# Poll - how many complete operas do you own?



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

We've been talking about spending sprees, the dreaded Unwatched Police, and so forth, so I thought it would be fun to get a sense of the size of users' opera collections at home. This can be a matter of pride or shame... LOL... so, better make it anonymous under the form of a poll.

How many complete operas do you guys own, all media considered? (vinyl, CD, VHS, DVD, blu-ray, iPod download, etc)?


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## Conor71 (Feb 19, 2009)

I am just strating to listen to Opera this year so less than 20 I think .


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

My current object of desire is newly acquired Callas deluxe studio set........










Total CD collection is massive 40% classical/opera 60% rock, I have several of these 1500 CD racks
Only need to quit work so I can listen to all these.....


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

DarkAngel said:


> My current object of desire is newly acquired Callas deluxe studio set........
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Whoa!!!

I was thinking of you when I was making the voting categories, I thought, "Dark Angel must have more than 500, but it's probably a unique case so I guess I can set the highest category as more than 300..."

I guess I grossly underestimated you collection!

Oh... my... God...

Would you accept me as a guest in your house for a short period, say, a sabbatical year?  I'll bring my own headphones and sleeping bag!


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Awesome collection. I wonder how archaic such collections will look in another 10 years or so, when everything is digital. I'm including myself as one such archaic; I have approximately 1500 books that take up many, many bookcases and am already starting to feel like a bit of a relic when compared to a Kindle. Still, there's something about the heft of a book and the smell of the pages that digital just can't replicate. 
I suspect you feel the same way about your collection 

As to the poll question, it's probably about 10. But I'm an opera neophyte and I prefer to thoroughly plumb the depths of and appreciate a single work before moving on to another, so slow and steady is my preferred pace.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Almaviva
ha ha, yeh bring a pizza over and you can crash on couch

I actually have more metal & rock than opera/classical, but recently been buy more opera than anything else........


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

DarkAngel...I am positively DROOLING over your collection! And I'm the same way...opera is a small portion of my total collection, but most of what I've listened to in the last two months. Do you listen to progressive metal? I love Dream Theater, Evergrey, Queensryche and Pain of Salvation. You should check them out.

I have only five operas in their entirety: La Boheme, Madame Butterfly, La Traviata, Tristan und Isolde, and Fidelio. I have highlights albums of Rusalka and Marriage of Figaro. I have Suor Angelica in its entirety, but did not include it in the five because it's part of Il Trittico and I do not have the other two in the set.

Despite my modest numbers, I also have three compilation albums. All told, it's about 24 hours of opera. All of these are digital music downloads (I know....I can hear the *boooos* and *hisses* in the background!) That said, I'm making sure my next one will be a hard album with libretto.


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

Less than 20 for me... I somewhat doubt I could bring myself to break the 100 mark, given my aversion to 1) most operatic conventions and 2) having a lot of stuff around; you'd be pretty shocked to know how many of my CDs I left at my mom's house when I went to college (incidentally, that number includes the Solti Ring cycle).


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## Rangstrom (Sep 24, 2010)

Counting each different opera once somewhere around 450; counting multiple performances maybe 700. All told (not just opera/I collect more string quartets than opera) maybe 20k LPs, CDs, DVDs, Videos, Cassettes, RTR. I've been collecting for a long time.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Rangstrom said:


> Counting each different opera once somewhere around 450; counting multiple performances maybe 700. All told (not just opera/I collect more string quartets than opera) maybe 20k LPs, CDs, DVDs, Videos, Cassettes, RTR. I've been collecting for a long time.


Impressive!!! I'll be looking forward to your analyses and opinions here! You must be quite the expert!


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I own only four complete operas that I can think of two by C19th Hungarian composer Ferenc Erkel & Berg's _Wozzeck_ (which I've had since I was a teenager) & Schoenberg's _Moses und Aron _(acquired in the last 1-2 years). Needless to say, opera is my least favourite genre. I'm pretty much equally into solo instrumental, chamber, choral, orchestral & I have been developing an interest in electronica & art songs, but opera is by far at the very bottom of my "totem pole." Perhaps it's the length, less intimacy and the stifling conventions (hence me liking the less traditional "atonal" operas) that put me off big time...


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Rather embarrassing really, but at this stage including VHS, CDs and DVDs over 200. But I mainly listen to opera, my second largest CD section is develoted to Domenico Scarlatti.


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## wagner4evr (Jul 10, 2010)

DarkAngel said:


> My current object of desire is newly acquired Callas deluxe studio set........
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I pity the ******* who breaks into your place (look right, corner). Nice!


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

*Achievements, achievements, achievements...*

This thread deodorizes bad smelling of the so-called "Dark Lord" at one of his most propitious zones of pretentiously desireable hierarchy.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Boccherini said:


> This thread deodorizes bad smelling of the so-called "Dark Lord" at one of his most propitious zones of pretentiously desireable hierarchy.


Right, I've thought about this for a few minutes and I still haven't a clue what it means, unless that we are all going to hell in a handcart because we have Too Much Stuff.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Almaviva said:


> How many complete operas do you guys own, all media considered?
> (vinyl, CD, VHS, DVD, blu-ray, iPod download, etc)?


I take it that the "all media considered" stipulation means we're allowed to count duplicates.

If so, I fall into the "51-100" range. Heck, my Wagner alone gets more more than halfway to that span.

If not, I'm solidly in the "21-50" range. I think I can justify counting _Cav_ & _Pag_ as two separate operas, but I'm a bit more uncertain about the status of _Sortilèges_ and _Duke Bluebeard...._. No matter, I'm still in that category even if removing all these from the tally.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

mamascarlatti said:


> Right, I've thought about this for a few minutes and I still haven't a clue what it means


Like you, I'm struggling to make sense of it, though I _think_ it's intended as a thinly disguised insult. I _think_ he thinks this is a thread created to provide opportunities for one-upmanship, in which we can all score points off each other according to the size of our collections (but if so, he hasn't understood _at all_ the motivation behind it.)


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Elgarian said:


> Like you, I'm struggling to make sense of it, though I _think_ it's intended as a thinly disguised insult. I _think_ he thinks this is a thread created to provide opportunities for one-upmanship, in which we can all score points off each other according to the size of our collections (but if so, he hasn't understood _at all_ the motivation behind it.)


Alan, you are a genius and he isn't! :trp:


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

mamascarlatti said:


> Alan, you are a genius


You only say that because you think I have such a big opera collection. :lol:


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Elgarian said:


> You only say that because you think I have such a big opera collection. :lol:


No I think we've established that mine is much bigger than yours!


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

I've never thought to add them up, but a quick look around the house suggests that it's just tipping over 100. And then there are all the _Ring_ CDs and DVDs on top of that. Watching opera on DVD is a relatively new activity for me (for which Gaston is almost singlehandedly to blame), so I only have about 30 DVDs, plus three sets of _Ring_ operas (my Barenboim set has just arrived).

The CD sets are a peculiar bunch though. This collection wouldn't suit anyone else, I think. 4 _Ring_ sets; loads of Handel (20 or so); a sprinkling of Vivaldi; 10 Mozart; about 15 French nineteenth century (predominantly Massenet); a few Puccini; a dash of Bellini; about 10 French baroque; 3 or 4 Monteverdi. The omissions are startling: no Strauss (except several _Rosenkavalier_s); only one, rarely played, Verdi; no Rossini (except _Cenerentola_ on DVD); no Donizetti - so there are huge, huge gaps, like these. Nothing _modern_ at all.

So really I'm only a remarkably patchy opera dabbler.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

mamascarlatti said:


> No I think we've established that mine is much bigger than yours!


Yes OK then. So you're only saying that because you pity me having such a small collection and are trying to make me feel better.


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Alan, you are a genius and he isn't! :trp:


As for now, the thread is starting to develop the fragrance of Ad-Hom infirmity, in addition to the issue mentioned above; I'm not sure whether your fellow new moderator will like this or not, but what I do wonder, though, is why member Elgarian quoted only the first part of the above statement. Perhaps it has more the one reason. 

By the way, I like trumpet.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

Boccherini said:


> As for now, the thread is starting to develop the fragrance of Ad-Hom infirmity, in addition to the issue mentioned above; I'm not sure whether your fellow new moderator will like this or not, but what I do wonder, though, is why member Elgarian quoted only the first part of the above statement. Perhaps it has more the one reason.


I got the feeling from your first post that your purpose in this thread was to stir up trouble, and this rather confirms it. If you disapprove of this thread (though it seems an innocent and friendly diversion to me), why not just avoid it, instead of introducing such an unnecessarily sour note?


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

I go away for a day and come back to see this amusing thread.

DarkAngel, I think you, too, qualify as a Dark Lord of Collectors. Impressively laid out at your disposal, centuries of fine music condensed neatly in front of your eyes for your fine entertainment! Well done! 



DarkAngel said:


> My current object of desire is newly acquired Callas deluxe studio set........
> 
> 
> 
> ...


As for me, this is very interesting because I have never really counted any particular genre. I tend to count the entire music collection (by approximation). I would guess around the 100 to 200 mark for opera?

The evil empire shall continue to expand ...


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Andre said:


> I own only four complete operas that I can think of two by C19th Hungarian composer Ferenc Erkel & Berg's _Wozzeck_ (which I've had since I was a teenager) & Schoenberg's _Moses und Aron _(acquired in the last 1-2 years). Needless to say, opera is my least favourite genre. I'm pretty much equally into solo instrumental, chamber, choral, orchestral & I have been developing an interest in electronica & art songs, but opera is by far at the very bottom of my "totem pole." Perhaps it's the length, less intimacy and the stifling conventions (hence me liking the less traditional "atonal" operas) that put me off big time...


Haha! No wonder you do not enjoy opera that much, if all you have are those three works, which I have none of! :lol:


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Boccherini said:


> This thread deodorizes bad smelling of the so-called "Dark Lord" at one of his most propitious zones of pretentiously desireable hierarchy.


Really? All I can smell right now is _Clive Christian no.1_ cologne. I recommend it.


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

I have over 100 operas on CD and I think I'm fairly sated now - I can only think of a handful more I'd be interested in owning but they're not a priority. 

Oh, could I borrow your battleaxe, Dark Angel? The downstairs neighbour's collection sounds as if it could do with a little judicious pruning...


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> I go away for a day and come back to see this amusing thread.
> 
> DarkAngel, I think you, too, qualify as a Dark Lord of Collectors. Impressively laid out at your disposal, centuries of fine music condensed neatly in front of your eyes for your fine entertainment! Well done!


Well, I must say it sounds stimulating. 



HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Really? All I can smell right now is _Clive Christian no.1_ cologne. *I recommend it*.


*ahem* Well, I guess the bolded text is not directed to me, but to the people of your nation.


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## Conor71 (Feb 19, 2009)




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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Boccherini said:


> *ahem* Well, I guess the bolded text is not directed to me, but to the people of your nation.


Well, I must have incorrectly assumed your sex. My apologies, Ms. Boccherini.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

How the hell I'm supposed to count it? My guess it's around 50, so it could be second or third option.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

elgar's ghost said:


> Oh, could I borrow your battleaxe, Dark Angel? The downstairs neighbour's collection sounds as if it could do with a little judicious pruning...


*Sharp eyes notice those fantasy swords and battle axes*......I have several spread out in various rooms

About 10 years ago I was really into Xenia Warrior Princess and Lord of the Rings phase, to feel a battle sword in your hands takes you back in time and makes you wonder about how barbaric and driven men were to actually use these instruments of death


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

rgz said:


> Awesome collection. I wonder how archaic such collections will look in another 10 years or so, when everything is digital. I'm including myself as one such archaic; I have approximately 1500 books that take up many, many bookcases and am already starting to feel like a bit of a relic when compared to a Kindle. Still, there's something about the heft of a book and the smell of the pages that digital just can't replicate.
> *I suspect you feel the same way about your collection*


I do..........

May take longer than 10 years but eventually "almost" all media will be streamed from content providers and users will pay various subscription fees.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

DarkAngel said:


> I do..........
> 
> May take longer than 10 years but eventually "almost" all media will be streamed from content providers and users will pay various subscription fees.


Don't worry. The UWP won't let this happen, lest they will be short of jobs.


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

Less than 20. Much less than 20. In fact, two. They're not long ones either. Stravinsky's 'The Nightingale' and Puccini's 'Il tabarro'. No need to state the obvious...


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## Edward Elgar (Mar 22, 2006)

Ha! DarkAngel, I love the fact you have some weapons in the corner ready to defend your impressive collection!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

I am so envious of DA. That is one stonking collection but it's the quality of your canon which matters rather than its size.  That's my excuse anyway.

I have 86 on CD, 32 on DVD & 1 VHS. This includes the same opera but different productions but not accidental duplicates rolleyes: yeah I know).

I've put my one and only unwatched DVD by my PC & it's sitting accusingly at me.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

sospiro said:


> I've put my one and only unwatched DVD by my PC & it's sitting accusingly at me.


Watch it. Honestly. It's not going to bite. 

If it's an incentive, Nicolas Rivenq is pretty hot as Zima's lover in the last act.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Watch it. Honestly. It's not going to bite.
> 
> If it's an incentive, Nicolas Rivenq is pretty hot as Zima's lover in the last act.


:lol:

At the weekend, promise. Looks like ideal weather for curling up on the sofa to watch a good opera.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> I take it that the "all media considered" stipulation means we're allowed to count duplicates.
> 
> If so, I fall into the "51-100" range. Heck, my Wagner alone gets more more than halfway to that span.
> 
> If not, I'm solidly in the "21-50" range. I think I can justify counting _Cav_ & _Pag_ as two separate operas, but I'm a bit more uncertain about the status of _Sortilèges_ and _Duke Bluebeard...._. No matter, I'm still in that category even if removing all these from the tally.


Of course _Cav & Pag_ are two separate operas!
And yes, why not count _L'enfant et les sortilèges_ which is one neat well packed beautiful little thing? Runtime is not a condition to define whether something is or is not an opera. _L'enfant et les sortilèges _is not only one opera, but also a very good one!
I'd count _Gianni Schicchi, Il Tabarro and Suor Angélica_ as three separate operas as well.
We don't count the really long operas as more than one, so why shouldn't we count the short ones as one?
A little trickier is _Les Troyens. _There is something to be said to count it as two operas, _La Prise de Troie, _and _Les Troyes à Carthage, _just like we count the Ring as four operas. Still, I count _Les Troyens _as one opera, because while Wagner meant his Ring to be indeed presented as four different operas, Berlioz always wanted _Les Troyens _to be only one, and was forced to divide it for reasons beyond his own wishes.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Aramis said:


> How the hell I'm supposed to count it?


Here's how to do it: line them up on a table, and then name the first one, 1. The second one, count it as 2. Next comes 3, and 4, and 5... etc. In any elementary school math book you can find a list of the whole numbers from one to 100 so that you see what number comes next. Proceed like this, always attributing to each opera you count the next whole number after the preceding one. When you get to the last one of your operas, see what number you got, and report it here. Got it?


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Boccherini said:


> This thread deodorizes bad smelling of the so-called "Dark Lord" at one of his most propitious zones of pretentiously desireable hierarchy.


Next time you feel this smell, I suggest that you don't click on the thread.
It could also be something rotten in your nose that is making you smell it like this. Get your nose examined.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I've known the standard operas backwards and forwards for many years, so most of my complete opera recordings are of really interesting rarities such as 
Padmavati by Roussel,Enescu's Oedipe, Nielsen's Saul and David, Schreker's Der Ferne Klang(The distant sound), Notre Dame by Franz Schmidt, based on the famous Victor Hugo novel the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dvorak's Armida, The Devil and Kate, Smetana's The Kiss, Libushe, 
and The Devil's Wall, Krenek's Jonny Spielt Auf, The Birds by Walter Braunfels, The Charlatan by Pavel Haas, Flammen by Erwin Schulhoff,Francesca Da Rimini by Riccardo Zandonai, 
the less familiar Richard Strauss operas Intermezzo, Die Liebe der Danae,Friedenstag, 
and The Egyptian Helen, Gluck's Armide, Handel's Riccardo Primo, Janacek's Excursions of Mr. Broucek and Osud(Fate), Catalani's La Wally, Tiefland by Eugene D'Albert, Pfitzner's Palestrina, 
Rossini's Il Signor Bruschino , Nixon in China by John Adams, Undine by Albert Lortzing, 
Der Vampyr (Yes a vampire opera !) by Heinrich Marschner, Mozart's Lucio Silla, 
Mazeppa by Tchaikovsky, The Gambler and Semyon Kotko by Prokofiev, and the Fiery Angel,
The Demon by Anton Rubinstein, and the Rimsky-Korsakov operas Sadko, Kashchei the Immortal, 
The Maid of Pskov, and The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh.
I also have the Levine/DG/Met Ring complete in one convenient set, the classic Furtwangler/Flagstad Tristan&Isolde, Fricsay's Flying Dutchman on DG, the La Scala Ring with Furtwangler, and several other standard operas. 
I also have the Vox set of the original version of Madama Butterly,which includes all the music 
left out of the familiar version.
Lots of cool operatic stuff.


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

Almaviva said:


> Here's how to do it: line them up on a table, and then name the first one, 1. The second one, count it as 2. Next comes 3, and 4, and 5... etc. In any elementary school math book you can find a list of the whole numbers from one to 100 so that you see what number comes next. Proceed like this, always attributing to each opera you count the next whole number after the preceding one. When you get to the last one of your operas, see what number you got, and report it here. Got it?


