Simple but gorgeous.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

'Nuff said!


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Seattleoperafan;1655075
said:


> View attachment 120110
> This one is tied... campy and spooky


I think this one is very apropos and matches the music.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Joyce's hairdresser lived near by.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)




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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Much like Decca's iconic cover for Britten's _War Requiem_, I love the understatement in this design for _Peter Grimes_:









I'm also fond of the elegant covers Glossa provided for La Venexiana's survey of the Monteverdi operas, like this one:


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Schwarzkopf/Karajan *Der Rosenkavalier* has been reissued many times, but this is probably my favourite cover for it.


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## Curmudgeon (Jun 14, 2019)

Hard to pick a favorite, but this one I have always enjoyed looking at.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Not a opera, but gorgeous nevertheless, although I think they would think twice before doing it again with all that fur .


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