# Not yet seen or heard



## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Are there any operas that are part of the core repertoire that you guys have never (yet) heard or seen? In my case there are quite a few....

-Humperdinck...Hansel und Gretel
-Wagner...Der Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Parsifal (I have DVD's of both)
-Berg...Wozzeck, Lulu (I have DVD's of both on my wishlist at Amazon)
-Mussorgsky...Boris Godunov
-Debussy...Pelleas et Melisande
-Weber...Der Freischutz
-Britten...Peter Grimes (I have it on a not yet heard cd set)
-Berlioz...LesTroyens


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Many, since I just got into opera about a year ago and I prefer to savor one opera in depth and multiple times before moving on to the next. From your list, the only one I've seen all the way through is Pelleas et Melisande, and I'd also need to add Tosca, Barber of Seville, everything Wagner, Carmen (!), the list goes on and on.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

jhar26 said:


> Are there any operas that are part of the core repertoire that you guys have never (yet) heard or seen? In my case there are quite a few....
> 
> -Humperdinck...Hansel und Gretel
> -Wagner...Der Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Parsifal (I have DVD's of both)
> ...


Of your list, I have a DVD of Hansel und Gretel that I haven't seen yet. I'm getting Parsifal on the mail tomorrow, coincidentally, and just a few minutes ago I bought a copy of Die Meistersinger - but they were two big gaps in my exposure.

Wozzeck, Lulu, Der Freischutz, and Peter Grimes are all additional gaps for me, but they are in my Netflix queue.

Boris Godunov, Pelleas et Melisande, and Les Troyens I have seen. I love all three, especially the latter which is one of my top ten favorites.

I have many other big gaps. The most notable: Gounod's Faust (but it is being given by my local opera company later this year), and also Louise, Macbeth, The Rake's Progress, The Abduction from the Serail, La Forza del Destino, Tannhauser, Werther...

There are others that I'm not counting because I either have tickets for them already, or have recently purchased them from discount sites that take a while to ship them (such as Don Pasquale, Semiramide, Le Comte Ory, Bluebeard's Castle, Capriccio...) so that by the end of the year I'll get to them.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I'm not into opera, so my knowledge of the repertoire is probably much less than most people's here. I prefer the highlights to the whole thing. But I do have two of the C20th's "atonal" style opera's classics - Berg's _Wozzeck_ & Schoenberg's _Moses und Aron_. Perhaps I like the grittiness and no holds barred attitude of these guys - I just find some of the earlier stuff full of sentimentality, daintiness, bombast - not enough meat to chew on (or too much?)...


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Andre said:


> Perhaps I like the grittiness and no holds barred attitude of these guys - I just find some of the earlier stuff full of sentimentality, daintiness, bombast - not enough meat to chew on (or too much?)...


In this case, you'll love stuff like Tristan und Isolde, Le Rossignol, and Pélleas et Mélisande. Maybe you should also try Boris Godunov, but in the Mussorgsky 1872 version, not the re-write by Rimsky-Korsakoff. All of the above are either gritty or atonal.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

jhar26 said:


> Are there any operas that are part of the core repertoire that you guys have never (yet) heard or seen? In my case there are quite a few....
> 
> -Humperdinck...Hansel und Gretel
> -Wagner...Der Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Parsifal (I have DVD's of both)
> ...


Lots of those on Met Player. The Meistersingers has Karita Mattila in it and is very attractive. Both Hansel and Gretels are good but the Von Stade one is particularly charming (this other is rather gritty and modernised, although the forest part is still magical). Boris is coming to the live in HD series next season so should make its way on in due course.

I've seen Der Freischutz but didn't like the production. I'm wondering what this film based on the opera is going to be like. Anybody got it coming to a cinema near them?

In may case I have a huge number of operas I don't know yet in my "DVDS still to watch" queue:

Lully : Persée 
Rameau: Les Paladins, Castor et Pollux, Zoroastre
Landi: Il Sant'Alessio
Purcell: King Arthur
Cimarosa: Il Matrimonio Segreto 
Haydn: Orlando Paladino 
Pergolesi: Lo Frate'nnamorato
Donizetti: Maria Stuarda
Ponchielli: La Gioconda
Berlioz: les Troyens
Borodin: Prince Igor 
Rimsky Korsakov: Sadko, Le coq d'or 
Puccini:Il Triticco (oh dear)
Bellini: Norma (I know!!!)
Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur
Ponchielli: La Gioconda
Verdi: I Lombardi, i Vespri Siciliani, I due Foscari
Offenbach : la Vie Parisiènne 
Thomas: Hamlet
Debussy: Pélléas et Mélisande,
Janacek: Katia Kabanova, Cunning Little Vixen
Britten: a Midsummer night's dream 
Wagner: Tannhäuser
Strauss: Capriccio
Stravinsky: the Rake's Progress
Poulenc : Dialogue des Carmélites 
Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk

I'm really hoping I don't get hit by a bus before I have time to work my way through them!