You know, this wonderful step-by-step on counting has really inspired me. As many here know, musicians can't count past four (and hey, what do you know? I have four operas in my collection!), so I've decided to dedicate October to learning to count all the way up to 100. It's a daunting task, but I think I'm equal to it.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

I fall in the 'more than 300' category. Not 300 plus different operas though because I have multiple recordings of big faves.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

DarkAngel said:


> My current object of desire is newly acquired Callas deluxe studio set........
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looks great. I have cd racks similar to these although mine are smaller with each of them having room for about 800 cd's. I have four of those and I'll need a fifth real soon. About 55% of my collection is classical/opera and 45% rock, pop, soul, jazz, musicals and the rest of it.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

World Violist said:


> You know, this wonderful step-by-step on counting has really inspired me. As many here know, musicians can't count past four (and hey, what do you know? I have four operas in my collection!), so I've decided to dedicate October to learning to count all the way up to 100. It's a daunting task, but I think I'm equal to it.


I wouldn't do it if I were you. It may take you so long to learn the method, that you won't have time to watch opera DVDs; more of them will accumulate unwatched, and you know what happens next. Have you ever replaced that goldfish?


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

Almaviva said:


> I wouldn't do it if I were you. It may take you so long to learn the method, that you won't have time to watch opera DVDs; more of them will accumulate unwatched, and you know what happens next. Have you ever replaced that gold fish?


Good point, I don't want that to happen again... hmm. Maybe I'll just try five for starters. And no, I never did replace that goldfish; too many painful memories.


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

The only operas I own are a complete set of the Wagner operas from Dutchman to Parsifal, all world-class Bayreuth recordings. It's a great set and I love Wagner, I just haven't been able to get into other opera composers as much. I have heard several Italian operas, my favorite of which is probably "Tosca," and I know the Mozart operas pretty well. 

However, the vast majority of my CD collection (350+ discs) is instrumental music.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Boccherini said:


> As for now, the thread is starting to develop the fragrance of Ad-Hom infirmity, in addition to the issue mentioned above; I'm not sure whether your fellow new moderator will like this or not, but what I do wonder, though, is why member Elgarian quoted only the first part of the above statement. Perhaps it has more the one reason.
> 
> By the way, I like trumpet.


Try to be nice - that's what the new moderator thinks.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

DarkAngel said:


> Total CD collection is massive 40% classical/opera 60% rock, I have several of these 1500 CD racks
> Only need to quit work so I can listen to all these.....


I'm not so much envious of the collection (as the UWP knows only too well, mine outstrips my ability to keep up with it) but I am deeply jealous of the all the shelving space. My collection is crammed into drawers and folders and a corner of the sitting room to keep it out of the way of the other members of the family.

In a way I can see how "cloud" streaming systems could be a good alternative to owning physical DVDs and CDs. But in NZ anyway, lots is going to have to change before it becomes a reliable option, both in terms of building up telco infrastructure and improving pricing on bandwidth (I pay NZ$80 a month for 40G, and exceed my allowance regularly just with Met Player and YouTube and a teenager). And Met player's recent Epic Fail also makes me nervous about the safety of these kinds of systems.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Haha! No wonder you do not enjoy opera that much, if all you have are those three works, which I have none of! :lol:


Well I wouldn't mind seeing an opera live, but it's so damn pricey! I'm thinking of getting into more C20th opera, like by Debussy, Britten & Ligeti, but this is not a top priority for me. But I did hear a Charpentier opera a few months back on the radio & surprisingly enjoyed it quite a lot (even though I don't speak a word of French). It all seemed to be quite a lot of fun...


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> I'm not so much envious of the collection (as the UWP knows only too well, mine outstrips my ability to keep up with it) but I am deeply jealous of the all the shelving space. My collection is crammed into drawers and folders and a corner of the sitting room to keep it out of the way of the other members of the family.
> 
> In a way I can see how "cloud" streaming systems could be a good alternative to owning physical DVDs and CDs. But in NZ anyway, lots is going to have to change before it becomes a reliable option, both in terms of building up telco infrastructure and improving pricing on bandwidth (I pay NZ$80 a month for 40G, and exceed my allowance regularly just with Met Player and YouTube and a teenager). And Met player's recent Epic Fail also makes me nervous about the safety of these kinds of systems.


Teenagers are big bandwidth eaters...:lol:
Fortunately Road Runner (a Time Warner affiliate) has an unlimited Internet plan.
What happened to the Met Player?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> What happened to the Met Player?


All the video and audio operas disappeared off its site due to "third party technical problems". It took them at least a month to get them all back again. But they did credit their subscribers for lost days, so they behaved well. But what if that happened to your own collection on a "cloud" system?


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

*Clarification*



Almaviva said:


> Next time you feel this smell, I suggest that you don't click on the thread.
> It could also be something rotten in your nose that is making you smell it like this. Get your nose examined.


My nose works just fine, thank God.

To clarify, I've had no sheer meaning to ruin that thread for itself, nor to ridicule anyone, though I must admit that I haven't had yet the thrilling opportunity to understand the logic behind this thread. I would be glad if someone could explain it to me, I prefer empirically.

As for the nice notion which says "if you don't mind - don't post", I could understand it if I was a little more naive, but I think that threads which simply make no sense _should_ bother the common man, hence must critisize. Again, might be a logic that I haven't comprehended yet, so it's all futile.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Boccherini said:


> To clarify, I've had no sheer meaning to ruin that thread for itself, nor to ridicule anyone, though I must admit that I haven't had yet the thrilling opportunity to understand the logic behind this thread. I would be glad if someone could explain it to me, I prefer empirically.


As I see it, many of us have been posting on this sub-forum for a while and are getting to know each other's tastes to a certain extent. I find it interesting to understand more clearly where people are on their opera journeys - as evinced by their collections, and also whether they are more interested in CDs or DVDs, and what their other interests are as well. It's called social connection.

Some people have given additional information, so I now know for instance that Elgarian is not a 19th century Italian opera fan, but a good person to ask about baroque opera or Ring CDs (actually I knew that part already). It was fun also to see DarkAngel's collection complete with defense mechanisms.



> I would be glad if someone could explain it to me, I prefer empirically.


If you want empirical explanations in future I suggest you ask clear questions rather than shroud your meaning in sniping obscurantist obfuscation.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Haven´t made an exact count, but about 100. More a reference library actually, own most of the major works in composer´s oeuvres from Jacopo Peri and Monteverdi onwards, and often as inexpensive LP-buyings, and some off-the-beaten-track repertoire. In general I listen mainly to instrumental music, but opera is a genre I expect to return to later. 

Most listened to through the years have been "Die Entführung"/Solti or Beecham, "Die Zauberflöte"/Böhm, "Der Freischütz"/Kleiber, "Boris Godunov"/Nesterenko+Ermler (I prefer that to Christoff), "Parsifal"/Barenboim and Busoni´s "Doktor Faustus"/Leitner. Am certainly not much into the Italian ones, but own perhaps 20 of them.

I also like Rameau and Monteverdi (am looking forward to explore him much more), and sometimes play a bit of "King Roger", "Lucia di Lammermoor", "Turandot" and "Madame Butterfly", and I´ll probably explore more of Massenet´s.

Rarities includes Tigranian´s somewhat exotic "Anush" (apparently a fine work, but it is an elder recording), Reyer´s Wagnerian "Sigurd", and Haydn´s playful "Il Mondo della Luna". I found Magnard´s "Guercoeur" (emi) disappointing, but regret getting rid of it a bit. The Deliuses seem too introvert and subdued to me, at least so far. Vaughan-Williams´ "Hugh the Drover" appears to be nice as well.


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> As I see it, many of us have been posting on this sub-forum for a while and are getting to know each other's tastes to a certain extent. I find it interesting to understand more clearly where people are on their opera journeys - as evinced by their collections, and also whether they are more interested in CDs or DVDs, and what their other interests are as well. *It's called social connection.*
> 
> Some people have given additional information, so I now know for instance that Elgarian is not a 19th century Italian opera fan, but a good person to ask about baroque opera or Ring CDs (actually I knew that part already). It was fun also to see DarkAngel's collection complete with defense mechanisms.
> 
> If you want empirical explanations in future I suggest you ask clear questions rather than shroud your meaning in sniping obscurantist obfuscation.


Hmmm, must have heard of that one before...

But, sorry, my mistake, I prefer _a priori_ justification, not empirical one. Could you provide anything?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Boccherini said:


> Hmmm, must have heard of that one before...
> 
> But, sorry, my mistake, I prefer _a priori_ justification, not empirical one. Could you provide anything?


We'll have to wait for the OP then. I suspect that his explanation will be similar: it's fun (for us, but obviously not for you, so best to ignore this thread), and it permits us to get to know each other better.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Boccherini said:


> My nose works just fine, thank God.
> 
> To clarify, I've had no sheer meaning to ruin that thread for itself, nor to ridicule anyone, though I must admit that I haven't had yet the thrilling opportunity to understand the logic behind this thread. I w ould be glad if someone could explain it to me, I prefer empirically.
> 
> As for the nice notion which says "if you don't mind - don't post", I could understand it if I was a little more naive, but I think that threads which simply make no sense _should_ bother the common man, hence must critisize. Again, might be a logic that I haven't comprehended yet, so it's all futile.


I don't think that this thread is that far removed from your 'collector or listener' poll or even the 'recent purchases' or 'current listening' threads actually. But be that as it may (or not), different people like different threads, and some are 'serious', some are just for fun and others are somewhere between the two. And I think that's a good thing too since it gives all people with an interest in classical music the opportunity to participate in at least some of our discussions. Not every person is as educated or knowledgable as some members here obviously are, but they may be just as passionate about the music. The mix of fun and 'serious' threads gives them too the chance to be participating members instead of them being forced to be lurkers while the elite is talking.


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

jhar26 said:


> I don't think that this thread is that far removed from your 'collector or listener' poll or even the 'recent purchases' or 'current listening' threads actually. But be that as it may (or not), different people like different threads, and some are 'serious', some are just for fun and others are somewhere between the two. And I think that's a good thing too since it gives all people with an interest in classical music the opportunity to participate in at least some of our discussions. Not every person is as educated or knowledgable as some members here obviously are, but they may be just as passionate about the music. The mix of fun and 'serious' threads gives them too the chance to be participating members instead of them being forced to be lurkers while the elite is talking.


The 'collector or listener' thread has an a priori justification; somewhere behind the nice shroud of the poll there's modestly hidden an important attitude, in my opinion, which was implied several times in the thread and that was, in fact, the real point of it, after all, to arouse it from its dark grave (I tried to describe it with the "pointless song" at the begining, but it seems that I failed): Who is the one who appreciates music better? the listener? or perhaps the collector? perhaps, what is more logical? what are the advantages/disadvantages in each of them? and ultimately, which of them chose the "ideal/optimal" way?

As for the "latest purchases" and "current listening" threads, you are right, there's _seemingly_ no point in any of them. But I think it has a justification: getting familiarity with many recordings, faster; the process can be even greater when reviews are included. Hence, I find it pretty useful for many of us, those who haven't bought all existing recordings.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

Boccherini said:


> To clarify, I've had no sheer meaning to ruin that thread for itself, nor to ridicule anyone, though I must admit that I haven't had yet the thrilling opportunity to understand the logic behind this thread. I would be glad if someone could explain it to me, I prefer empirically.


I'm still unable to understand any sensible purpose to your contributions which - until your interventions began - was friendly and no more than a bit of fun for those who were contributing. It appears that you want to drive home the message that a thread about the size of opera CD collections isn't logical. This hardly seems a very penetrating observation. It's like all those other illogical activities that people seem to enjoy, like eating candy floss, playing roulette and, for some, stirring up trouble unnecessarily in internet forums. If you're going to challenge every illogical activity engaged in by humans, then you won't have time for much else. But OK. We hear you. Our response is that the lack of logic doesn't trouble us.

And now, please follow jhar26's advice: 'Try to be nice'. It's not difficult, and it is, arguably, a good deal more logical than the approach you're presently taking.


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

Elgarian said:


> ... It appears that you want to drive home the message that a thread about the size of opera CD collections isn't logical. This hardly seems a very penetrating observation. It's like all those other illogical activities that people seem to enjoy, like eating candy floss, playing roulette and, for some, stirring up trouble unnecessarily in internet forums. If you're going to challenge every illogical activity engaged in by humans, then you won't have time for much else. ...


Ouch, you've got it. 

Then, I suppose, I shall speak no more.

Anyway, thank you all for your tolerance.


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

Boccherini said:


> Hmmm, must have heard of that one before...
> 
> But, sorry, my mistake, I prefer _a priori_ justification, not empirical one. Could you provide anything?


First you say you want an empirical explanation then a priori - a priori justification is a type of epistemic justification that is, in some sense, independent of experience. The empirical justification you previously asked for has diametrical opposition to priori in most cases, and one, through evidence might defeat the other.

I never thought a philosophical debate of rationalism versus empricisim would occur post the viewing of a collection of music. Music is the love here.

And regarding your nose - thank AH-BOLOM-TZACAB, KAMUNU and YACATECUHTLI that it works.

Btw - great collection, love the weapons


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

Bix said:


> First you say you want an empirical explanation then a priori - a priori justification is a type of epistemic justification that is, in some sense, independent of experience. The empirical justification you previously asked for has diametrical opposition to priori in most cases, and one, through evidence might defeat the other.
> 
> I never thought a philosophical debate of rationalism versus empricisim would occur post the viewing of a collection of music. Music is the love here.
> 
> ...


Yes, as you might have seen, I mistakenly confused a priori with empirical. I know their definitions, and I prefered the first.

I reject the idea that music is love.

And, no, I'm a monotheist, I thank only God.

This is getting too off-topic, then I prefer to stop.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Boccherini said:


> The 'collector or listener' thread has an a priori justification; somewhere behind the nice shroud of the poll there's modestly hidden an important attitude, in my opinion, which was implied several times in the thread and that was, in fact, the real point of it, after all, to arouse it from its dark grave (I tried to describe it with the "pointless song" at the begining, but it seems that I failed): Who is the one who appreciates music better? the listener? or perhaps the collector? perhaps, what is more logical? what are the advantages/disadvantages in each of them? and ultimately, which of them chose the "ideal/optimal" way?
> 
> As for the "latest purchases" and "current listening" threads, you are right, there's _seemingly_ no point in any of them. But I think it has a justification: getting familiarity with many recordings, faster; the process can be even greater when reviews are included. Hence, I find it pretty useful for many of us, those who haven't bought all existing recordings.


I see. well, even if there is no other point than an interest in the size of each other's collections, I don't see why this should be a problem. In real life too music fanatics talk about their collections with each other. It has nothing to do with trying to out-brag other people. People that join a forum like this one over time become not just interested in the music but also each other. That's the point of being a member of a community like this one, even if it's only a virtual one made up of people who will in all likelihood never even meet each other for real. I mean, if it is ONLY info we want without the 'fun bits' we're better of reading stuff at wikipedia or classical music navigator or other such sites.

All in my modest opinion.


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

jhar26 said:


> I see. well, even if there is no other point than an interest in the size of each other's collections, I don't see why this should be a problem. In real life too music fanatics talk about their collections with each other. It has nothing to do with trying to out-brag other people. People that join a forum like this one over time become not just interested in the music but also each other. That's the point of being a member of a community like this one, even if it's only a virtual one made up of people who will in all likelihood never even meet each other for real. I mean, if it is ONLY info we want without the 'fun bits' we're better of reading stuff at wikipedia or classical music navigator or other such sites.
> 
> All in my modest opinion.


Absolutely - couldn't agree more.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Boccherini said:


> My nose works just fine, thank God.
> 
> To clarify, I've had no sheer meaning to ruin that thread for itself, nor to ridicule anyone, though I must admit that I haven't had yet the thrilling opportunity to understand the logic behind this thread. I would be glad if someone could explain it to me, I prefer empirically.
> 
> As for the nice notion which says "if you don't mind - don't post", I could understand it if I was a little more naive, but I think that threads which simply make no sense _should_ bother the common man, hence must critisize. Again, might be a logic that I haven't comprehended yet, so it's all futile.


Probably I don't even need to comment any longer, since Elgarian and jhar26 have already made the essential points. But since my dear friend Natalie asked for the OP's assessment of this interaction, I'll oblige.

I'm glad that your actual nose, the organ planted on your face, works fine. This fact doesn't change anything though, because I was obviously referring to your metaphorical nose, not your actual olfatory organ. Anyway.

Let me tell you what really happened here, buddy. You bumped into a thread, and decided to be a smartass. You tried to show to these people who compare the size of opera collections like they are comparing ***** sizes (in your opinion), how much smarter and more sophisticated you are. You failed miserably while doing it, first because you missed the point entirely, second because you tried to wiggle yourself out of the mess that you caused, by trying to board the sinking boat of a debate between _a prioristic _versus empiric justifications. Not only you went about it wrongly, but also you failed to understand that this was not the issue. You tried to steer it to a discussion about listeners vs. collectors. Again, not the point. How clueless can you be? Who do you think you're fooling? We're not sprind chicken here, you can't fool us. Can't you see that you're very transparent in your game, and that these attempts to divert the issue won't hide the fact that you've tried to be a smartass?

Then, when appropriately thwarted by more reasonable people, you sarcastically thanked us for being "tolerant" (meaning just the opposite) when the only intolerant posts in this thread were the ones that you have authored.

People here know how *extremely* tolerant I can be. But if there is one thing that irritates me, is a smartass.

Maybe this thread is useless. Maybe the point behind it is lost on you. But see, there isn't *anything* more pointless - and I say this out of almost two decades of Internet posting - than a smartass who tries to spoil the fun others are having by engaging in overblown and clueless criticism. You thought *we* were being exhibitionistic with the size of our opera collections? No, we weren't. This wasn't the point. Actually, *you* were being exhibitionistic with your misguided sense of being smarter and knowing better.

Look, let me give you a piece of unsolicited advice, it may be useful for life: you don't have anything nice to say about something? Then, don't say anything, and move on.

At the very least, this will spare you the rather ridiculous position you brought upon yourself here.

