# Spending advice - $100 to buy opera DVDs



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I got $100 from a relative as a Christmas gift, and I intend to use this amount to buy 3 or 4 opera DVDs (depending on the price).

Some of you are already familiar with my tastes and in part with what I own already, so, please, give me some advice.

I believe that Natalie has recommended Handel's _Hercules_ from Opera de Paris, and someone else has recommended Haydn's _Il Mondo della Luna_ from Vienna.



















Any other suggestions, off the beaten path? (I own most of the beaten path already...)


----------



## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

I still think you should buy Erwartung or Gurrelieder, if you haven't already.


----------



## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Previn's "A Streetcar Named Desire" with Renée Fleming and Janacek's "The Makropulos Case" with Anja Silja.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

OK, I got, for $107 (just a little above my limit):
The Makropulos Case
A Streetcar Named Desire
Il Mondo Della Luna
Hercules
I Vespri Siciliani
The latter is not strictly off the beaten path, but I didn't have it.


----------



## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Il Mondo Della Luna


Let us know what you think of the _Il Mondo Della Luna_ production. The staging of it looked bizzare enough.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Let us know what you think of the _Il Mondo Della Luna_ production. The staging of it looked bizzare enough.


OK, it has arrived, and it's sitting on my unwatched pile. The pile is huge by now, so, I don't know when I'll get to it, but I'll post a review once I do.


----------



## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> The pile is huge by now ....


:lol: Huge, uh?! You're not the only one ... My pile includes CDs.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Counting only complete operas that I don't know yet, I have 5 CD boxes and 43 DVDs/blu-rays on my unwatched pile. Then you have to add to this, second/third versions of some favorite operas that I bought but haven't watched yet, plus some ten concerts/compilations DVDs that I haven't watched yet. All things considered, it's probably around 65. What I need is a spending ban until I finish watching these 65, but I keep imposing it on me, then breaking free of it.

This, opera only. I have classical music concerts on DVD and CDs and other genres that are also unlistened to/unwatched but I'm not even counting those.


----------



## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Counting only complete operas that I don't know yet, I have 5 CD boxes and 43 DVDs/blu-rays on my unwatched pile. Then you have to add to this, second/third versions of some favorite operas that I bought but haven't watched yet, plus some ten concerts/compilations DVDs that I haven't watched yet. All things considered, it's probably around 65. What I need is a spending ban until I finish watching these 65, but I keep imposing it on me, then breaking free of it.
> 
> This, opera only. I have classical music concerts on DVD and CDs and other genres that are also unlistened to/unwatched but I'm not even counting those.


One simple observation/question: you keep count?!

I have lost count of how many "still to listen/watch". Probably around 100 CDs and DVDs altogether, but the CDs taking the larger share. "_Buy first, listen later_" while on sale, which are far too easy to click with the mouse. It's probably a weakness that we have as fine music lovers (obviously with some disposable income for this hobby). But when I look at my collection/library, it gives me a  knowing all the years of listening pleasure I had and more to come.


----------



## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Almaviva said:


> What I need is a spending ban until I finish watching these 65, but I keep imposing it on me, then breaking free of it.


That's what I keep telling myself, but it never works out that way. I have (give or take a few) about 30 unwatched opera DVD's, over 100 classical CD's (including those from box sets) that I haven't yet heard and somewhere between 40-50 rock, jazz and so on CD's that are still waiting their turn.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> One simple observation/question: you keep count?!
> 
> I have lost count of how many "still to listen/watch". Probably around 100 CDs and DVDs altogether, but the CDs taking the larger share. "_Buy first, listen later_" while on sale, which are far too easy to click with the mouse. It's probably a weakness that we have as fine music lovers (obviously with some disposable income for this hobby). But when I look at my collection/library, it gives me a  knowing all the years of listening pleasure I had and more to come.


I only keep count of the complete operas that I own already but haven't seen/listened to. I have a list and I add to it when I buy new stuff, and cross out entries when I get to them. This is how I could tell precisely the number 48 (5 CDs, 43 DVD/blu-rays). This is to avoid buying the same stuff twice, because I don't know by heart the entire list. The list also functions as a menu of sorts, when I have time for a new one - I take a look at the list and pick the one that seems the most enticing for my mood at the time, then I go to the pile to dig it out.

When I say pile, I'm talking about a real one. It sits on a table in one of the rooms. I'm a fairly disorganized guy and I haven't ever arranged the collection in shelves. Once I see something from the pile, I just toss it in a couple of big drawers. When I like it a lot and I know I'll be watching it again pretty soon, I move it to the shelves next to the home theater, but those works that I feel like watching only rarely, end up in the drawers.

I don't keep count of other materials (recitals, compilations, repeats, and non-operatic music).