I'm currently in the market for good DVD versions of Elektra, Boris Godunov, Medea, and Lulu. Any suggestions?


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> In this case, you'll love stuff like Tristan und Isolde, Le Rossignol, and Pélleas et Mélisande. Maybe you should also try Boris Godunov, but in the Mussorgsky 1872 version, not the re-write by Rimsky-Korsakoff. All of the above are either gritty or atonal.


Yes, the Debussy (especially) has been on my radar for a while - saw the Ansermet recording on Decca Eloquence which I might get down the track. & Mussorgsky is one of my favourite Russians - love his Night on a Bare Mountain & Pictures at an Exhibition - very gritty. Neither of these guys were sentimental - Debussy only in an ironic/lampooning way..


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Lots of those on Met Player. The Meistersingers has Karita Mattila in it and is very attractive. Both Hansel and Gretels are good but the Von Stade one is particularly charming (this other is rather gritty and modernised, although the forest part is still magical). Boris is coming to the live in HD series next season so should make its way on in due course.
> 
> I've seen Der Freischutz but didn't like the production. I'm wondering what this film based on the opera is going to be like. Anybody got it coming to a cinema near them?
> 
> ...


Wow, such a list, you're really going for some that are definitely not in the core repertoire, showing your depth. Some of the ones you quoted I haven't even heard of!

Many of yours are in my goals. I have a DVD of Persée. It's a good production, but the opera itself, I didn't love it, I just liked it, more as a curiosity. Castor et Pollux, I own a DVD but haven't seen it yet. I just bought La Gioconda today. Les Troyens is simply phenomenal, top ten for me. I Lombardi is very disappointing, a minor Verdi. Too many choruses, but unlike Les Troyens that has even more (but they are all good), these choruses with a couple of exceptions are sort of mediocre and un-Verdi like. Of Il Triticco I've only seen Gianni Schicchi and it is excellent, but I hear that the other two are not as good, particularly Suor Angelica which is supposedly pretty lame. La Vie Parisiènne is delightful, like everything by Offenbach, I'm a big fan of his. Pélléas et Mélisande is strange, dreamy, hypnotic, and powerful, very symbolic, with one of the most spectaculars death scenes ever. Adriana Lecouvreur is a truly excellent opera, quite underrated, I don't understand why it is not more praised.

Norma, of course, is the most surprising one in your list.  How have you managed to avoid it? It is EXTREMELY beautiful, as I'm sure you know and expect. If it didn't have anything else, just Casta Diva and Mira o Norma would justify infinite admiration, but it is actually shockful of beautiful moments (although these two are clearly the high points).

Many of the others you quoted are in my Netflix queue and I'll get to them eventually, and some, like I said, I haven't heard of - like Il Sant'Alessio, Sadko, and Lady Macbeth of Mtsenk. Are they really good? I'll have to get informed.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

I'm still too new to opera to have a proper wish list. At first I used to listen to one then move on to another & didn't find the listening experience satisfactory.

Now I concentrate on really learning one before I try another.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> Norma, of course, is the most surprising one in your list.  How have you managed to avoid it? It is EXTREMELY beautiful, as I'm sure you know and expect. If it didn't have anything else, just Casta Diva and Mira o Norma would justify infinite admiration, but it is actually shockful of beautiful moments (although these two are clearly the high points).


Well of course I've heard the highlights, but never the whole opera. My DVD version is the one on your "big regrets" list so it'll be interesting to see.



Almaviva said:


> Many of the others you quoted are in my Netflix queue and I'll get to them eventually, and some, like I said, I haven't heard of - like Il Sant'Alessio, Sadko, and Lady Macbeth of Mtsenk. Are they really good? I'll have to get informed.


A lot of these were purchased due to reading recommendations on this forum. It's been a lot of fun and hugely informative, but hell for my credit card.

Another disastrous discovery I've made is this exhaustive list on the Arkivmusic website. I can see I'll end up a very poor old lady, boiling up dandelions for dinner before punching a way through my dvd collection to get to the TV.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

mamascarlatti said:


> I'm currently in the market for good DVD versions of Elektra, Boris Godunov, Medea, and Lulu. Any suggestions?


For Elektra you simply MUST have this one. It's a film, but never mind. This surely must be one of the best opera DVD's out there.