Maybe you are smarter and more sophisticated than we are, and you don't measure your ***** size against others' (which is not what we were doing anyway, but I wouldn't expect you to get it; you're too clueless). But surely, you are quite unsophisticated about gauging others' motives, and you don't have very developed people skills.

Oh, you're welcome. I dispense this good advice for free. You don't need to pay my secretary on your way out. Have a nice day, sir!


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Boccherini said:


> Who is the one who appreciates music better? the listener? or perhaps the collector? perhaps, what is more logical? what are the advantages/disadvantages in each of them? and ultimately, which of them chose the "ideal/optimal" way?


I offer you historical "evidence". As you no doubt would know, numerous composers of the Baroque and Classical composed music prolifically. The patrons of these composers employed/paid them for a steady stream of fine music. "This week we shall have a new flute concerto to entertain His Majesty Frederick the Great, who will be the soloist, and when next week comes, we shall have another brand new flute concerto". Or, "this month we shall have Haydn conduct his new symphony to entertain Prince Esterhazy, and don't forget a new cantata for the Prince's name day next month, also with another brand new symphony".

I therefore ask you, whether your modern concept of a listener's attitude towards listening is any weaker than the 18th century employer's concept of listening to a vast majority of these works only once? Even if some of us "Dark Lord of Collectors" here who may have over a hundred opera CDs and may have listened to many of these versions only once, does it make our ears any less cultured than those who have a handful of opera favourites and listened to it thousands of times? I personally don't believe so. In fact, at the risk of being too generalist, I would say that those who have relatively large CD collections are the ones who would have a pair of cultured ears due to their experienced breadth of listening. Please don't get me wrong, as this certainly does not imply anything at all about those of us who have smaller collections.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I think we should all settle down and get back to the Very Important Job of drooling over each other's opera collections and planning who we are going to stay with next.


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> I think we should all settle down and get back to the Very Important Job of drooling over each other's opera collections and planning who we are going to stay with next.


Amen to that - well I want to go and try out DarkAngels sword and music collection, all of it. I'd love to go and visit Mama and go to the Opera then invite her back and go to the ROH here.

............. Barry drifts off into a dreamworld :lol:


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> I think we should all settle down and get back to the Very Important Job of drooling over each other's opera collections and planning who we are going to stay with next.


Wise words!

We should start a travel agency.

The person who owns 5 operas sleeps over at the one who owns 10's place and they both sleep over at the one who owns 20's place and... so on and so forth, until it all ends in Dark Angel's living room, who, fed up with all the guests, makes use of the weapons on the lower right side of the picture to produce the exact same ending of the Dialogue des Carmelites.:devil:


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I think I'd prefer that Dark Angel slept over at your house so I myself may sneak over to Dark Angel's home and steal the whole collection....


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

I want to stay over at the house of anybody who's posted here, since I'd be rather jealous of anyone's opera collection larger than mine and could learn a lot from them. Who knows, maybe I'd get closer to understanding Italian opera that way (can't bring myself to buy DVDs of any).


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

World Violist said:


> I want to stay over at the house of anybody who's posted here, since I'd be rather jealous of anyone's opera collection larger than mine and could learn a lot from them. Who knows, maybe I'd get closer to understanding Italian opera that way (can't bring myself to buy DVDs of any).


Hey, Italian opera started it all! We wouldn't be here talking, if not for the Italians!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Sonata said:


> I think I'd prefer that Dark Angel slept over at your house so I myself may sneak over to Dark Angel's home and steal the whole collection....


Unfortunately I don't think Dark Angel would want to sleep over here. My meager collection can't compare...


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

Almaviva said:


> Hey, Italian opera started it all! We wouldn't be here talking, if not for the Italians!


That doesn't really say much to me. I prefer to take things directly as I hear/see them, historical events notwithstanding (yes, I have read Boulez's thoughts on the matter); hence my complete apathy for Beethoven's odd-numbered symphonies. :devil:


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

World Violist said:


> That doesn't really say much to me. I prefer to take things directly as I hear/see them, historical events notwithstanding (yes, I have read Boulez's thoughts on the matter); hence my complete apathy for Beethoven's odd-numbered symphonies. :devil:


Poor Beethoven. One hit one miss, one hit one miss... LOL. Still, the hits are fabulous.

No, but seriously. What is the problem with Italian opera?

It's a lot of fun.

First, the language. It's the language of music. Why do we call something allegro, andante, etc?

And the sounds... gorgeous sounds. Vowels all around.

What about the variety? While other nations have more fixed styles, in Italy you have the entire range. You have Renaissance, Baroque, Bel Canto, all the way to Verismo, passing by written-through operas like Otello and Falstaff. You have buffa, and seria. Majestic, and mondaine. You have kings of rhythm like Rossini, and kings of melody like Donizetti.

You have drama that makes you cry, and comedy that makes you pee in your pants.

What's not to like?


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

Almaviva said:


> Poor Beethoven. One hit one miss, one hit one miss... LOL. Still, the hits are fabulous.
> 
> No, but seriously. What is the problem with Italian opera?
> 
> ...


I'm too Germanic in my perception of music. I hear an opera and I don't listen so much to the voices as to the overall picture of the music. Nice melodies, drama, comedy, and so on don't mean as much to me as do variety within the actual music that's going on. I don't find enough of it in Italian opera. Enescu's Oedipe strikes me as such a masterpiece because there is such variety, such color, such development as well as such drama that I'm swept away by it. There's so much more than drama, etc.: there's music that can back it up and do so convincingly, while also looking back to previous scenes and commenting on all sorts of things going on.


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Probably I don't even need to comment any longer, since Elgarian and jhar26 have already made the essential points. But since my dear friend Natalie asked for the OP's assessment of this interaction, I'll oblige.
> 
> I'm glad that your actual nose, the organ planted on your face, works fine. This fact doesn't change anything though, because I was obviously referring to your metaphorical nose, not your actual olfatory organ. Anyway.
> 
> ...


Ah, what a dramatic turmoil. 

So, you think I chose Truman's tactics: "If you can't convince them, confuse them"; I guess you won't believe me, but I honestly didn't.
Again, and unfortunately, people seem to incomprehensibly interpret my intentions, whether the problem lays with me or with them, but it's getting really tiring.

When I said that my nose works just fine, I didn't actually imagined that someone might interpret it as I refered to my physical nose. How silly is that? Or perhaps you're just being sarcastic?

First of all, why won't we be a little more subtle. I prefer the term _smart-aleck_ to _smartass_, but if you insisnt, I will let it be. Anyway, I guess you've started your journey of interpreting my intention with the first post of mine, so I assume I'll start there. Well, I won't deny the fact that this thread annoyed me a little, but I honestly didn't have a sheer purpose to condescend in order to condescend. The purpose of my first post was to imply the same purpose I implied in another thread of mine, called "How would you classify yourself?"; It could have been a sportive challenge to see how people would react to the tiny little bad pinch I added, and I hoped that people would take things on the chin, not on the nose (well, at least not mine ), as HarpsichordConcerto did. I truely don't really think that this thread is like comparing different organs of different people, as wierd as it might sound, and that's, in fact, why I said that this thread is only deodorizes a bad smell, because it might develop the fragrance of things I disagree with.

My first post also implies that I didn't understand the point of this thread and, as many successful and lusty threads which respect themselves, the question about my notorious comment has come, almost automatically, by mamscarlatti (post #57), and rolled into the field of epistemology. And, as I told Bix, I know what both a priori and empirical mean. I simply had a mistake when writing post #56, that is all. A humane mistake, my apologizes.

As for the last statement in post #64, again, I honestly had no grain of intention to write it in a sarcastic manner. I wrote it as honest and truthful as I _can_ write. Sincerely, not being sarcastic. I simply wanted to thank mainly you, mamascarlatti and Elgarian. Shouldn't be so difficult.

Ultimately, I guess that sincere and honest apologizes (from my "side" towards yours) would be appropriate? So, anyway, and definitely not being sarcastic here, please accept my apology. It is mainly for you, but also for other members I might have bothered: Elgarian and mamascarlatti, and generally all people who don't seem to like me too much. I apologize.


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> I offer you historical "evidence". As you no doubt would know, numerous composers of the Baroque and Classical composed music prolifically. The patrons of these composers employed/paid them for a steady stream of fine music. "This week we shall have a new flute concerto to entertain His Majesty Frederick the Great, who will be the soloist, and when next week comes, we shall have another brand new flute concerto". Or, "this month we shall have Haydn conduct his new symphony to entertain Prince Esterhazy, and don't forget a new cantata for the Prince's name day next month, also with another brand new symphony".
> 
> I therefore ask you, whether your modern concept of a listener's attitude towards listening is any weaker than the 18th century employer's concept of listening to a vast majority of these works only once? Even if some of us "Dark Lord of Collectors" here who may have over a hundred opera CDs and may have listened to many of these versions only once, does it make our ears any less cultured than those who have a handful of opera favourites and listened to it thousands of times? I personally don't believe so. In fact, at the risk of being too generalist, I would say that those who have relatively large CD collections are the ones who would have a pair of cultured ears due to their experienced breadth of listening. Please don't get me wrong, as this certainly does not imply anything at all about those of us who have smaller collections.


I guess another place - not this one - would be more appropriate.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Boccherini said:


> It is mainly for you, but also for other members I might have bothered: Elgarian and mamascarlatti, and generally all people who don't seem to like me too much. I apologize.


No worries Boccherini, let's all move on.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

World Violist said:


> Who knows, maybe I'd get closer to understanding Italian opera that way (can't bring myself to buy DVDs of any).


I too have difficulty with some Italian opera (I may be assuming too much, but I presume you mean specifically the _bel canto_ guys?). However, I did find that Bellini was, for me, much more approachable than the others (I actually wept the first time I heard _I Capuleti e i Montecchi _), so it's possible he may be an exception for you, too?


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Joseph CPH, I borrowed Magnard's Guercoueur not too long ago on library interloan ,and I thought it was a neglected masterpiece, a sort of French Parsifal. A truly original work,
and one that ought to be revived. 
By co-incidence, Leon Botstein and the American Symphony are giving a concert performance later this seaosn in New York of another Magnard opera,Berenice,which I don't believe has been recorded. If it is as good as Guercoueur, it should be better known.
I've heard of Reyer's Sigurd, but didn't know it had been recorded. Can you tell me about this
recording.I'd be curious to hear about it. It's sort of a Gallic Wagner opera from what I've heard about it.


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## Rangstrom (Sep 24, 2010)

I enjoy the Magnard symphonies quite a bit, an opera certainly piques my interest.

For a French opera with a Wagner twist you could do a lot worse than Chausson's Le Roi Arthus. I have a copy of the Erato (to answer the other poll: I collect so that I can listen). Someday in the future maybe everything that I want to hear will come from the cloud, but for now I'll rely on my own library. BTW with the sound quality on most classical cds finally approaching decent LP levels (at least to my aging ears) I fear that the cloud will be a huge step back.

Probably worth its own thread, but I am astounded at the sound quality on many of the remastered recordings (especially the live operas) from the early fifties. And the prices tend ot be very low, this is the golden age of collecting.


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## Keikobad (Jul 9, 2010)

Perhaps the most maddening thing to a collector is when technology pushes him forward and into obtaining everything he owns in yet another format.

I have at least 300 opera recordings on hand all on CD and DVD; but when I think about all the vinyls and tapes I used to own.......well the mind reels.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Boccherini said:


> Ah, what a dramatic turmoil.
> 
> So, you think I chose Truman's tactics: "If you can't convince them, confuse them"; I guess you won't believe me, but I honestly didn't.
> Again, and unfortunately, people seem to incomprehensibly interpret my intentions, whether the problem lays with me or with them, but it's getting really tiring.
> ...


Hey, see? Being nice is quite easy, and much more productive.:tiphat:

So, apologies accepted, and I apologize as well in my turn for reacting so harshly to your "tiny little bad pinch." As for the subtle versus explicit choice of words, let's attribute it to accross-the-pound differences (assuming that you *are* accross the pond). We Americans are not very subtle.

We had just struggled through a big problem with a rude user, so, we were more sensitive (and maybe less tolerant) than usual.

All is well now. As a matter of fact, your posts are interesting. Maybe I wouldn't have overreacted as badly, if I were in a good mood for the last two days like I am now.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

> For a French opera with a Wagner twist you could do a lot worse than Chausson's Le Roi Arthus.


Thanks for writing about it. I always wanted to hear opera based on arthurian legends, I'm getting this work immediately.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Aramis said:


> Thanks for http://www.wesleyclassics.com.au/library/images/merlin.jpgriting about it. I always wanted to hear opera based on arthurian legends, I'm getting this work immediately.


Than you should consider checking out this one.....










"Merlin" was supposed to have been the first of an Arthurian trilogy by Albeniz. The other two were "Lancelot" and "Guenevere." He only finished "Merlin" however, although some of the music for "Lancelot" also survives.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Yes, I've heard about it but failed to get the recording. It's on my get-by-first-opportunity list.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Aramis said:


> Yes, I've heard about it but failed to get the recording. It's on my get-by-first-opportunity list.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Isaac-Alben...ef=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1285963888&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-li...w?ie=UTF8&qid=1285963888&sr=1-1&condition=new


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Heee, that would be so simple. Unfortunately I can't order on amazon. One time they tell me that they can't send anything where I live, another time it turns out that shipment would doube the price of item. Would I ever have to say that "I can't find the recording" if I would have possibility to order stuff there? They have everything (that means amazon is a symphony, it's like a world, it includes everything).


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

Aramis said:


> Heee, that would be so simple. Unfortunately I can't order on amazon. One time they tell me that they can't send anything where I live, another time it turns out that shipment would doube the price of item. Would I ever have to say that "I can't find the recording" if I would have possibility to order stuff there? They have everything (that means amazon is a symphony, it's like a world, it includes everything).


How about I order it and post it to you.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Aramis said:


> .... another time it turns out that shipment would double the price of item...


The story of my life. But shipping from Amazon UK marketplace is much cheaper than Amazon US, even though it's further from my part of the world. Arkivmusic shipping is also cheaper but their DVDs tend to be region 1.

BTW would everyone please stop coming up with new and intriguing looking DVDs that are swelling my wishlist to unmanageable proportions again?


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

mamascarlatti said:


> BTW would everyone please stop coming up with new and intriguing looking DVDs that are swelling my wishlist to unmanageable proportions again?


Seriously people, do the UWP mean anything to any of you???



Elgarian said:


> I too have difficulty with some Italian opera (I may be assuming too much, but I presume you mean specifically the _bel canto_ guys?). However, I did find that Bellini was, for me, much more approachable than the others (I actually wept the first time I heard _I Capuleti e i Montecchi _), so it's possible he may be an exception for you, too?


I do more specifically mean the bel canto guys. Maybe Bellini would be better for me... I'll check that opera out.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

World Violist said:


> Seriously people, do the UWP mean anything to any of you???


Uh, I think it's Ok as long as it stays on your wishlist. As soon as you hit that one-click watch out for your goldfish.











> I do more specifically mean the bel canto guys. Maybe Bellini would be better for me... I'll check that opera out.


What about looking at the other end of the timeline and going for Monteverdi? L'Incoronazione di Poppea is just splendid.


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

mamascarlatti said:


> What about looking at the other end of the timeline and going for Monteverdi? L'Incoronazione di Poppea is just splendid.


Oh yeah, there's a nice point. I think I will try out Monteverdi.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

World Violist said:


> Maybe Bellini would be better for me... I'll check that opera out.





> Oh yeah, there's a nice point. I think I will try out Monteverdi.


Here he goes, tumbling down the slope ....


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

Elgarian said:


> Here he goes, tumbling down the slope ....


I prefer to see it as branching out, then falling off the branch and then tumbling down the slope.


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Hey, see? Being nice is quite easy, and much more productive.:tiphat:
> 
> So, apologies accepted, and I apologize as well in my turn for reacting so harshly to your "tiny little bad pinch." As for the subtle versus explicit choice of words, let's attribute it to accross-the-pound differences (assuming that you *are* accross the pond). We Americans are not very subtle.
> 
> ...


_"What shall I say more than I have inferr'd?"_ (Richard III, act 5, scene 3), said king Richard at his motivative oration to his army. I've been desperately struggling to comprehend whether that oration, at the end of that superb play, was a little toady as applicable to Richard's character, that does pretty well at the "art of flattery", to be honest, or perhaps completely truthful. But, well, what can I say.

Ah, I'm infatuated with my inflexible infallibility. I didn't think you would accept that. You see - and, yes, I _did_ follow Truman here - the "inference" you inferred, my inferior in-friend, was infected by your infirmity, or perhaps influenza, of being too inflammable. I did infernally infuse the idea of being a smart-aleck pretty informally well in this infertile thread, didn't I? What an infamous infamy, you probably think to yourself right now but, infortunately, my infinite infidelity - perhaps, as a result of being too infantile - would obviously inflow the Admins' position, for the infringement is too infuriated, but, well, what can I say. :devil:

I must beg your pardon, but not being too nice doesn't necessarily mean less productiveness, and I cannot promise that I will always be as nice as possible.

Of course, the second paragraph is a complete joke , though, the third is not.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Boccherini said:


> Of course, the second paragraph is a complete joke , though, the third is not.


Goodness well I'm certainly rolling around on the floor with laughter. 

Honestly, I don't see the point of your post, mainly due to the convoluted prose. Your relative clauses make Proust seem simplistic.

Are you interested in opera? Mozart, Gluck, Haydn perhaps?


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Are you interested in opera? Mozart, Gluck, Haydn perhaps?


I'm not so much in the operatic section, as for now. I prefer the instrumental.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

> I've heard of Reyer's Sigurd, but didn't know it had been recorded. Can you tell me about this
> recording.I'd be curious to hear about it. It's sort of a Gallic Wagner opera from what I've heard about it.