Unlike you, I experience some distress with the size of the pile. Instead of feeling delighted with the years/months of listening/watching still to come, I feel like I'm failing these works somehow, for not giving them my attention.


----------



## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> I only keep count of the complete operas that I own already but haven't seen/listened to. I have a list and I add to it when I buy new stuff, and cross out entries when I get to them. This is how I could tell precisely the number 48 (5 CDs, 43 DVD/blu-rays). This is to avoid buying the same stuff twice, because I don't know by heart the entire list. The list also functions as a menu of sorts, when I have time for a new one - I take a look at the list and pick the one that seems the most enticing for my mood at the time, then I go to the pile to dig it out.
> 
> When I say pile, I'm talking about a real one. It sits on a table in one of the rooms. I'm a fairly disorganized guy and I haven't ever arranged the collection in shelves. Once I see something from the pile, I just toss it in a couple of big drawers. When I like it a lot and I know I'll be watching it again pretty soon, I move it to the shelves next to the home theater, but those works that I feel like watching only rarely, end up in the drawers.
> 
> ...


Always interesting to see how someone else physically manages his/her collection, especially those of us who have large number of physical items (i.e. not electronic versions stored in the computer, which I do not have).

Everyone manages it differently because of one's domestic circumstance, lifestyle and personality. I have most of mine on a large shelf that was made for CDs/DVDs, in other words, the depth of the shelf is not as deep as you might expect of a normal book shelf. It is surprisingly compact and looks neat enough. The problem I have is sorting them into some kind of order that suits me best. My method is sort the CDs by label (I'll tell you why in a minute): so for example Harmonia Mundi, then I have all the composers more or less alphabetically sorted under that label. This implies I need to have a bit of room after each label because I do buy more works of a particular label. Yes, I have space/gaps to allow for this. The labels themselves are not in any particular order, more to do with how I have collected them. All of this is repeated with DVDs.

I sort them by label because that's my purchasing habit over the years: I buy all of my stuff from the internet shops, and I "focus" each purchase/order when the labels go routinely on sale. The advantages are obviously on price, focus on what to look for each time via the labels and that there is a general sense of purchasing strategy. (Of course, I do buy the odd few on full price when I read great recommendations about a particular item and can't wait).

So, the only list that I keep are the invoices sent to me. I find that works well for me given my purchasing "strategy". So next time when the same label goes on sale again, all I have to do is look for the last invoice I spend on this label and check that I don't buy the same item by accident.

The biggest disadvantage with how I manage is I sometimes need to physically search for a particular item to check if I already have a particular version of a work, while a different version of it is on sale. My memory is quite good but still, it can take a little to physiclaly search.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> I sort them by label because that's my purchasing habit over the years: I buy all of my stuff from the internet shops, and I "focus" each purchase/order when the labels go routinely on sale. The advantages are obviously on price, focus on what to look for each time via the labels and that there is a general sense of purchasing strategy. (Of course, I do buy the odd few on full price when I read great recommendations about a particular item and can't wait).


Wow, I hadn't ever thought of that. I think I didn't even know that entire labels went regularly on sale. Pardon my being a naïve and unsophisticated buyer, but I guess my chronic disorganization gets in the way as well. I just don't pay attention, and I go by reviews and by my willingness to explore some composer or some period. But sometimes I have something on my virtual wish list and sort of memorize the price that is being asked for it and find it to be reasonable, and then when I decide to finally buy it, I am surprised to see that the price has changed significantly. Now that you mention your strategy, it's probably because the particular label that had the material I wanted was on sale, but then the sale ended by the time I made my decision.

I was under the impression that vendors went on sale rather than labels - I think I'm still with real storefronts on mind - but now that you brought my attention to it, you're absolutely right, the same item seems to have similar prices accross vendors (the Internet world reacts fast to a competitors' price strategy), and when the price goes down with one vendor, it tends to go down with other vendors as well and vice-versa, so probably what I assume to be a vendor sale price, is actually a label sale price.

Another problem is that since I've never paid much attention to labels, I rarely know who carries what. Most of the time I just type the name of an opera or CD that interests me on the Amazon.com search field, and look at the reviews for the various versions, do some YouTube watching of the versions that seem good, and buy them either new or used, regardless of label.

In terms of being unsophisticated as a buyer, I've wasted lots of money on new copies or copies from major vendors, before realizing more recently that many smaller vendors are also reliable, and that many used copies are in very good shape and can be purchased at a significant discount with no loss of quality, no scratches, etc. Another thing that I've just recently discovered is that sometimes it is a good idea to go international, and buy from Amazon.com.uk (especially now that I got a region-free PAL/NTSC DVD player).

These days I think I buy more often from Amazon.com marketplace vendors such as MovieMars, ImportCDs, etc, than from Amazon.com itself. In this regard, my unwatched pile is protective.