Lulu is going to be one of my next purchases. I would have ordered it today, but I've just noticed that there is a new Martha Argerich cd box-set coming out a few days from now and life has it's priorities. :lol:


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

mamascarlatti said:


> Lots of those on Met Player. The Meistersingers has Karita Mattila in it and is very attractive.


I have the Meistersinger with Karita on DVD, but I haven't yet seen it.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

jhar26 said:


> For Elektra you simply MUST have this one. It's a film, but never mind. This surely must be one of the best opera DVD's out there.


Thanks Gaston. This has gone on my wishlist but might have to wait till next month.



jhar26 said:


> Lulu is going to be one of my next purchases. I would have ordered it today, but I've just noticed that there is a new Martha Argerich cd box-set coming out a few days from now and life has it's priorities. :lol:


What version are you going for?


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

mamascarlatti said:


> What version are you going for?


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

*Opera is a bottomless pit where all the money goes.*



mamascarlatti said:


> Well of course I've heard the highlights, but never the whole opera. My DVD version is the one on your "big regrets" list so it'll be interesting to see.
> 
> A lot of these were purchased due to reading recommendations on this forum. It's been a lot of fun and hugely informative, but hell for my credit card.
> 
> Another disastrous discovery I've made is this exhaustive list on the Arkivmusic website. I can see I'll end up a very poor old lady, boiling up dandelions for dinner before punching a way through my dvd collection to get to the TV.


I hear you as I'm having the same problem. My budget for opera is exploding all reasonable attempts to limit it. The fact that I live in a small metropolitan area doesn't help because other than the 3 or 4 local performances I get per year, if I want to attend anything else in person, it involves travel, hotels, meals, expensive tickets, etc (like in late October I'm going to New York City to attend Don Paquale with Anna Netrebko and Boris Godunov with Gergiev and Rene Pape, Mussorgsky's orchestration). So I'm actually afraid of clicking on your link, since I'm known for getting very impulsive in my opera purchases.

Lately I've been trying to only buy "used-like-new" DVDs and CDs, at significant discounts, and haven't had any bad experience yet, no scratched discs or missing pages in the libretti or anything. I've just tried the semi-bootleg versions (usually, stuff in the public domaine or recorded from TV that are sold at bargain prices) but they haven't arrived in the mail yet, I know that it is hit and miss but I hope I'll be lucky with the ones I bought (I spent $75, shipping included, for about 12 operas).


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## wagner4evr (Jul 10, 2010)

Way more that I haven't seen than know. I'd kill to see Meistersinger and Parsifal.


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## karenpat (Jan 16, 2009)

jhar26 said:


> Are there any operas that are part of the core repertoire that you guys have never (yet) heard or seen? In my case there are quite a few....
> 
> -Humperdinck...Hansel und Gretel
> -Wagner...Der Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Parsifal (I have DVD's of both)
> ...


I'm ashamed to say there were operas in that list I haven't even heard of, and even more ashamed to say that I haven't seen much of the really REALLY famous romantic operas either. I'm mostly into baroque opera - Händel, Monteverdi, and Rameau to name a few - but I'm trying to expand my tastes into other directions. Although currently I haven't gotten further than Rossini.:lol: I have seen La Traviata several times but other than that my experience with Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti and those guys is virtually non-existing. Maybe there's something about the concept of romantic opera I need to get my head around. I've always been more partial to the lighter, softer baroque tenor voices over the romantic tenor voice which to my ears can seem a little less dynamic - like it's on max volume all the time.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> I hear you as I'm having the same problem. My budget for opera is exploding all reasonable attempts to limit it. The fact that I live in a small metropolitan area doesn't help because other than the 3 or 4 local performances I get per year, if I want to attend anything else in person, it involves travel, hotels, meals, expensive tickets, etc (like in late October I'm going to New York City to attend Don Paquale with Anna Netrebko and Boris Godunov with Gergiev and Rene Pape, Mussorgsky's orchestration). So I'm actually afraid of clicking on your link, since I'm known for getting very impulsive in my opera purchases.


We get two local performances, usually surprisingly high quality, but they are of a necessity very much core bums-on-seats repertoire.



Almaviva said:


> Lately I've been trying to only buy "used-like-new" DVDs and CDs, at significant discounts, and haven't had any bad experience yet, no scratched discs or missing pages in the libretti or anything.


My main issue is that postage to NZ is SO high. If I buy on Amazon marketplace it's US$13, which translates to NZ$18, before you even buy the DVD. So even bargain basement prices are hugely inflated. Still it's better than buying local where standard prices for a DVD are about US$60-70.

You see why at those prices Met Player becomes such an attractive proposition. And don't forget all the audio files you get too.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Wow, $60 to $80 for a DVD is extremely expensive!


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