The Reyer "Sigurd" (1884) has at least been recorded on a Vogue LP in excerpts which I own

(LP Reyer:"Sigurd", Opera i 4 Akter: Uddrag (1884)/J.Etcheverry,soli,O/vogue ldm 30136),

but it probably lasts for about 2- 3 hours, since it is originally in 4 acts and requires more time ... Am not at home at the moment, I´m in the Duoro Valley in Tua, but I´ll return to the issue a bit later ... It´s been a long time since I heard it. The record number seems to imply a relation to the Le Chant du Monde company, perhaps ...


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Boccherini said:


> I'm not so much in the operatic section, as for now. I prefer the instrumental.


So forgive me, but why are you posting in the opera sub-forum? I'm not trying to interfere with your freedom of action or drive you away, but most posters here are interested in discussing opera, and so far you have not contributed anything really positive to the discussion.

For the same reason I don't post in the chamber music section, for instance, as these days I am simply not interested and don't listen to anything much except opera. In fact I rarely post ouside this forum unless it's a general subject.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

Boccherini said:


> the "inference" you inferred, my inferior in-friend, was infected by your infirmity, or perhaps influenza, of being too inflammable....
> 
> ... well, what can I say.


I think you've said enough, frankly. To write unpleasant insults, 'my inferior in-friend', and disguise them by embedding them in a mess of incomprehensible nonsense, and then cover yourself by saying afterwards that of course it was all a joke - this is not a way to win friends, and _my_ patience has run out.

If you're going to continue to post in this thread, please stay on topic. Though since you've ignored every opportunity to make a positive contribution to this discussion, I must say that mere silence is greatly to be preferred.


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## Boccherini (Mar 29, 2010)

Perhaps a sense of humor is not your thing. Well, now when I know where you come from (and perhaps you know where _I'm_ coming from), I shouldn't be bothered posting here anymore.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

I had hoped that posts nos.81 and 88 would be the last ones on this matter. If they had been we even would have had a happy ending (opera buffa like almost). No such luck however..... 

We obviously can't keep going like this forever, so I must ask you all at this point to get back on topic.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

jhar26 said:


> We obviously can't keep going like this forever, so I must ask you all at this point to get back on topic.


Absolutely, sorry, hopefully this is the end.

Did mean to ask you more about that Merlin DVD. Can you tell us more about the music? Does it have a Spanish feel about it?


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

mamascarlatti said:


> Did mean to ask you more about that Merlin DVD. Can you tell us more about the music? Does it have a Spanish feel about it?


This is the short review I wrote 18 months ago at RYM....

_This is an interesting one. An English language opera from the Spanish composer Albeniz from the turn of the 19th and 20th century that was staged for the first tiime in 2003, more than 100 years after it's creation. Merlin was supposed to be the first in a trilogy of operas based on the King Arthur saga. But he never got around to orchestrating the second in the series Lancelot and he didn't even get started on the third one Guinnevere. The trilogy was of course inspired by Wagner's Ring.

The music of Merlin often sounds very Wagnerian. Even though it doesn't quite reach those lofty heights of excellence it's still good and beautifully orchestrated music. Not that I expect this to become a regularly performed opera. The main problem is the archaic and sometimes even incomprihensible text of the libretto. 'Hark what I rede'; 'O wonderful clerk of necromancy', anyone?

The male singers - David Wilson-Johnson as Merlin and Stuart Skelton as Arthur are more than adequate. The female leads are a bit disappointing. Carol Vaness as Nivian is up to the task vocally but her pronunciation often leaves much to be desired. Eva Marton who sings the role of Morgan le Fay was in her prime one of the leading Wagnerian sopranos, but at this stage of her career Eva's voice is in shatters and she sings with an uncontrollable truly horrible vibrato. She's still a striking dramatic presence on stage though.

The production is very good - excellent in fact. Not a perfect Merlin then, but a fine one nonetheless and something of a curiosity that is unlikely to disappoint the adventurous opera lover._


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

Although not particularly interested in listening to his operas, I was intrigued to find out that Albeniz' main librettist towards the end of his life was the financier Francis Money-Coutts. In exchange for using his librettos Money-Coutts virtually became Albeniz' patron, using his clout to get his operas staged in London (where at least one was successful). I would suggest there was a whiff of the Faustian pact about Albeniz agreeing to this arrangement as I've never heard anyone say anything positive about M-C's capacity as a librettist.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

jhar26 said:


> This is the short review I wrote 18 months ago at RYM....
> ....
> The production is very good - excellent in fact. Not a perfect Merlin then, but a fine one nonetheless and something of a curiosity that is unlikely to disappoint the adventurous opera lover.[/I]


Thanks Gaston, certainly sounds intriguing to go on the wish list. I'm determined for a bit only to explore DVDs of operas I don't know rather than duplicate any more, unless I have a truly awful production of a favourite opera.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Boccherini said:


> _"What shall I say more than I have inferr'd?"_ (Richard III, act 5, scene 3), said king Richard at his motivative oration to his army. I've been desperately struggling to comprehend whether that oration, at the end of that superb play, was a little toady as applicable to Richard's character, that does pretty well at the "art of flattery", to be honest, or perhaps completely truthful. But, well, what can I say.
> 
> Ah, I'm infatuated with my inflexible infallibility. I didn't think you would accept that. You see - and, yes, I _did_ follow Truman here - the "inference" you inferred, my inferior in-friend, was infected by your infirmity, or perhaps influenza, of being too inflammable. I did infernally infuse the idea of being a smart-aleck pretty informally well in this infertile thread, didn't I? What an infamous infamy, you probably think to yourself right now but, infortunately, my infinite infidelity - perhaps, as a result of being too infantile - would obviously inflow the Admins' position, for the infringement is too infuriated, but, well, what can I say. :devil:
> 
> ...


Please, talk about opera.
Have a nice day.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

> _The male singers - David Wilson-Johnson as Merlin and Stuart Skelton as Arthur are more than adequate. The female leads are a bit disappointing. Carol Vaness as Nivian is up to the task vocally but her pronunciation often leaves much to be desired. Eva Marton who sings the role of Morgan le Fay was in her prime one of the leading Wagnerian sopranos, but at this stage of her career Eva's voice is in shatters and she sings with an uncontrollable truly horrible vibrato. She's still a striking dramatic presence on stage though.
> 
> The production is very good - excellent in fact. Not a perfect Merlin then, but a fine one nonetheless and something of a curiosity that is unlikely to disappoint the adventurous opera lover._


But the way you describe it in your preceding paragraph, I'm still hesitant. A truly horrible vibrato?

After my latest madness of ordering the M22 and reaching 67 unwatched DVDs, I have to be selective.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> But the way you describe it in your preceding paragraph, I'm still hesitant. A truly horrible vibrato?


I would say the same thing about Marton in my DVD of Jenůfa, but she still has great stage presence and is worth watching for that.


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

World Violist said:


> Less than 20 for me... I somewhat doubt I could bring myself to break the 100 mark, given my aversion to 1) most operatic conventions and 2) having a lot of stuff around; you'd be pretty shocked to know how many of my CDs I left at my mom's house when I went to college (incidentally, that number includes the Solti Ring cycle).


Just thought to revisit this a bit... I've now got 18 operas (counting the Solti Ring that I still don't have with me at the moment), and it looks as though I may well get above 20 by the end of the year. I still doubt I'll get above 100 anytime soon though.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

World Violist said:


> Just thought to revisit this a bit... I've now got 18 operas (counting the Solti Ring that I still don't have with me at the moment), and it looks as though I may well get above 20 by the end of the year. I still doubt I'll get above 100 anytime soon though.


I've got 157. A sizable collection but still small as compared to some of the more senior fans here. My list (some in more than one version):

1. Acis and Galatea - Handel - Blu-ray
2. Admeto - Handel - DVD
3. Adriana Lecouvreur - Cilea - DVD
4. Aida - Verdi - DVD recorded from TV, CD
5. Alcina - Handel - DVD
6. Amour de Loin, L' - Saariaho - DVD
7. Anna Bolena - Donizetti - DVD
8. Apollo et Hyacintus - Mozart - DVD
9. Arabella - R. Strauss - DVD
10. Ariadne auf Naxos - R. Strauss - DVD
11. Ariane et Barbebleue - Dukas - CD
12. Ascanio in Alba - Mozart - DVD
13. Ballo in maschera, Un - Verdi - DVD
14. Barbiere di Siviglia, Il - Rossini - DVD
15. Bartered Bride, The - Smetana - DVD, AAC file
16. Bastien und Bastienne - Mozart - DVD
17. Beatrice di Tenda - Bellini - DVD
18. Beatrice et Benedict - Berlioz - CD
19. Belle Hélène, La - Offenbach - DVD
20. Benvenuto Cellini - Berlioz - DVD
21. Betrothal in a Monastery - Prokofiev - DVD
22. Betulia Liberata - Mozart - DVD
23. Billy Budd - Britten - DVD
24. Bluebeard's Castle - Bartók - DVD, AAC file
25. Bocaccio - von Suppé - DVD
26. Bohème, La - Puccini - DVD, CD
27. Boris Godunov - Mussorgsky - DVD
28. Capuleti e I Montecchi, I - Bellini - CD, DVD
29. Carmen - Bizet - DVD, DVD, CD
30. Castor et Pollux - Rameau - DVD
31. Cavalleria Rusticana - Mascagni - DVD
32. Cenerentola, La - Rossini - Blu ray
33. Clemenza di Tito, La - Mozart - DVD
34. Contes d'Hoffmann, Les - Offenbach - DVD
35. Così fan tutte - Mozart - Blu ray - Blu Ray - DVD
36. Cunning Little Vixen, The - Janacek - DVD
37. Damnation de Faust, La - Berlioz - DVD
38. Dido and Aeneas - Purcell - DVD
39. Don Carlo - Verdi - DVD
40. Don Giovanni - Mozart - DVD - DVD
41. Don Quichotte - Massenet - DVD
42. Elisir d'amore, L' - Donizetti - DVD, DVD
43. Enfant et les Sortilèges, L' - Ravel - DVD
44. Entführung aus dem Serail, Die - Mozart - DVD
45. Eugene Onegin - Tchaikovsky - Blu ray
46. Fairy Queen, The - Purcell - blu-ray
47. Falstaff - Verdi - DVD
48. Fanciulla del West, La - Puccini - DVD
49. Faust - Gounod - DVD
50. Favorite, La - Donizetti - DVD
51. Fidelio - Beethoven - DVD
52. Fille du Régiment, La - Donizetti - DVD
53. Finta Giardinera, La - Mozart - DVD
54. Finta Semplice, La - Mozart - DVD
55. Fledermaus, Die - Johann Strauss II - Blu ray - DVD
56. Fliegende Holländer, Der - Wagner - DVD
57. Forza del Destino, La - Verdi - DVD
58. Fosca - Carlos Gomes - DVD
59. Frau ohne Schatten, Die - R. Strauss - DVD
60. Freischütz, Der - Weber - DVD
61. From the House of the Dead - Janacek - DVD
62. Gianni Schichi - Puccini - Blu ray, Blu ray
63. Gift of the Magi, The - Conte - DVD
64. Gioconda, La - Ponchielli - DVD
65. Giovana d'Arco - Verdi - DVD
66. Giulio Cesare - Handel - Blu ray
67. Giuditta - Lehár - DVD
68. Golden Cocquerel, The - Rimsky-Korsakoff - DVD
69. Götterdämmerung - Wagner - DVD - DVD
70. Goya - Menotti - DVD
71. Grand Macabre, Le - Ligeti - DVD
72. Guarany, Il - Carlos Gomes - CD, DVD
73. Guglielmo Tell - Rossini - DVD
74. Hansel und Gretel - Humperdinck - DVD
75. Heure Espagnole, L' - Ravel - DVD
76. Huguenots, Les - Meyerbeer - DVD
77. Idomeneo - Mozart - DVD - DVD
78. Incoronazione di Poppea, L' - Monteverdi - DVD
79. Indes Galantes, Les - Rameau - DVD
80. Italiana in Algeri, L' - Rossini - DVD
81. Jenufa - Janacek - AAC file
82. Jolie Fille de Perth, La - Bizet - DVD
83. King Roger - Szymanowsky - blu-ray
84. Lakmé - Delibes - DVD
85. Linda di Chamounix - Donizetti - DVD
86. Lohengrin - Wagner - Blu ray
87. Lombardi alla prima crociata, I - Verdi - DVD
88. Louise - Charpentier - DVD
89. Lucia di Lammermoor - Donizetti - DVD
90. Lucio Silla - Mozart - DVD
91. Luisa Fernanda (zarzuela) - Torroba - DVD
92. Lulu - Berg - DVD
93. Lustige Witwe, Die - Lehár - DVD
94. Martha - Flotow - CD
95. Manon - Massenet - Blu ray
96. Medée - Charpentier - CD
97. Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Die - Wagner - DVD - WAV file
98. Mignon - Thomas - DVD
99. Mitridate, re di Ponto - Mozart - DVD
100. Moses und Aron - Schoenberg - CD
101. Nabucco - Verdi - DVD
102. Norma - Bellini - Blu ray, DVD
103. Nozze di Figaro, Le - Mozart - DVD - DVD
104. Oca del Cairo, L' - Mozart - DVD
105. Oedipe - Enescu - CD
106. Orfée et Euridice - Gluck - DVD
107. Orphée aux Enfers - Offenbach - DVD
108. Otello - Verdi - WAV file
109. Pagliacci, I - Leoncavallo - DVD
110. Parsifal - Wagner - DVD - AAC file
111. Pêcheurs de perles, Les - Bizet - DVD
112. Pelléas et Mélisande - Debussy - DVD
113. Périchole , La- Offenbach - DVD
114. Persée - Lully - DVD
115. Pietra del Paragone, La - Rossini - DVD
116. Pilgrim's Progress, The - Williams - CD
117. Platée - Rameau - DVD
118. Porgy and Bess - Gershwin - DVD
119. Prophète, Le - Meyerbeer - CD
120. Puritani, I - Bellini - Blu ray
121. Queen of Spades, The - Tchaikovsky - DVD
122. Re Pastore, Il - Mozart - DVD
123. Rheingold, Das - Wagner - DVD - DVD
124. Rienzi - Wagner - Blu ray
125. Rigoletto - Verdi - DVD
126. Rodelinda - Handel - DVD
127. Rosenkavalier, Der - Richard Strauss - DVD, DVD, DVD
128. Rossignol, Le - Stravinsky - DVD
129. Ruslan and Lyudmila - Glinka - DVD
130. Sadko - Rimsky-Korsakov - DVD
131. Salvator Rosa - Carlos Gomes - CD
132. Samson et Dalila - Saint-Saëns - DVD
133. Schauspieldirektor, Der - Mozart - DVD
134. Schiavo, Lo - Carlos Gomes - DVD
135. Schuldigkeit des ersten gebots, Die - Mozart - DVD
136. Semiramide - Rossini - DVD
137. Serva Padrona, La - Pergolesi - CD
138. Siegfried - Wagner - DVD - DVD
139. Sogno di Scipione, Il - Mozart - DVD - DVD
140. Sonnambula, La - Bellini - CD
141. Sposo deluso, Lo - Mozart - DVD
142. Suor Angélica - Puccini - Blu ray
143. Tabarro, Il - Puccini - Blu ray
144. Tannhäuser - Wagner - DVD
145. Templario, Il - Nicolai - CD
146. Thaïs - Massenet - DVD
147. Tosca - Puccini - DVD
148. Traviata, La - Verdi - DVD, DVD, Blu ray, CD, DVD
149. Tristan und Isolde - Wagner - Blu ray - AAC file
150. Troyens, Les - Berlioz - Blu ray
151. Turandot - Puccini - DVD
152. Turco in Italia, Il - Rossini - DVD
153. Vie parisienne, La - Offenbach - DVD
154. Walküre, Die - Wagner - DVD - DVD
155. Zaide - Adama - Mozart - DVD
156. Zaurberflöte, Die - Mozart - CD - DVD
157. Zigeunerbaron, Der - Johann Strauss II - DVD (TV movie)


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Alma

What a fantastic library of delights.

I see you meant it then when you said you threw one of my favourites in the trash. :lol:


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Alma
> 
> What a fantastic library of delights.
> 
> I see you meant it then when you said you threw one of my favourites in the trash. :lol:


Yep, I really did! I have to replace it. Do you recommend a second favoirte, other that this one?