Before it reached its current size, I used to impulsively buy from Amazon.com at higher prices, because with my Prime membership I'd get the article in two days, and it was always a new copy so I didn't need to worry about the reputation of the vendor, shipping delays, or the status of the used copy.

However now that I won't be watching a newly bought DVD anytime soon because I feel the obligation to honor the "older members" of my unwatched pile first, the 2-days Prime shipping is not important, and I can afford the "delayed gratification" of ordering for cheaper from a marketplace vendor even thought they'll take much longer to deliver.

As for the physical management of my collection, like I said it is made of three areas of my home: a table in a room that is rarely used where I pile up the unwatched material, two large drawers in another room for the "watched once and done," and the "noble" part, the shelves close to the home theater for the favorite discs (however they are completely full and above capacity by now with all little potential spaces being used, and I never get to expand them or buy new ones). It is quite a mess and I have trouble locating stuff. But I always dream of making it all neat and proper, all organized by composer, alphabetical order, whatever. I always think of doing it during my "next" vacation (or rather, staycation) because I don't have the time to do it on weekends. Then the vacation comes and goes and it's not done.

The mess drives my wife crazy and she dreams of the day when I'll take care of organizing things, but it never happens.


----------



## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

I used to have a "scatter gun" buying approach with the internet shops - just buy whatever I wanted irrespective of label/price/whatever. After a little while, I found that proved to me to be just too wild an approach given the *huge sea *of recordings out there. So I needed a much more focused strategy, and suddenly the idea just came to me to buy by the labels on discount: the real focus here is to look just by this label, thus avoding the "scatter gun" approach, and at the same time, take advantage of price discounts (each time I place an order, I could spend several hundred dollars as I like to do a large-ish order).

Times have changed regarding how we should buy classical recordings. When I first started to build a collection, large CD shops in my city where I live would have a dedicated sub-shop just for classical with a very decent range. Now, these shops are near all gone. We may well miss the service of dealing with people, but I tell you what, based on my on-line purchasing experience, it is definitely much more efficient and price competitive to order on-line.

Yep, I also notice that a particular label's incidence of sale is highly correlated between the internet shops. Harmonia Mundi for example, went on sale at the same time last time at both these on-line shops. I have only two favourite shops that I buy from routinely, and then there are the Amazon avenues that I may use when items are out of print. The internet is great for classical recordings, and as I spend a few thousand perhaps each year, I think I ought to be just a touch more systematic. I love it!


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> I used to have a "scatter gun" buying approach with the internet shops - just buy whatever I wanted irrespective of label/price/whatever. After a little while, I found that proved to me to be just too wild an approach given the *huge sea *of recordings out there. So I needed a much more focused strategy, and suddenly the idea just came to me to buy by the labels on discount: the real focus here is to look just by this label, thus avoding the "scatter gun" approach, and at the same time, take advantage of price discounts (each time I place an order, I could spend several hundred dollars as I like to do a large-ish order).
> 
> Times have changed regarding how we should buy classical recordings. When I first started to build a collection, large CD shops in my city where I live would have a dedicated sub-shop just for classical with a very decent range. Now, these shops are near all gone. We may well miss the service of dealing with people, but I tell you what, based on my on-line purchasing experience, it is definitely much more efficient and price competitive to order on-line.
> 
> Yep, I also notice that a particular label's incidence of sale is highly correlated between the internet shops. Harmonia Mundi for example, went on sale at the same time last time at both these on-line shops. I have only two favourite shops that I buy from routinely, and then there are the Amazon avenues that I may use when items are out of print. The internet is great for classical recordings, and as I spend a few thousand perhaps each year, I think I ought to be just a touch more systematic. I love it!


How do you get to know what labels are on sale? Are you just familiar with the prices and you can tell when they drop?


----------



## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> How do you get to know what labels are on sale? Are you just familiar with the prices and you can tell when they drop?


Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your question. But all one needs to do is go to a good website, and they simply show on their main page which labels are on sale, and then you can search all the items under that label showing sale price versus normal price. A particular label gets put on sale for about a few weeks (give or take). After that, then other labels are on sale, taking turns. That's how they move stock, I guess.

I'll send you a PM, which sites I use. It's easy.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your question. But all one needs to do is go to a good website, and they simply show on their main page which labels are on sale, and then you can search all the items under that label showing sale price versus normal price. A particular label gets put on sale for about a few weeks (give or take). After that, then other labels are on sale, taking turns. That's how they move stock, I guess.
> 
> I'll send you a PM, which sites I use. It's easy.


Thanks, I got the PM. Like I said, I didn't even know that entire labels went on sale.


----------



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-G...ef=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1295465734&sr=1-1

Martin a Russian opera freak!

This is a master piece.

You can listen to the the music at:

http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-M...=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1295465876&sr=1-4

This is W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L

Martin...the freak


----------