Oh, and by the way, I also have the following list of recitals and concerts:

Opera Concerts and compilations on DVD and Blu Ray
1. Anna Netrebko Souvenirs - short DVD
2. Anna Netrebko, Elina Garanca, Ramon Vargas, Tézier- Blu ray
3. Anna Netrebko, Villazon, Domingos - Blu ray
4. Bryn Terfel & Cecilia Bartoli - Blu ray
5. Bryn Terfel and Renée Fleming - DVD
6. Callas Life and Art - DVD
7. Domingo and Martines - Zarzuelas - DVD
8. Domingo, Alagna, Gheorghiu - DVD
9. Gala from St. Petersburg (several singers) - blu ray
10. Met Centenial Gala(several singers) - DVD
11. Opera Sampler - DVD
12. Pavarotti forever (tribute) - DVD
13. Renata Tebaldi - DVD
14. Renee & Dmitri - DVD
15. The Blu Ray experience (sampler, ballet & opera)- Blu ray
16. The Blu Ray experience 2 - Blu ray
17. Arias and Pasta - DVD
18. Villazón and Netrebko - DVD
19. Giuseppe di Stefano - DVD

Opera Singers singing non-operatic songs

1. Anna Netrebko - Souvenirs - 1 CD
2. Domingo - Songs and Tangos - 1 CD
3. Kathlen Battle Christmas Songs - DVD
4. Tenors on Tour - Carreras, Domingo, Pavarotti (popular songs) - 1 CD

Symphonic and vocal Concerts

1. Anna Sophie Mutter - Beethoven's violin sonatas - DVD
2. Beethoven's 9th symphony with Von Karajan - DVD
3. Beethoven's Symphonies 4 & 7- Wiener Philarmoniker - DVD 
4. Brahms Symphoni No. 4 - Mozart Symphony No. 33 - Beethoven Coriolan Overture - DVD
5. Carlos Kleiber's New Year's Concert 1982 - DVD
6. Carlos Kleiber's New Year's Concert 1989 - DVD
7. New York Philharmonic in North Korea - blu ray
8. Richard Strauss Tone poems - DVD
9. Schubert's song cycles - DVD
10. Tribute to Von Karajan - DVD
11. Verdi's Messa da Requiem - DVD

Opera compilations - CDs and WAVs

1. 100 best moments in Opera - 6 CDs
2. Best Duets - 1 CD
3. Best of Opera - 3 CDs
4. Bidu Sayao - 1 CD
5. Callas, Kiri te Kanawa - 1 CD
6. Curtain Up! The 2005-06 Met Opera Repertory - AAC
7. Domingo - Arias - 1 CD
8. Giuseppe di Stefano - 2 CDs
9. Italian arias - 1 CD
10. Les triomphes de l'opera - 1 CD
11. Les Triomphes de Mozart - 1 CD
12. Maria Callas - 1 CD
13. Pavarotti - the gold collection - 2 CDs
14. Pavarotti Recital - 1 CD
15. The three tenors - 1 CD
16. Wagner - overtures and preludes - 1 CD
17. Wagner - the best of the Ring - 2 CDs
18. Wagner - The Ring, part I - 2 CDs
19. Atys - Lully - Highlights - 1 CD
20. The Italian Tenor - Vittorio Grigolo - 1 CD


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## jurianbai (Nov 23, 2008)

I admit I feel like a masochist when posting this over here. 
How many complete operas do you own? .... = 1. That's the Dido and Aeneas CD I purchased just weeks ago.

But... if you counted the Chinese opera, then I have many. Some of worth mentioned here, at classical forum, are: The Tan Dun's First Emperor , Butterfly Lover (Opera version) and many chinese classic opera. Mostly legacy of my late Mum, and still in cassette tape. I attached the Mulan cassette tape and CD of chinese folk song, because it's can categorized as opera.

I haven't gone into the opera genre for simply reason, I think of it as a movie and I can't watch the movie because..... I don't have a tv set, it is always occupied. (photo no.2) Luckily there is a channel called CCTV Music, 90% played chinese music but the other 10%... you can as lucky as getting a Penderecky music being performed (I just saw the commercial of it second ago).


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

jurianbai said:


> I admit I feel like a masochist when posting this over here.
> How many complete operas do you own? .... = 1. That's the Dido and Aeneas CD I purchased just weeks ago.
> 
> But... if you counted the Chinese opera, then I have many. Some of worth mentioned here, at classical forum, are: The Tan Dun's First Emperor , Butterfly Lover (Opera version) and many chinese classic opera. Mostly legacy of my late Mum, and still in cassette tape. I attached the Mulan cassette tape and CD of chinese folk song, because it's can categorized as opera.


Hey, of course we should count Chinese opera. I have counted my one Zarzuela among my operas.:tiphat:


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

Interesting to read! Just to inform myself & you I started counting: 1200 CD Classical Music, 52 DVD Opera, upstairs one cupboard with a back-collection (CDs I didn't like that much + countless Brilliant Classics boxes, like the complete J.S.Bach) and in the attic 3 big bags (50x70x100 cm) filled with audio-cassettes, patiently waiting to be digitalized. From the 1200 CD front-collection probably more than 300 will be opera.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Wow, you're among the people with the highest number.

Since this thread was started, I have jumped up one category; now my range is the 201-300.

I have now 211 complete operas at home (mostly DVDs, not too many CDs - that's why we need *you* for the CD project) and not counting more than one version - for instance, I have 5 La Traviatas but I'm counting it only once + 30 DVDs or blu-rays of opera recitals, concerts, documentaries, and compilations + 30 CDs (isolated, or box-sets which I'm each counting as one) of opera highlights and recitals.

So I'm getting to a mid-sized collection. Give me another couple of years and I'll have a large collection.


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## Sebastien Melmoth (Apr 14, 2010)

47, guess that makes me a rookie; however, my collection is special in that I've only one Italian-language opera (_Nabucco_)--all the others are German, Russian, or French.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Sebastien Melmoth said:


> 47, guess that makes me a rookie; however, my collection is special in that I've only one Italian-language opera (_Nabucco_)--all the others are German, Russian, or French.


Not a rookie, 47 is a decent number.
Besides, the size of one's collection is not necessarily directly related to one's knowledge of opera.


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## Sebastien Melmoth (Apr 14, 2010)

Grazi milli...

Really enjoyed the MET yesterday (Sat.) live broadcast of *Boris Gudonov*.

It was very good.

This season hasn't been that great for me--(too much Italian), but looking forward to some good works: 26 March, *Pique Dame*; 2 April, *The Rhine Gold*; 16 April, *Wozzeck*; 23 April, *Capriccio*; 7 May, *Ariadne auf Naxos*; and 14 May, *The Valkure*--(note that *The Ring* operas can be staged as independant works).


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Sebastien Melmoth said:


> Grazi milli...
> 
> Really enjoyed the MET yesterday (Sat.) live broadcast of *Boris Gudonov*.
> 
> ...


Yep, I saw that Boris Godunov in person at the Met, and it was phenomenal. 
Of the ones you've mentioned above the only one that I'm not crazy about is Capriccio. It's OK, in my opinion, but not great.


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## Sebastien Melmoth (Apr 14, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> _Capriccio_.


Wow!--you saw this _Boris_? Nice.

_Capriccio_? Oh là là--Strauss's masterpiece!
Catch this production, perhaps it'll convert you.

I listen much more than watch opera (all mine are on CD). Last opera I actually saw was the MET's _Carmen_ with Elina Garanca on PBS last year.
Too hot for TV--whew!


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

After the last couple months of far too many purchases... including two entire Ring cycles... I was forced to actually set about shelving the recent purchases... which to my chagrin now exceed my shelving at slightly over 2000 discs, of which approximately 1700 are classical with the remaining couple hundred accounted for by jazz, blues, rock, and even bluegrass! Now I've got to figure out how and where to add more shelf space. Actually counting I discovered that I have just under 100 complete opera recordings... (as well as over 100 more discs of highlights, recitals, etc...). I also discovered that I have more opera recordings by Richard Strauss than anybody else. And then there's Bach... in spite of the fact that he never wrote an opera (My God!!! If only...!!) he alone accounts for nearly 150 discs... and I still don't have the complete cantatas.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Sebastien Melmoth said:


> Wow!--you saw this _Boris_? Nice.
> 
> _Capriccio_? Oh là là--Strauss's masterpiece!
> Catch this production, perhaps it'll convert you.
> ...


Yes, I have tickets for the Met Capriccio with Renée Fleming. It's not that I don't like it, like I said it's OK, I just like even more other R. Strauss operas. Here is my list, by order of preference, of the ones I know:

1. Die Frau ohne Schatten
2. Elektra
3. Salome
4. Der Rosenkavalier
5. Ariadne auf Naxos
6. Arabella
7. *Capriccio
*8. Daphne
9. Intermezzo

And yes, Elina was smoking hot in that Carmen!


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

I haven't actually counted my operas, but since I have all the operas that my Kobbe lists (excet one) and there are over 300 of them, and then I have operas that the book doesn't mention, there must be well over 300. This means different operas. There are often more than version.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Herkku said:


> I haven't actually counted my operas, but since I have all the operas that my Kobbe lists (excet one) and there are over 300 of them, and then I have operas that the book doesn't mention, there must be well over 300. This means different operas. There are often more than version.


All the Kobbe operas, minus one? Which one is it? In your place, I'd be pursuing it like crazy (just to be able to say it's finally done).


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

I agree, but to my knowledge Ethel Smyth's The Boatswain's Mate has never been recorded - only two arias from it.


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## Sebastien Melmoth (Apr 14, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> _...other R. Strauss operas. Here is my list, by order of preference, of the ones I know:
> 1. Die Frau ohne Schatten
> 2. Elektra
> 3. Salome
> ...


True: _*Die Frau ohne Schatten*_ is spectacular--possibly his best work.

J'adorer *Salomé*, bien sûr. I have the classic Böhm _*Daphne*_--good, a bit bombastic betimes.

PBS is supposed to broadcast the MET's *Rose Cavalier* on Great Performances sometime this year, don't know when...


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## Sebastien Melmoth (Apr 14, 2010)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> _jazz, blues, bluegrass... I've got to add more shelf space._


I too have a goodly amount of classic jazz, blues, zydeco, folk, etc.

You might want to check IKEA which stocks 'Billy' bookcases. I have several with beechwood finish and have been very satisfied with them. Easily assembled, additional shelves can also be obtained: very good for CD storage.


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## the_emptier (Jan 27, 2011)

upwards of 20 probably


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## Sebastien Melmoth (Apr 14, 2010)

Looking on my shelf I see that Karajan's _*Pagliacci*_ is sitting there, so that'd make two Italian operas out of 47.

http://www.amazon.com/Leoncavallo-Pagliacci-Ruggero/dp/B000001GS2/ref=cm_lmf_tit_12


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Sebastien Melmoth said:


> Looking on my shelf I see that Karajan's _*Pagliacci*_ is sitting there, so that'd make two Italian operas out of 47.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Leoncavallo-Pagliacci-Ruggero/dp/B000001GS2/ref=cm_lmf_tit_12


So, Sebastien, what do we have to do to spike your interest for Italian opera? I know that some people are turned off by the loud majestic music or the sugary coloratura, but there are Italian operas that are not like this. Verdi's Otello for instance, in spite of its bombastic start, becomes quite sophisticated from that point on. Maybe you'll like Monteverdi?


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

I think I broke the 20 barrier some time ago by now...

Not one is even in Italian, I think (unless you count the Poppea that's languishing in my old room at home... and I don't, really).


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## Sebastien Melmoth (Apr 14, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> _So, Sebastien, what do we have to do to spike your interest for Italian opera?_


Nice of you to ask.

Actually there are a couple which I like very well. Thing is, they're so often broadcast on radio and TV that I don't really need a personal copy.

Fav Italians: *La Bohème*; *L'Elisir d'Amore*; *Tosca*; *Il Trittico*; *Cavalleria Rusticana*; *I Pagliacci*; *Nabucco*.

Looks like a Verismo slant, huh?


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

I just counted 15. Which is more than I expected, actually. Apparently, the only composer by whom I have more than one opera is Britten (6).


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

I have surely less than 50 ! more of them are LP, Tape or VHS. But Some (like some of the soviet russian versions) could be found really difficult on CD and they are my treasures ! 

----------------------


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

I finally counted everything on assorted shelves, and came up with around 112. Some of this total includes two or more versions of the same opera . . . like the 11 LPs/CDs and one DVD of "_Fidelio_" -- soon to become an even dozen when Decca releases the CD version from last summer's Lucerne Festival with el Guapo and Nina Stemme!


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I must admit that the Italians do not account for the lion's share of my operatic collection either. I have a good amount of Puccini, one Verdi p Currently the largest glaring omission of my entire classical collection), several Bellini, Donizetti, and Rossini... but these cannot come near to what I have by the Germans: Handel, Hasse, Gluck, Mozart, Weber, Wagner, Richard Strauss, Korngold, Zemlinsky, Goldschmidt, Humperdinck, Kurt Weill, Johann Strauss, etc...

I really do need to broaden my Italian opera oeuvre... starting with Verdi.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> I must admit that the Italians do not account for the lion's share of my operatic collection either. I have a good amount of Puccini, one Verdi p Currently the largest glaring omission of my entire classical collection), several Bellini, Donizetti, and Rossini... but these cannot come near to what I have by the Germans: Handel, Hasse, Gluck, Mozart, Weber, Wagner, Richard Strauss, Korngold, Zemlinsky, Goldschmidt, Humperdinck, Kurt Weill, Johann Strauss, etc...
> 
> I really do need to broaden my Italian opera oeuvre... starting with Verdi.


If you're interested in getting CDs of some of Verdi's early stuff you can't go wrong with the Philips series with Lamberto Gardelli.

But if you need a recommendation I'm not the best one to ask as I love them all.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

No DVD performances yet..these are all music

Madama Butterfly, Suor Angelica, La Boheme, La Traviata, Nozze de Figaro, Rusalka, Fidelio, Turandot, Otello (not yet listened to), Tristan & Isolde, Eugene Onegin, and Lakme. Along with about three opera compilations. So Twelve complete operas. And I will not own more for some time yet. I need to get to know some of these ones better first.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Sonata said:


> No DVD performances yet..these are all music
> 
> Madama Butterfly, Suor Angelica, La Boheme, La Traviata, Nozze de Figaro, Rusalka, Fidelio, Turandot, Otello (not yet listened to), Tristan & Isolde, Eugene Onegin, and Lakme. Along with about three opera compilations. So Twelve complete operas. And I will not own more for some time yet. I need to get to know some of these ones better first.


Good to see you back, and posting again.

Hey, 12 is a very good start... 8 more and you'll be upgrading to the second range of our poll.:tiphat:

And you've just posted your 100th post and got "promoted" to senior member!:tiphat:


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Thanks Almaviva! My opera intake kind of comes in waves...really on for a good month or so, then I'll drift to other pursuits for a little while. Then one song on my ipod and I'm back in the mood again. Still, admittedly, haven't gotten deeper into DVD operas yet. I still want to get into it, just hard to get myself settled in an evening to devote a chunk of time to it. We're house hunting right now, so that's been keeping us busy.

I look forward to the "definitive CD" project coming along once the DVD version is done. Some of my versions are lesser performances, purchased at a budget in my experimental phase. I would not mind upgrading some in the next couple of years.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Sonata said:


> Thanks Almaviva! My opera intake kind of comes in waves...really on for a good month or so, then I'll drift to other pursuits for a little while. Then one song on my ipod and I'm back in the mood again. Still, admittedly, haven't gotten deeper into DVD operas yet. I still want to get into it, just hard to get myself settled in an evening to devote a chunk of time to it. We're house hunting right now, so that's been keeping us busy.
> 
> I look forward to the "definitive CD" project coming along once the DVD version is done. Some of my versions are lesser performances, purchased at a budget in my experimental phase. I would not mind upgrading some in the next couple of years.


If budget is a consideration, don't forget to explore your local library. Mine has some very good recordings that can be checked out for free. And for some $9 per month you can get literally hundreds of opera DVDs from Netflix. Even if you go for purchases, opera DVDs are competitive in price with opera CDs, especially if you pay attention to Amazon.com market vendors and "used, like new" copies (I've been lucky with the latter, not a single scratched one).


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## Guest (Mar 24, 2011)

Well, this got me curious to know how many operas I have (since I don't keep track of things like that).

I was surprised I had only 159, considering I have all of Dvorak and Janacek and Prokofiev and a lot of Rimsky-Korsakov and Martinu.

The bulk of the rest are operas by composers who only wrote one or two. After that, there are the one or two operas I have of composers who wrote more.

So counting up one plus one plus one, I guess 159 ain't _too_ shabby.

Plus, I have no operas by Handel or Mozart or Beethoven or Bellini or Donizetti or Meyerbeer or Verdi or Puccini, so getting to 159 without any of those must count as some sort of accomplishment, mustn't it? (We do get points for this, don't we?)


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

some guy said:


> Plus, I have no operas by Handel or Mozart or Beethoven or Bellini or Donizetti or Meyerbeer or Verdi or Puccini, so getting to 159 without any of those must count as some sort of accomplishment, mustn't it? (We do get points for this, don't we?)


159 without these guys? It's impressive!:tiphat:
Today I have ordered _Itinerário do Sal_, based on your recommendation. This puts me, I think, at 213. I'm curious to count how many I have without the 8 composers above. Hang on, I'll count.

OK, I was wrong by 3, I have 216 operas (not counting doubles, triples, etc). 67 of them are by the 8 composers you've quoted. Therefore, without them I have 149 - you got 10 more!


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Let's see, before I gave them all away to my nephew, I had
Mozart [1]
Beethoven [1]
Berlioz [1]
Wagner [6]
Boito [1]
Britten [4]
Puccini [8]
Bellini [2]
Donizetti [3]
Ullmann [1]
Korngold [1]
Debussy [1]
Strauss, R [1]
Mascagni [1]
Leoncavallo [1]
Prokofiev [1]
and I am probably forgetting a few. Say 35-40. Tried Verdi a couple of times, did not like any enough to buy them. Same with most of Mozart.


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## Guest (Mar 24, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> Today I have ordered _Itinerário do Sal_, based on your recommendation.


Hope you like it! The last time I recommended this, the people found some clips and hated them. (Cringe.) I saw it done live first, met the composer afterwards, and have hung out with him several times since. That always helps!!



Almaviva said:


> ...without them I have 149 - you got 10 more!


Wow. I better get some more operas. My lead is slipping away!!:tiphat:

(Plus, they're nice to listen to.)


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## Sebastien Melmoth (Apr 14, 2010)

Tomorrow is the MET's live *Pique Dame*: don't miss it!

This one's in my collection:

http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-P...=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1301053924&sr=1-5


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## Guest (Mar 25, 2011)

Can't remember if I have commented in here. 

I don't have a massive opera collection - try as I might, it takes an awful lot to put me in the mood for them. And even when I am, the list of composers is pretty limited. The dominant one would have to be Mozart - I have The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, Cosi fan tutte, Don Giovanni, Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, Idomeneo, La Clemenza de Tito. I have Beethoven's Fidelio. Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Elektra, and Salome. Wagner's Ring cycle (a live recording by Bohm at Bayreuth), Meistersinger, Parsifal, Tristan und Isolde, Lohengrin, and Tannhauser. Monteverdi's Orfeo and L'incorrinazione di Poppea. Maybe 3 or 4 by Handel (although I couldn't tell you which ones, except that they are on Erato, conducted by Christie). Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. I think that is it.

I tend to enjoy Mozart the most, especially his German operas, as I actually still speak some German, and it makes it a bit more pleasant than having to read subtitles or follow along with the libretto. The same goes for Fidelio. Of Wagner's, I actually prefer Meistersinger. Someone told me I should try the Flying Dutchman, and maybe I will at some point. Most of the others get listened to only rarely.


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## Poppin' Fresh (Oct 24, 2009)

DrMike said:


> Of Wagner's, I actually prefer Meistersinger.


Good man.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

some guy said:


> Well, this got me curious to know how many operas I have (since I don't keep track of things like that).
> 
> I was surprised I had only 159, considering I have all of Dvorak and Janacek and Prokofiev and a lot of Rimsky-Korsakov and Martinu.
> 
> ...


Interesting. Don't you have any of those guys because you don't like them, or because they are over-familiar to you and you prefer to add the element of surprise when listening to opera (or music in general).


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## Bill H. (Dec 23, 2010)

I voted 21-50, but in reality it could be more--I have no freakin' clue, once I start counting CD sets (the Ring counts as four, right?), LP sets, and downloads that reside in a couple of different computers. Some of the latter I haven't even heard all the way through yet, as they're older (mono) recordings set aside as future remastering projects.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

some guy said:


> Hope you like it! The last time I recommended this, the people found some clips and hated them. (Cringe.) I saw it done live first, met the composer afterwards, and have hung out with him several times since. That always helps!!
> 
> Wow. I better get some more operas. My lead is slipping away!!:tiphat:
> 
> (Plus, they're nice to listen to.)


I have posted my review of it in the appropriate Opera on DVD thread for modern (or should we say contemporary) opera, but I thought that since we talked about your recommendation here, it would be interesting to post the link to my review here as well.

http://www.talkclassical.com/11654-modern-opera-dvd-blu-2.html#post151887


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

my last count was just over 820


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

BalloinMaschera said:


> my last count was just over 820


:clap: Ballo, that's fantastic! Is that audio only or DVDs as well?

I'm getting some new storage shelves today (hopefully), so I'll be able to organise my CD & DVD collection better. It's all a bit of a mess at the moment.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update: oh the joys of flatpacks. I'm one of those who follow instructions, not only to the letter but to the full stop, comma and semi-colon. After much head scratching & weeping & wailing, I discovered the instructions were the wrong way round. :scold:

First CD tower took 2 hours to assemble, second one took 10 minutes. Never mind I have some nice shiny & more importantly, _empty_ shelves to fill.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

BalloinMaschera said:


> my last count was just over 820


820??? Damn, we'll promote you to the position of our best opera expert!!!:tiphat:
Are you counting repeats, or are you talking about 820 different operas?


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

sospiro said:


> :clap: Ballo, that's fantastic! Is that audio only or DVDs as well?
> 
> I'm getting some new storage shelves today (hopefully), so I'll be able to organise my CD & DVD collection better. It's all a bit of a mess at the moment.
> 
> ...


Yikes! I'm glad the new bookcase I just bought to accommodate my expanding CD/DVD collection will be arriving fully assembled. I am definitely not a skilled DIY type.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

sospiro said:


> :clap: Ballo, that's fantastic! Is that audio only or DVDs as well?
> 
> I'm getting some new storage shelves today (hopefully), so I'll be able to organise my CD & DVD collection better. It's all a bit of a mess at the moment.
> 
> ...


That includes DVD's, too...
congrats on mastering the new shelving adventure!


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> 820??? Damn, we'll promote you to the position of our best opera expert!!!:tiphat:
> Are you counting repeats, or are you talking about 820 different operas?


that does include repeats 
still too many, some may argue!...


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## dmg (Sep 13, 2009)

Well, I voted 0-20 but I actually have 24. Helps to count first.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Well, I'm solidly into the '>301' range.


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## FragendeFrau (May 30, 2011)

I have four! :tiphat:

(you can probably guess, they are all dvds: Lohengrin, Tosca, Carmen, and Werther. What do they all have in common? :lol

I have the new Fidelio CD on order. Other than those, I've got a couple on my wishlist. 

I'm not much of a collector, but I have learned my lesson about downloading classical CDs from iTunes--no libretto or liner notes!--and have gone back to CDs only.

My next task is to see what if anything is available in DVD format from our university music library. For one thing I would like to see some other versions (Callas) of Tosca which is my second most favorite opera now!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

schigolch said:


> Well, I'm solidly into the '>301' range.


Would you commit to participation in the 101-200 most recommended operas project? We need regular participants with advanced exposure to opera to start it.

@BalloinMaschera, TxllxT, Il_Penseroso, and Amfortas - this applies to the four of you as well.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

FragendeFrau said:


> I have four! :tiphat:
> 
> (you can probably guess, they are all dvds: Lohengrin, Tosca, Carmen, and Werther. What do they all have in common? :lol
> 
> ...


Of course, you'll also want to add the DVDs of "_Fidelio_" (Harnoncourt/Zürich), "_La Clemenza di Tito_" (Welser-Möst/Zürich), "_Fierrebras_," "_Nina_," and "_Il Ritorno d'Ulisse_" to your collection. They have the same thing in common as the videos you've already acquired.

I also have Decca's new CD "Fidelio" on order. For the same reason I have all of the aforementioned videos . . .


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> Would you commit to participation in the 101-200 most recommended operas project? We need regular participants with advanced exposure to opera to start it.


No problem.

I read the 100 list, which is nice.

Just to let you know, this is my own 100 list:

Orfeo	<>	Monteverdi	<>	1607
L'incoronazione di Poppea	<>	Monteverdi	<>	1635
Acis et Galatée	<>	Lully	<>	1686
Dido and Aeneas	<>	Purcell	<>	1689
Rinaldo	<>	Händel	<>	1711
Giulio Cesare	<>	Händel	<>	1724
Tamerlano	<>	Händel	<>	1724
Tito Manlio	<>	Vivaldi	<>	1733
La serva padrona	<>	Pergolesi	<>	1733
Les Indes Galantes	<>	Rameau	<>	1735
Orfeo ed Euridice	<>	Glück	<>	1762
Die Entführung aus dem Serail	<>	Mozart	<>	1782
Le Nozze di Figaro	<>	Mozart	<>	1786
Don Giovanni	<>	Mozart	<>	1787
Così fan tutte	<>	Mozart	<>	1790
Die Zauberflöte	<>	Mozart	<>	1791
Il matrimonio segreto	<>	Cimarosa	<>	1792
Medea	<>	Cherubini	<>	1797
Tancredi	<>	Rossini	<>	1813
L'Italiana in Algeri	<>	Rossini	<>	1813
Fidelio	<>	Beethoven	<>	1814
Il Barbiere di Siviglia	<>	Rossini	<>	1816
Der Freischütz	<>	Weber	<>	1821
Semiramide	<>	Rossini	<>	1823
La sonnambula	<>	Bellini	<>	1831
Norma	<>	Bellini	<>	1831
L'elisir d'amore	<>	Donizetti	<>	1832
I puritani	<>	Bellini	<>	1835
Lucia di Lammermoor	<>	Donizetti	<>	1835
Maria Stuarda	<>	Donizetti	<>	1835
La Juive	<>	Halévy	<>	1835
Les Huguenotes	<>	Meyerbeer	<>	1836
Macbeth	<>	Verdi	<>	1843
Der Fliegende Holländer	<>	Wagner	<>	1843
Tannhäuser	<>	Wagner	<>	1845
Lohengrin	<>	Wagner	<>	1848
Rigoletto	<>	Verdi	<>	1851
Les Troyens	<>	Berlioz	<>	1853
La Traviata	<>	Verdi	<>	1853
Il trovatore	<>	Verdi	<>	1853
Faust	<>	Gounod	<>	1859
Tristan und Isolde	<>	Wagner	<>	1859
Don Carlo	<>	Verdi	<>	1867
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg <>	Wagner	<>	1867
Hamlet	<>	Thomas	<>	1868
Aida	<>	Verdi	<>	1871
Boris Godunov	<>	Mussorgski	<>	1872
Der Ring des Nibelungen	<>	Wagner	<>	1874
Carmen	<>	Bizet	<>	1875
Samson et Dalila	<>	Saint-Saëns	<>	1877
Yevgeni Onegin	<>	Tchaikovsky	<>	1879
Les Contes d'Hoffmann	<>	Offenbach	<>	1880
La Gioconda	<>	Ponchielli	<>	1880
Parsifal	<>	Wagner	<>	1882
Otello	<>	Verdi	<>	1887
Pagliacci	<>	Leoncavallo	<>	1890
Cavalleria Rusticana	<>	Mascagni	<>	1890
Pikovaya dama	<>	Tchaikovsky	<>	1890
Werther	<>	Massenet	<>	1892
Falstaff	<>	Verdi	<>	1893
Thaïs	<>	Massenet	<>	1894
Andrea Chénier	<>	Giordano	<>	1896
La Bohème	<>	Puccini	<>	1896
Tosca	<>	Puccini	<>	1900
Rusalka	<>	Dvorak	<>	1901
Adriana Lecouvreur	<>	Cilea	<>	1902
Pelléas et Mélisande	<>	Debussy	<>	1902
Jenufa	<>	Janacek	<>	1904
Madama Butterfly	<>	Puccini	<>	1904
Salome	<>	Strauss	<>	1905
Elektra	<>	Strauss	<>	1909
Der Rosenkavalier	<>	Strauss	<>	1911
Ariadne auf Naxos	<>	Strauss	<>	1912
A kékszakállú herceg vára	<>	Bartok	<>	1913
Die Gezeichneten	<>	Schreker	<>	1915
Il Trittico	<>	Puccini	<>	1917
Die Tote Stadt	<>	Korngold	<>	1920
Káta Kabanová	<>	Janacek	<>	1921
Wozzeck	<>	Berg	<>	1925
Doktor Faust	<>	Busoni	<>	1925
Cardillac	<>	Hindemith	<>	1926
Vec Makropulos	<>	Janacek	<>	1926
Turandot	<>	Puccini	<>	1926
Moses und Aron	<>	Schönberg	<>	1934
Lady Macbeth	<>	Shostakovich	<>	1934
Porgy & Bess	<>	Gershwin	<>	1935
Lulu	<>	Berg	<>	1937
Peter Grimes	<>	Britten	<>	1945
Voyna i mir	<>	Prokofiev	<>	1945
The consul	<>	Menotti	<>	1950
Billy Budd	<>	Britten	<>	1951
The rake's progress	<>	Stravinski	<>	1951
Boulevard Solitude	<>	Henze	<>	1952
The Turn of the Screw	<>	Britten	<>	1954
Dialogues des Carmélites	<>	Poulenc	<>	1957
Die Soldaten	<>	Zimmermann	<>	1965
Saint François d'Assise	<>	Messiaen	<>	1983
Nixon in China	<>	Adams	<>	1987
Luci mie traditrici	<>	Sciarrino	<>	1998
L'amour de loin	<>	Saariaho	<>	2000


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

MAuer said:


> Of course, you'll also want to add the DVDs of "_Fidelio_" (Harnoncourt/Zürich), "_La Clemenza di Tito_" (Welser-Möst/Zürich), "_Fierrebras_," "_Nina_," and "_Il Ritorno d'Ulisse_" to your collection. They have the same thing in common as the videos you've already acquired.
> 
> I also have Decca's new CD "Fidelio" on order. For the same reason I have all of the aforementioned videos . . .


Don't bother with Tannhäuser (2004, Welser-Möst/Zurich). You'll hear your reason, but you will only catch very fleeting glimpses as the camera stays firmly on Seiffert's face all the way through the reason's big aria. And there were a lot of hot stage lights, and the sweat pours off aforementioned face. So the video direction makes Werther look almost inspired!

But the others are all my in collection...


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

schigolch said:


> No problem.
> 
> I read the 100 list, which is nice.
> 
> Just to let you know, this is my own 100 list:


Very good list. I haven't seen five of these; would you make recommendations of versions for these five that I've listed below, preferably video, but audio also accepted? Thanks

Tito Manlio <> Vivaldi <> 1733
The consul <> Menotti <> 1950
Boulevard Solitude <> Henze <> 1952
Saint François d'Assise <> Messiaen <> 1983
Luci mie traditrici <> Sciarrino <> 1998


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

About _Tito Manlio_, there are no DVD's to the best of my knowledge. This is a fantastic version, though:










On the other four, may I just keep this recommendation for the 'Modern opera on DVD and Blu-ray' thread?.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> Would you commit to participation in the 101-200 most recommended operas project? We need regular participants with advanced exposure to opera to start it.
> 
> @BalloinMaschera, TxllxT, Il_Penseroso, and Amfortas - this applies to the four of you as well.


I'm in, but I'm glad for the newcomers support (Amfortas & schigolch & ....) with their impressive systematic approach.  :tiphat:


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## Nix (Feb 20, 2010)

I voted in the 0-20 awhile ago.. now I have 30. But I've only ever seen 3 of them, and I'm only really familiar with 2. Someday I'll be an opera buff, but not this year. Maybe in 5 if I'm lucky.


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## crmoorhead (Apr 6, 2011)

I am just a newbie and take my time to really get to know my operas. I own 13 and have Fidelio and Bluebeard's Castle coming in the post. I have La Traviata, Il Trovotore, Pelleas et Melisande, Der Ring Der Nibelung, Lucia di Lammermoor and 5 Stravinsky ones that I got in a boxed set (though it depends what you classify as an opera). I have the DVD of La Traviata and Der Ring. I am currently making my way (slowly) through the Ring cycle.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

crmoorhead said:


> I am just a newbie and take my time to really get to know my operas. I own 13 and have Fidelio and Bluebeard's Castle coming in the post. I have La Traviata, Il Trovotore, Pelleas et Melisande, Der Ring Der Nibelung, Lucia di Lammermoor and 5 Stravinsky ones that I got in a boxed set (though it depends what you classify as an opera). I have the DVD of La Traviata and Der Ring. I am currently making my way (slowly) through the Ring cycle.


That's a very good start, I think you aren't a newbie any longer.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

schigolch said:


> On the other four, may I just keep this recommendation for the 'Modern opera on DVD and Blu-ray' thread?.


 Thanks. Sure, we'll be glad to read your reviews.


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## Stasou (Apr 23, 2011)

Via the internet, I have a nearly infinite supply. As far as actually owning them goes...


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

I have 4. Wozzeck, Lulu, Tristan und Isolde, and Elektra


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## FragendeFrau (May 30, 2011)

mamascarlatti said:


> Don't bother with Tannhäuser (2004, Welser-Möst/Zurich). You'll hear your reason, but you will only catch very fleeting glimpses as the camera stays firmly on Seiffert's face all the way through the reason's big aria. And there were a lot of hot stage lights, and the sweat pours off aforementioned face. So the video direction makes Werther look almost inspired!
> 
> But the others are all my in collection...


Thanks for all the advice, both of you. Quick question: Has the Bayreuth Lohengrin ever been made available? Broadcast? Bootlegged? (I acquired *cough* a recording of the audio, and it sounds...very strange. Maybe JK was having an off night? Or maybe it was a bootleg rather than a recording of a radio broadcast as I had assumed). Anyway having read a most thoughtful and enlightening review by "Olle" on the lovely unofficial site, I now want to see it more than ever! While I am no great fan of Regie I'm always willing to give it a look (especially after an excellent "explication"). PM if you need to.

I thought of this because I read that *this year's* Lohengrin is going to be broadcast live. (curses! why not last year?)


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

FragendeFrau said:


> Thanks for all the advice, both of you. Quick question: Has the Bayreuth Lohengrin ever been made available? Broadcast? Bootlegged? (I acquired *cough* a recording of the audio, and it sounds...very strange. Maybe JK was having an off night? Or maybe it was a bootleg rather than a recording of a radio broadcast as I had assumed). Anyway having read a most thoughtful and enlightening review by "Olle" on the lovely unofficial site, I now want to see it more than ever! While I am no great fan of Regie I'm always willing to give it a look (especially after an excellent "explication"). PM if you need to.
> 
> I thought of this because I read that *this year's* Lohengrin is going to be broadcast live. (curses! why not last year?)


I don't know whether or not NPR picked up any of the radio broadcasts from last year's Bayreuth Festival. In any case, I know that my local NPR affiliate station didn't acquire them (as I certainly would have taped the "_Lohengrin_" for my personal use!). I don't recall this production was ever filmed, either, which would preclude any video release.


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## rsmithor (Jun 30, 2011)

*Opera CD's "Let Me Count the Ways"*

Rack ' Em, Danno!...


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> We've been talking about spending sprees, the dreaded Unwatched Police, and so forth, so I thought it would be fun to get a sense of the size of users' opera collections at home. This can be a matter of pride or shame... LOL... so, better make it anonymous under the form of a poll.
> 
> How many complete operas do you guys own, all media considered? (vinyl, CD, VHS, DVD, blu-ray, iPod download, etc)?


I have 100,000,000,000 operas...do you have more?

:lol:

Martin


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

rsmithor said:


> Rack ' Em, Danno!...


 Only these?
Amateur!


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

I read this thread from the beginning, and, halfway through the conversation with Boccherini, I remembered this little gem--operetta, not opera, but definitely valid.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

rsmithor said:


> Rack ' Em, Danno!...


Awesome!!!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

AnaMendoza said:


> I read this thread from the beginning, and, halfway through the conversation with Boccherini, I remembered this little gem--operetta, not opera, but definitely valid.


Oh yes, that Boccherini was something. Good riddance, I'm glad that we've banned him.

By reviewing the thread I realized that exactly 9 months ago I had 157 operas (not counting repeats) and today I have 298. So, 141 more, divided by 9, an average of 15.6 new operas purchased every month, almost 4 per week. Not bad!

I look forward to breaking the barrier of 300.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> Oh yes, that Boccherini was something. Good riddance, I'm glad that we've banned him.
> 
> By reviewing the thread I realized that exactly 9 months ago I had 157 operas (not counting repeats) and today I have 298. So, 141 more, divided by 9, an average of 15.6 new operas purchased every month, almost 4 per week. Not bad!
> 
> I look forward to breaking the barrier of 300.


Beat you by 7. Get buying. Not that I have shares in Amazon or anything, though I might be single-handedly responsible for any profit they make.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

Ah, I think I'll document where I am, for future reference. I have two. One CD, one DVD. . That's one every two years, for the past four years. (My house burned down almost four years ago, and a nice, though far from spectacular CD collection went with it.) However, to be fair, I should count in the collections of the three closest public libraries....


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

AnaMendoza said:


> Ah, I think I'll document where I am, for future reference. I have two. One CD, one DVD. . That's one every two years, for the past four years. (*My house burned down almost four years ago, and a nice, though far from spectacular CD collection went with it*.) However, to be fair, I should count in the collections of the three closest public libraries....


I'm very sorry to hear that, Ana. Horrible experience.

I have to say that is why I have 4 TB of DVD/CDs/photos on external hard drives stored at work.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Beat you by 7. Get buying.


You know that I'm trying to hold it down as best as I can until my UWP gets to zero so you will likely increase your lead in the next few weeks. But then once it hits zero I'll restart buying in full force.

After finishing the one I'm watching as we speak - Beatrice di Tenda - my UWP will be down to 12.


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

Thank you.

And that's definitely good planning on your part. You never know what can happen.


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> Oh yes, that Boccherini was something. Good riddance, I'm glad that we've banned him.
> 
> By reviewing the thread I realized that exactly 9 months ago I had 157 operas (not counting repeats) and today I have 298. So, 141 more, divided by 9, an average of 15.6 new operas purchased every month, almost 4 per week. Not bad!
> 
> I look forward to breaking the barrier of 300.


That's great! I really need a sponsor! 

But do you have time to watch 15, 6 operas in one month?


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

ooopera said:


> That's great! I really need a sponsor!
> 
> But do you have time to watch 15, 6 operas in one month?


Well, many of the operas I bought in the last few months are operas that I already know and have watched online, at a friend's house, etc., but I wanted to fill gaps in my collection - so they were bought and went directly to the DVD rack. Also, that's exactly why I ended up with a 50+ unwatched pile, which I've been working on, trying to get down (currently I've been able to cut it down to 12). I don't list as unwatched an opera DVD that I've already seen, and just bought to have it at home for future repeat viewing.

And then, I go through intensive stretches. At one point I took 10 days of staycation and watched 28.

Still, I routinely watch at least 3 operas per week, often more. I rent two a week from Netflix, so usually I watch one on Tuesday evening and one on Saturday morning. Then at some other point in the weekend I watch one more. So a minimum of three a week is always done, week after week - which brings me to 12 per month.

Today and yesterday I took time off from work and have watched three already (Goya, Le Grand Macabre, Beatrice di Tenda), probably some two more later today. I'll travel Saturday morning to attend a football game - a 3-hour drive - and will travel back Sunday morning - will likely listen to another two on CD, one on each leg of the trip. On Sunday I'll probably watch one more on DVD in the afternoon once I get home, and since Monday is a holiday, likely one more in the morning before the traditional cook-out. So this puts me at 9 for this long weekend; to maintain the average, I'd need only 6 more for the rest of September. It's perfectly feasible.

You need to understand that opera *is* my main hobby so it does occupy most of my leisure moments.


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## Mika (Jul 24, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> Well, many of the operas I bought in the last few months are operas that I already know and have watched online, at a friend's house, etc., but I wanted to fill gaps in my collection - so they were bought and went directly to the DVD rack. Also, that's exactly why I ended up with a 50+ unwatched pile, which I've been working on, trying to get down (currently I've been able to cut it down to 12). I don't list as unwatched an opera DVD that I've already seen, and just bought to have it at home for future repeat viewing.
> 
> And then, I go through intensive stretches. At one point I took 10 days of staycation and watched 28.
> 
> ...


How often you watch operas second or third time? I used to have a large collection of DVD movies. Many of them ended up to UWP and close to zero I watched two or more times . Now I am making backups of local library operas and UWP grows again


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Mika said:


> How often you watch operas second or third time? I used to have a large collection of DVD movies. Many of them ended up to UWP and close to zero I watched two or more times . Now I am making backups of local library operas and UWP grows again


I do have my favorites that I watch again from time to time, when I'm not too busy with new stuff. But you're right, I probably only watch a repeat every other week or less - once or twice a month. I mean by this a true repeat - the exact same DVD or blu-ray - because different productions of the same opera, I watch much more often, since I like to see how different stage directors and conductors/singers have performed in different productions, and I like to compare them.

But what gives me the most pleasure is to see an opera that I don't know. Fortunately, there are about 40,000 operas out there, so no risk of running out.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

ooopera said:


> That's great! I really need a sponsor!
> 
> But do you have time to watch 15, 6 operas in one month?


That's only one every two nights. I would say I'm there. Of course I don't watch anything else, no TV or films these days.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I was thinking, as the proponent of this poll, that I did a rather bad job at making the categories by lumping together zero to twenty.
Someone who owns zero operas has a very different relationship with the art form as compared to someone who owns 19 or 20.

I should have created more categories.

1 - Zero
2 - 1 to 5
3 - 6 to 20
4 - 21 to... etc.

And then at the opposite end I could have separated it better too.

Like 301 - 500; 501 - 1,000; and 1,001 or more.

I wonder if the 37 folks who replied 0-20 would be willing to further clarify their situation.


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## Mika (Jul 24, 2009)

when do you consider owning the opera? Should you count copies? With local library support and 2TB hard drive you can make miracles


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## FragendeFrau (May 30, 2011)

I wasn't around for this poll at the beginning, but I own four, with the fifth one still in the mail :-( DVDs are expensive, my internet plan is not up to streaming movies (plus my wifi is always breaking down), and I still have a couple more Kaufmann DVDs to buy before I can move on to your beloved Anna's La Traviata and to Eugene Onegin (the next ones on my wishlist). I'll probably get that La Boheme with Anna too, although I'm really more into recordings of performances than movies.

I also have Les Troyens on my wishlist since I want to familiarize myself with that by next summer.

ETA: sorry I didn't read carefully "in any media" I also have one opera on CD with another also in the mail


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## ooopera (Jul 27, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> Well, many of the operas I bought in the last few months are operas that I already know and have watched online, at a friend's house, etc., but I wanted to fill gaps in my collection - so they were bought and went directly to the DVD rack. Also, that's exactly why I ended up with a 50+ unwatched pile, which I've been working on, trying to get down (currently I've been able to cut it down to 12). I don't list as unwatched an opera DVD that I've already seen, and just bought to have it at home for future repeat viewing.
> 
> And then, I go through intensive stretches. At one point I took 10 days of staycation and watched 28.
> 
> ...


R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

I'll do the same, when I'll have less work at job and when I'll finish postgraduate study. 
But now I'm happy when I can watch two per week. Cause I also attend pretty much classical concerts. Therefore a lot of my evenings are kind of busy.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Mika said:


> when do you consider owning the opera? Should you count copies? With local library support and 2TB hard drive you can make miracles


 Yes, I'd count copies. I don't really personally approve of copies due to copyright issues, but each person is of course free to proceed as he/she wishes, and the question was more linked to understanding the patterns of opera ownership in Talk Classical, regardless of how these operas were acquired by the member.

My beef with copies is that I believe that the opera business is in trouble and we need to preserve this already small market by patronizing licensed products that result in copyrights being paid to artists and opera companies, orchestras, etc.

I do understand that people have different circumstances - for example, broke students who love opera will need to get by with copies - but I'd encourage whoever loves opera to try to replace the copies with _bona fide _official releases or paid downloads at some point, when hopefully the person gets to have more disposable income.


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## Mika (Jul 24, 2009)

It is a bit weird, but our country's law says library copies for yourself are legal. I do agree, that buying originals is the way to go. I also feel, that hard drive only products (also legal downloads) are not in the same league than other medias. Maybe I am too much attached to physical media.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Yay, I finally broke the barrier of the last category in this poll, by purchasing my 301st opera, _L'Upupu _by Henze.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Yay, I finally broke the barrier of the last category in this poll, by purchasing my 301st opera, _L'Upupu _by Henze.


:clap: but I thought you don't count that ones, in which Anna doesn't take a part !

And mine now more than 100, I have been bankrupt in less than 3 months ... and I blame directly the TC opera members


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Il_Penseroso said:


> :clap: but I thought you don't count that ones, in which Anna doesn't take a part !
> 
> And mine now more than 100, I have been bankrupt in less than 3 months ... and I blame directly the TC opera members


Hm... this gives me an idea. Each one I have *with* Anna should count as 20.:devil:

Hey, not long ago I had 157 and thanks to Talk Classical now I have 301.

We should sue and get the more pushy members to pay for what they did to us. I mean, present company excluded.:angel:


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

I've been reluctant to participate, what with all the impressive numbers being thrown around. But in the interests of full disclosure . . .

I own right around 50 opera DVDs, with another dozen or so on CD. Quite a few more on LP, but I don't listen to those any more and will probably sell them.

In my current circumstances, I don't have a UWP. More of a UBP--an Unbought Pile. 

But that will change eventually.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> We should sue and get the more pushy members to pay for what they did to us. I mean, present company excluded.:angel:


I don't take this so easy, you're also in company :devil:


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## AnaMendoza (Jul 29, 2011)

I have a UWP, but it's all at the public library.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

AnaMendoza said:


> I have a UWP, but it's all at the public library.


Good point. I'm fortunate to live near one of the largest academic libraries in the U.S., and they have a pretty extensive collection of opera DVDs. I can't find *everything* there, but they've got plenty I don't own and haven't yet seen.

Now if I can just find the time to get over there more often!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> We should sue and get the more pushy members to pay for what they did to us.


I agree *we* should sue and get the more pushy members to pay for what they did to *us*.

I distinctly recall a certain mo... I mean member .. using the phrase *buy, buy, buy* on more than one occasion.



Almaviva said:


> I mean, present company excluded.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

I'm currently having a big sort-out and reorganisation of all my CDs which, I hope, will give me a clearer idea of what I do and don't have and, more to the point, precisely where they are. There was a time (I remember it well) when my opera collection was a manageable, civilised thing, identifiable on a single shelf; now it's like the hydra, sprouting heads everywhere, and assaulting me with impossible questions like: 'Do I put Mozart's operas in the Mozart section or in the opera section?' (a question which doesn't arise with a nice straightforward sort of chap like Massenet). This is unfair. No one warned me of this outcome when I embarked on the TalkClassical Opera Trail, though I expect it was in the small print somewhere.

Anyway, although this way madness lies (_madness_, it's _madness_ I tell you), I am attempting it. I may periodically report on my progress.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

sospiro said:


> I distinctly recall a certain ma... I mean member .. using the phrase *buy, buy, buy* on more than one occasion.


Yeah, me too, I recall it! That Natalie and her "buy, buy, buy" will be the first defendant in my law suit.

PS - I fixed your typo for ya; see, you typed mo... instead of ma... (for mamascarlatti)


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

Almaviva said:


> Yeah, me too, I recall it! That Natalie and her "buy, buy, buy" will be the first defendant in my law suit.


Did anyone else receive those 'Buy buy buy OR I'LL STRANGLE YOUR BUDGIE' messages? (I've been too afraid to speak up until now.)


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## Lenfer (Aug 15, 2011)

DarkAngel said:


> My current object of desire is newly acquired Callas deluxe studio set........


I have turned a strange green colour with envy! Very nice boxed set I may have to get one but it would be a rather big purchase...

*ponders*

Thank you *DarkAngel * for bringing this to my attention.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Elgarian said:


> Did anyone else receive those 'Buy buy buy OR I'LL STRANGLE YOUR BUDGIE' messages? (I've been too afraid to speak up until now.)


 I know! I've been getting them, and they all come from New Zealand! I'm rather upset! Who do you think is sending them? Are we at a serious risk if we don't obey?


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

So far the only complete operas I own are:

Wagner - The Ring Cycle
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde
R Strauss - Salome
Bartok - Bluebeard's Castle
Britten - Peter Grimes

I just recently finished viewing Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle, and now that I have viewed all of my operas in their entirety (and thoroughly enjoyed them all) I will soon be expanding my collection. There are soooo many operas I want to view/ hear at this point though its a bit daunting to know where to start. 

My next opera purchase will likely be by one of the following composers: Mozart, Handel, Monteverdi, Berlioz, or Berg.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

tdc said:


> My next opera purchase will likely be by one of the following composers: Mozart, *Handel*, Monteverdi, Berlioz, or Berg.












Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

mamascarlatti said:


> Buy it! Buy it! Buy it! (IF YOU VALUE YOUR BUDGIE)


Is this a clue to the origin of the mysterious messages, do you think Alma?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I wish there was a particular "like" button for "Alan made me laugh AGAIN"".


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

I couldn't vote. I guess I have a lot, never counted...Certainly more than 301. I LOVE opera. Many on CD, less on DVD but still...

Martin


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Buy it! Buy it! Buy it!


I have two other versions...on DVD

Martin


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## Allanmcf (May 29, 2014)

I assume that the intention here is to only include the number of different operas you have and not, as in my demented case, the multiple versions of the same opera. i.e 20 Rings, 10 Tannhausers, 5 Salomes etc. you get the picture. So much lovely music, so little time. I also love Keith Jarrett, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and a veritable horde of other stellar jazz giants and you know what their back catalogues look like!! Not to mention multiple Mahler, Shostakovitch, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert, Brahms...... And don't get me started on the Grateful Dead and the Dylan bootlegs!!! The list goes on and on and on. I think now, to hear everything I have got just once more, I need to live about another fifty years and as I am now in my mid sixties this is looking increasingly unlikely! C'est la vie.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

You mean you expect me to count them?


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

^ you mean you've got no spreadsheet? and you call yourself an opera lover!


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## Posie (Aug 18, 2013)

I think I'll hold off on investing in over 20 opera DVDs until I have at least one friend who will watch them with me. You can imagine what this would do to someone who already has reclusive tendencies.


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## JohnGerald (Jul 6, 2014)

I have over 200 on DVD and better than 350 on CD. Space limitations following a move to smaller quarters required that all the LPs were donated to public radio, and there were a heap of those!


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I have only one opera (complete) and no operas (highlights) in any media (CD). It is Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Die Soldaten. It's worth it


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Three complete operas (multiple performances of Fidelio though) and two DVDs of my favorite two that I have on CD.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I was probably in the 21-50 or more likely the 51-100 range when this thread was begun... and now it is quite possible that I am in the 300+ range. A couple of summers ago while putting in a concerted effort to get all my discs out of storage boxes and onto shelves, I counted somewhere in the realm of 80 opera recordings... still unplayed! Of course vocal music has always been my greatest passion.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> You mean you expect me to count them?


Exactly.

What kind of _petits bourgeois_ do that?


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Many hundreds on LP. A few years ago I thought it would be a great hobby to collect opera LP box sets. Although the idea was to make do with 1 decent version of every opera it hasn't quite worked out that way. Still, it's fun, inexpensive and keeps me out of trouble.

erm... Donizetti sure wrote a lot of operas, I currently have 22 of them on LP, so about halfway done.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Oh, I completely forgot: I also have the complete (unfinished) Moses und Aron by Arnold Schönberg in a boxed set by Pierre Boulez. This was a favourite in the 1970s, that I reacquired more by accident than intent, but it is nice to have


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## Radames (Feb 27, 2013)

GregMitchell said:


> You mean you expect me to count them?


That will take all night. Last I counted I had about 5000 CDs.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Radames said:


> That will take all night. Last I counted I had about 5000 CDs.


:tiphat:

Respect!

Where do you keep them?


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Radames said:


> That will take all night. Last I counted I had about 5000 CDs.





sospiro said:


> :tiphat:
> 
> Respect!
> 
> Where do you keep them?


In his heart!

We have precisely two. A video of 'Carmen' that we found in a charity shop, and a dvd of Lully's 'Cadmus et Hermione' that we bought recently. 
But hey - just think how much we have to look forward to! We will never reach the 5000 mark, but what fun we'll have trying.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Around 600-700 or somewhere in between


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## alan davis (Oct 16, 2013)

I voted 200-300 but really haven't a clue. I would think that is conservative.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I now have a third opera: Herzog Blaubarts Burg by Béla Bartók (Pierre Boulez/BBC SO). It is included in my new 4CD Boulez conducts Bartók set on Sony. I used to have an LP version (DFD, I think) on DG, but I never got around to replacing it on CD, so this is an unexpected treat.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Am I getting into opera?  I now have four!









I got this CD used today, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, one I used to own on LP.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Now I own 4 complete operas: Fidelio (Beethoven). La Cenerentola (Rossini), La Sonnambula (Bellini), and Martha (Flotow)

Fidelio: 1 DVD and 4 CDs
Cenerentola: 1 DVD and 2 CDs
Sonnambula: 1 DVD and 1 CD
Martha: 1 DVD (not shipped yet) and 1 CD (not shipped yet)


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Oh, I totally forgot that I have a CD of Massenet's Cendrillon, but I did not care for it so much and was trying to sell it off. Oh well, maybe I will give it another listen sometime. Not likely to get the DVD though, and only bought it for Frederica von Stade.



Florestan said:


> Now I own 4 complete operas: Fidelio (Beethoven). La Cenerentola (Rossini), La Sonnambula (Bellini), and Martha (Flotow)
> 
> Fidelio: 1 DVD and 4 CDs
> Cenerentola: 1 DVD and 2 CDs
> ...


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Many more than 300. I think I probably have 300 Wagner operas alone


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

My hypothesis has been that the OP was thinking of the number of operatic works, not recordings/stagings of them.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

At least 20, perhaps more, surely not less. Mostly CD's but quite a few DVD's too.


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## Celloissimo (Mar 29, 2013)

I own Furtwangler's Die Walküre and Fliegende Holländer, Karajan's Cosi Fan Tutte, and Sawallisch's Elektra.


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

I posted quite early in this thread so I decided to count them again to see if there was any significant rise in my collection since then. It appears that over the four years since then I have bought about a dozen new works bringing my grand total up to approx. 135. I think this slowing-down indicates that I'm near the end of the line with this particular category, although I would still like to get the following at some point:

Hindemith - Cardillac
Antheil - Transatlantic
Schnittke - Life with an Idiot
Britten - Billy Budd
Janacek - Kat'a Kabanova & The Cunning Little Vixen
Prokofiev - The Fiery Angel
Schoenberg - Moses und Aron
Weill - The Tsar Has His Photograph Taken and Der Protagonist


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## Piwikiwi (Apr 1, 2011)

I own:
L'enfant et les sortilèges - Ravel
L'heur Espagnol - Ravel
Les Indes Galantes - Rameau


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

I own several hundred and a collapsed floor.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

SimonTemplar said:


> I own several hundred and a collapsed floor.


I'm putting a bit of a moratorium on purchases while my floor i being strengthened! :lol:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

DavidA said:


> I'm putting a bit of a moratorium on purchases while my floor i being strengthened! :lol:


If only the mostly good recommendation on this forum would allow me that


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

SimonTemplar said:


> I own several hundred and a collapsed floor.


May as well build a concrete bunker to hold your collection!


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## Rangstrom (Sep 24, 2010)

Celloissimo said:


> I own Furtwangler's Die Walküre and Fliegende Holländer, Karajan's Cosi Fan Tutte, and Sawallisch's Elektra.


I wasn't aware of any recording by Furtwangler of the Dutchman, other than the overture. Where did you find this? It might be mislabeled. I have a recording of Dvorak's 9th that lists Furtwangler as the conductor but this was later debunked.


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## majlis (Jul 24, 2005)

None, never. And I haven't any works that includes human voices. Can't stand sopranos or tenors howls.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

majlis said:


> None, never. And I haven't any works that includes human voices. *Can't stand sopranos or tenors howls.*



You probably need to listen to some much, much older recordings. Though I agree with you about sopranos.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

majlis said:


> None, never. And I haven't any works that includes human voices. Can't stand sopranos or tenors howls.


When it comes to sopranos and tenors, you have to have the best. Else it can sound bad, especially I find tenors' range can have a nasty ear piercing quality. You should see if there are any works for bass and alto out there.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

majlis said:


> None, never. And I haven't any works that includes human voices. Can't stand sopranos or tenors howls.


No I can't either. Why I buy vocal music with good singers who don't howl. There are some about, you know, even today!


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

This poll must surely be one of the most revealing ever done here at TC. I have suggested that the reason some composers have been underrated or dismissed is because of the bias against or dislike of opera... and vocal music as a whole... by a good many members. I would have never guessed, however, that the number of members owning 0-20 operas would have counted for 40% + of our membership. This should be kept in mind the next time we come upon posts suggesting that certain composers are overrated... composers such as Handel, Vivaldi, Verdi, Donizetti, Bellini, Gluck, Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, Wagner... or other composers whose oeuvres are predominantly vocal... or whose reputations are based heavily upon their achievements in vocal music.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Florestan said:


> When it comes to sopranos and tenors, you have to have the best. Else it can sound bad, especially I find tenors' range can have a nasty *ear piercing quality*. You should see if there are any works for bass and alto out there.


That's what I like best about tenors.  Of course, one can never have too many good basses (or baritones).


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## Loge (Oct 30, 2014)

majlis said:


> None, never. And I haven't any works that includes human voices. Can't stand sopranos or tenors howls.


Felt the same way about sopranos untill I heard a soprano live. Recordings can never really capture the real quality of a soprano voice, most of the sound is missing. What you essentially have is someone screaming into a microphone. But once heard live I could appreciate recordings, the clarity of tone, the breath control of the voice. That changed my opinion on recordings. Though I always feel that tenors sound much stronger on recordings than live.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

majlis said:


> None, never. And I haven't any works that includes human voices. Can't stand sopranos or tenors howls.


 Also, you apparently have not heard Beverly Sills:


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

majlis said:


> None, never. And I haven't any works that includes human voices. Can't stand sopranos or tenors howls.


This is so cool. Your join date is even earlier than Frederik Magle. 

http://www.talkclassical.com/571-new-owner-talkclassical-com.html


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## majlis (Jul 24, 2005)

I was young and candid ad that time. But now, at 74, I'm just candid.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Florestan said:


> Also, you apparently have not heard Beverly Sills:


Spread the word brother, never enough Sills fans :tiphat:


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Oh well Majlis, thanks for visiting the opera forum anyhow. Can't help feeling you're missing out.


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

Yeesh, a lot. 26 Ring Cycles, so that's over 100 right there. At least 50 Maria Callas operas. I'm going to have to say between 250 and 300.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> This poll must surely be one of the most revealing ever done here at TC. I have suggested that the reason some composers have been underrated or dismissed is because of the bias against or dislike of opera... and vocal music as a whole... by a good many members. I would have never guessed, however, that the number of members owning 0-20 operas would have counted for 40% + of our membership. This should be kept in mind the next time we come upon posts suggesting that certain composers are overrated... composers such as Handel, Vivaldi, Verdi, Donizetti, Bellini, Gluck, Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, Wagner... or other composers whose oeuvres are predominantly vocal... or whose reputations are based heavily upon their achievements in vocal music.


There is still a big span between 0 and 20 operas.
The most revealing would be to see how many that have 0 operas and have the poll in the general forum.


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## Guest (Apr 15, 2016)

Sloe said:


> There is still a big span between 0 and 20 operas.
> The most revealing would be to see how many that have 0 operas and have the poll in the general forum.


Yeah, 0-20 isn't a great banding. I have zero and frankly even that's one too many.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

I only had 21-50 when I voted in the poll, evidently some time ago! In the last few months I've been known to buy more than twenty in a single binge. This site has been a brilliant resource and has shown me that, as a very late adopter of the internet, I had barely scratched the surface of what was available on CD.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Figleaf said:


> I only had 21-50 when I voted in the poll, evidently some time ago! In the last few months I've been known to buy more than twenty in a single binge. This site has been a brilliant resource and has shown me that, as a very late adopter of the internet, I had barely scratched the surface of what was available on CD.


I had you down for at least 1000


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Pugg said:


> I had you down for at least 1000


No way, not yet anyway! My main interest has always been singers who were active pre WW1, and there aren't many complete opera recordings from that time. Of course, some later recordings are just as good, but I find myself having to be increasingly selective as recording dates get more recent. I also had a long break from regularly listening to music while the kids were little, and went through more than a decade without buying any CDs at all, unless you count a Leonard Cohen binge when I was going through a bad breakup! I also didn't get seriously into the internet until the end of 2013 when I got my first tablet, and found all this great stuff on youtube, along with this site. :tiphat:


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I don't know when I last posted in this thread but now my count is 

133 (7 in the mail) complete operas on CD (48 different opera, the rest various performances of same operas such as multiple Fidelios, Hollanders, Maria Stuardas, etc.). 

56 (one in the mail) operas on DVD (30 different operas, the rest various performances of same, especially Fidelios).


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Florestan said:


> I don't know when I last posted in this thread but now my count is
> 
> 129 (7 in the mail) complete operas on CD (44 different opera, the rest various performances of same operas such as multiple Fidelios, Hollanders, Maria Stuardas, etc.).
> 
> 56 (one in the mail) operas on DVD (30 different operas, the rest various performances of same, especially Fidelios).


The postman _does_ ring more than twice at you door


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Pugg said:


> The postman _does_ ring more than twice at you door


Yes, two sets came yesterday: Julius Caesar and Sillsiana. And I had to edit my post above because I found 4 more opera on CD that I had missed. My opera journey has been wonderful: From Fidelio to Die Frau ohne Schatten and still looking for more.


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

It would have been useful to have Zero be a separate option, so we could identify the true opera-haters.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

gardibolt said:


> It would have been useful to have Zero be a separate option, so we could identify the true opera-haters.


You inspired me to start a poll. I put it in the Community Forum so it may take a while to show up. It does have an opera hater option.

It is titled simply as "Do you like opera?"

HERE IT IS: http://www.talkclassical.com/43332-do-you-like-opera.html


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Florestan said:


> You inspired me to start a poll. I put it in the Community Forum so it may take a while to show up. It does have an opera hater option.
> 
> It is titled simply as "Do you like opera?"
> 
> HERE IT IS: http://www.talkclassical.com/43332-do-you-like-opera.html


People can like opera but they can like other forms more:

Here is a poll asking for favourite form:

http://www.talkclassical.com/5903-favorite-form.html

Poor guy for using the word form instead of genre.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Sloe said:


> People can like opera but they can like other forms more:
> 
> Here is a poll asking for favourite form:
> 
> http://www.talkclassical.com/5903-favorite-form.html


That poll didn't go very far, but I just voted.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Florestan said:


> That poll didn't go very far, but I just voted.


There have been other more recent polls with more alternatives but this was the first one I find for now.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Florestan said:


> You inspired me to start a poll. I put it in the Community Forum so it may take a while to show up. It does have an opera hater option.
> 
> It is titled simply as "Do you like opera?"
> 
> HERE IT IS: http://www.talkclassical.com/43332-do-you-like-opera.html


I voted already :tiphat:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Sloe said:


> People can like opera but they can like other forms more:
> 
> Here is a poll asking for favourite form:
> 
> ...


I also give the guy a vote


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Sloe said:


> People can like opera but they can like other forms more:
> 
> Here is a poll asking for favourite form:
> 
> ...


What's the difference between form and genre?  (Assuming it's possible to explain succinctly and in layman's terms!)


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

I haven't voted until now, but on seeing gardibolt's post above I'll 'fess up.

I like opera well enough, but prefer other genres. Having said that, one genuine highlight of my experience of live performance was of Richard Strauss's "Elektra" by Opera North at the Lowry in Salford, which was, well, Elektrifying.

I don't have many opera recordings in my library but it's not zero.

To date: Mozart - The Magic Flute (after seeing / hearing it live); Bizet - Carmen (after seeing a 'punk' version live in Glasgow), Puccini - Tosca, Turandot (an early CD experiment when I was in a 'CD club', and it was 1990  ), R. Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier; Berg - Lulu, Wozzeck (the latter still in my 'to listen' pile); Bartok - Bluebeard's Castle; Britten - Peter Grimes (the last four are recent acquisitions since joining TC, and you can probably guess that's to do with becoming more familiar with those composers' oeuvres through my participation here). 

So that's 9 in total.

'Elektra' is also on my to buy' list presently.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Figleaf said:


> What's the difference between form and genre?  (Assuming it's possible to explain succinctly and in layman's terms!)


See Mahlerian´s poll Favorite form you see.

There was some discussion about that the word form had been chosen. Personally I think as long it is clear what is meant certain words are not important. Not everyone knows the right words to use or even knows what nuances certain words have.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

^ Blimey, that certainly serves me right for asking the question! :lol: That really is some technical stuff!


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

0 - 20

Tristan und Isolde
Der Ring des Nibelungen (four operas)
Parsifal
Tannhäuser
Fidelio
Moses und Aron
Don Giovanni


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

I picked 101-200, I believe I'm at the low end of that, though it's also possible I'm at the high end of the lower category. Given time I am sure my collection will continue to expand!

I have recently moved and am still unpacking boxes so I can't count up my LP sets.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

I have 80 different operas by 24 composers but most of them in multiple versions. Wagner clocks in at about 250+, (however if I count Ring Cycles as four separate operas then that figure moves to 400+) Richard Strauss next at 58 and next Mozart with 32 and then Puccini and Verdi with about 20 each and sundry others.

List below if anyone cares

View attachment My Operas.pdf


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Barbebleu said:


> I have 80 different operas by 24 composers but most of them in multiple versions. Wagner clocks in at about 300+, Richard Strauss next at 58 and next Mozart with 32 and then Puccini and Verdi with about 20 each and sundry others.
> 
> List below if anyone cares
> 
> View attachment 83979


Wow, I only have 6 of those operas in my collection, yet I have about 135 different operas.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Florestan said:


> Wow, I only have 6 of those operas in my collection, yet I have about 135 different operas.


Yes, my taste in opera is rather narrow. You probably notice the paucity of Bellini, Rossini, Handel and many others in both the baroque and bel canto repertoires. Most of my Verdi is there because Callas is singing otherwise I would probably only have Otello.


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## Jeffrey Smith (Jan 2, 2016)

Deleted: managed to lose half the post and don't have time for a rewrite.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Jeffrey Smith said:


> Deleted: managed to lose half the post and don't have time for a rewrite.


That's a shame. Has happened to me. Sometimes the right-click-undo helps, sometimes not.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Just under 20 I think. But I have listened to far many more.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

ArtMusic said:


> But I have listened to far many more.


That's the important part!


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Florestan said:


> Wow, I only have 6 of those operas in my collection, yet I have about 135 different operas.


I'm intrigued to know what the other 129 are.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Barbebleu said:


> I'm intrigued to know what the other 129 are.


At present, this largely summarizes my opera collection on CD (many with multiple copies):

Adelis, Barber of Seville, Ariodante, Armida, Deidamia, Julius Caesar, L'Orfeo (Monteverdi) Orfeo ed Euridice (Handel), Orphee et Eurydice (Gluck), Ottone in Villa, Poppea (Monteverdi), Tolomeo, Ulisse (Monteverdi), Beatrice di Tenda, Cappriccio, Capuleti e i Montecchi, Cenerentola, Corinth, La Fille du Regiment, Der Freischutz, die Frau ohne Schatten, Don Pasquale, L'elisir d'amore, Elvida, Fidelio, Gloriana, Hansel and Gretel, Haunted Manor, Jerusalem, La Donna Del Lago, La Perichole, La Serva Padrona, Le Cid, Le coq d'or, L'italiana in Algeri, Lodoiska, Manon, Martha, Matrimonio la cambiale di, Matrimonio Segreto, Die beiden Pädagogen, Die Heimkehr aus der Fremde, Wedding of Camacho, Merry Widow, Moses in Egypt, Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina, L'amico Fritz, Nina, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, Roberto Devereux, Elisabetta Al Castello Di Kenilworth, Elisabetta, Regina D'Inghilterra, Samson and Delila, Sonnambula, Tales of Hoffman, Tancredi, Puritani, Thieving Magpie, Tosca, Turco in Italia, Viaggio a Reims, Flying Dutcman, Lohengrin, Meistersinger, Parsifal, Rheingold, Walkure, Siegfried, and Gotterdammerung.


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## itarbrt (Feb 9, 2017)

More than an hundred . The most ancient Monteverdi + Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria . The most recent Puccini + Turandot . Almost all in Lp . I remember : Rameau . Handel . Vivaldi . Haydn . Mozart . Rossini . Donizetti . Verdi . Wagner . Leoncavallo . Bizet . Giordano . Puccini .


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Florestan said:


> At present, this largely summarizes my opera collection on CD (many with multiple copies):
> 
> Adelis, Barber of Seville, Ariodante, Armida, Deidamia, Julius Caesar, L'Orfeo (Monteverdi) Orfeo ed Euridice (Handel), Orphee et Eurydice (Gluck), Ottone in Villa, Poppea (Monteverdi), Tolomeo, Ulisse (Monteverdi), Beatrice di Tenda, Cappriccio, Capuleti e i Montecchi, Cenerentola, Corinth, La Fille du Regiment, Der Freischutz, die Frau ohne Schatten, Don Pasquale, L'elisir d'amore, Elvida, Fidelio, Gloriana, Hansel and Gretel, Haunted Manor, Jerusalem, La Donna Del Lago, La Perichole, La Serva Padrona, Le Cid, Le coq d'or, L'italiana in Algeri, Lodoiska, Manon, Martha, Matrimonio la cambiale di, Matrimonio Segreto, Die beiden Pädagogen, Die Heimkehr aus der Fremde, Wedding of Camacho, Merry Widow, Moses in Egypt, Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina, L'amico Fritz, Nina, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, Roberto Devereux, Elisabetta Al Castello Di Kenilworth, Elisabetta, Regina D'Inghilterra, Samson and Delila, Sonnambula, Tales of Hoffman, Tancredi, Puritani, Thieving Magpie, Tosca, Turco in Italia, Viaggio a Reims, Flying Dutcman, Lohengrin, Meistersinger, Parsifal, Rheingold, Walkure, Siegfried, and Gotterdammerung.


Flo, I think now you have more than six of mine. BTW I have added more, mainly all the Mozart operas. I need to do a revised list.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Barbebleu said:


> Flo, I think now you have more than six of mine*. BTW I have added more*, mainly all the Mozart operas. I need to do a revised list.


There is no end to the adding of more operas. I just added Wallace's Lurline, two more Fidelios (#22 & 23), and another Flying Dutchman (#11).

For the record, the first opera in my list above should be spelled Adelia.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Florestan said:


> There is no end to the adding of more operas. I just added Wallace's Lurline, two more Fidelios (#22 & 23), and another Flying Dutchman (#11).
> 
> For the record, the first opera in my list above should be spelled Adelia.


Never and you haven't even started with Verdi yet


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

592.

Individual works.

Un catalogo egli è che ho fatt'io;
Osservate, leggete con me.
In Italia, 251;
In Allemania, 73;
220 in Francia; in Russia 39...
(With Eastern European and Anglophone countries making up the rest)

Delle vecchie faccio conquista
Pel piacer di porle in lista!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> 592.
> 
> Individual works.
> 
> ...


Now why doesn't that number surprises me.


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