# Which Composer Dominates Your Opera Collection?



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

This is not about who is your favorite opera composer but about which composer's operas do you have the most of in your collection. We will not count multiple sets, but are considering different operas. Also, two versions of the same opera are not counted separately, such as the Italian and French Daughter of the Regiment versions by Donizetti. Obviously composers with only one or a few operas are not going to get listed here except by someone who has only a handful of operas. To list Beethoven, you would not be able to have any other operas. :lol:


Donizetti dominates my opera collection.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Verdi and Puccini (and then everybody else)

Actually, after reading the question again I see that I have likely every production of Boito's Mefistofele, which numbers a lot so I guess I would have to include Boito too.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Mozart and Handel, Wagner next.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Wagner by a wide margin


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

OK. This is a new one.

Interesting results:
Britten. I have recordings of twelve of his operas. With the duplications twenty CD's, one DVD and four LP's.

There is a tie for second place with Menotti and Prokofiev with seven CD's each. 

Although I have some 18th and 19th century operas the vast majority are 20th Century.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

*Verdi -* 58 Traviatas give him a lead by all composers.
Mozart- Donizetti/ Rossini equal I guess.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Pugg said:


> *Verdi -* 58 Traviatas give him a lead by all composers.
> Mozart- Donizetti/ Rossini equal I guess.


The very thought that 58 different Traviatas exist makes me curl up in fetal position.

I'll bet you can listen to them all in a week.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Wagner wins by number of discs because his operas are long. Verdi wins by number of operas because he wrote more. But Wagner dominates because...well, because he wears a quilted silk jacket and a beret and stares at you as if you're dirt.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> The very thought that 58 different Traviata's exist makes me curl up in fetal position.
> 
> I'll bet you can listen to them all in a week.


Each his / her own Mr Wood, but answering your questio; I can't, I didn't buy them all in one week so no need to either.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Wagner (all), Puccini (all), Britten (all). Too lazy to count which composer wrote more operas.


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## Taplow (Aug 13, 2017)

Wagner (52)
Verdi (41)
Handel (37)

These are by far the dominant. Looking at my wishlist, there's going to be a tough-fought battle between Verdi and Handel in the coming months.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Fritz Kobus said:


> We will not count multiple sets, but are considering different operas. Also, two versions of the same opera are not counted separately, such as the Italian and French Daughter of the Regiment versions by Donizetti.


.................................................


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Rossii, by a log chalk; I have 32 of his. The, tyig, Doizetti ad Verdi, each o 24. Masseet o 21.

I have o "" o my keyboard.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

The OP discounts multiple recordings. Wagner only wrote 13 operas, Mozart and Verdi, a lot more. Therefore this is a race that Wagner will struggle to win. I'm not clear as to what this thread will tell us. I have the Phillips Mozart box which has all his operas but I've hardly listened to most of them but technically I have more Mozart than any other opera composer but this tells you nothing about my taste in opera.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Wagner. It's beyond counting, so I must measure instead. Around 5 feet width of LPs, 2 feet of books, 1 foot each of DVDs and CDs.

To be honest, it's not the best curated collection, but I like it, particularly all the Ring box sets.


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## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

Currently bulding my collection, and without counting my Maria Callas studio set:

*Wagner*
Der Ring: 2
Tristan und Isolde: 1
Parsifal: 1

*Verdi:*
Macbeth: (upcoming)
Nabucco: (upcoming)
Don Carlo: 1
Aida: 1
Otello: 2

Wagner wins, although I wish I could buy a Mozart set. You know that by this time I'm not really listening to those operas. I'm discovering new things and I have ready many opera challenges for the next months.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Barbebleu said:


> The OP discounts multiple recordings. Wagner only wrote 13 operas, Mozart and Verdi, a lot more. Therefore this is a race that Wagner will struggle to win.* I'm not clear as to what this thread will tell us.* I have the Phillips Mozart box which has all his operas but I've hardly listened to most of them but technically I have more Mozart than any other opera composer but this tells you nothing about my taste in opera.


Very little if anything. I just did it because there was a similar thread in the classical music forum that made me wonder what composer's operas I have the most of (though I made mine more restrictive). After Donizetti, Wagner comes in a very close second for me.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Fritz Kobus said:


> Very little if anything. I just did it because there was a similar thread in the classical music forum that made me wonder what composer's operas I have the most of (though I made mine more restrictive). After Donizetti, Wagner comes in a very close second for me.


I did misunderstood your OP either, ( sorry) so I am going do a thorough count and will report back.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Pugg said:


> I did misunderstood your OP either, ( sorry) so I am going do a thorough count and will report back.


Interesting about the huge Traviata collection though.


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

I think Strauss (Richard), Verdi, and Wagner are all about in a tie. Or a knot.

Kind regards, :tiphat:

George


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

Even though I misunderstood the OP it is still Britten.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Donizetti, Verdi and Rossini. By this order, I think, though I haven't made the actual count.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich
Massenet, Jules
Wagner, Richard
Strauss, Richard
Lehar, Franz
Puccini, Giacomo
Offenbach, Jacques


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## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

Ok, for the number of works and the intentions of the OP, even more opaque than the 100ºF/50ºF poll, I state that:

Giuseppe Verdi dominates my opera collection


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

Benjamin Britten - I've got them all apart from his version of _The Beggar's Opera_, including the three church parables. That's fifteen in all, I think.

Kurt Weill - if all of his pre-USA output for the stage can be bracketed under the opera genre then I've got twelve by him in total. Of those, only _Down in The Valley_ and _Street Scene_ were from his American years.

Wagner - I have the 'big ten'.


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## DanielNoynaert (Mar 14, 2018)

Wagner is first, with Strauss following up closely behind


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## WildThing (Feb 21, 2017)

As per the OP's request, only counting individual operas and not multiple recordings of the same work (by which Wagner would win by an even larger margin):

Wagner - 10
Puccini - 9
Verdi - 8
Mozart - 6
R. Strauss - 5


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

--- why does this website allow duplicate posts, but not the ability to delete them---


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Given that we can acquire (supposedly) complete works of many composers in cubed CD boxes for very little money, I'm not sure what this thread will achieve. I have Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Tchaikovsky in this form. I think my earlier misunderstanding/failed to read properly response to the OP is more interesting.

Next time I'm in front of my LP collection I'll count the individual Donizetti operas, he might just clinch it.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Verdi easily, as I have recordings of all his operas apart from Oberto and some of the rewrites, like Jerusalem and Aroldo. He’s also the composer of whom I have the most multiple recordings (Aida x 5, Ballo in Maschera x 2, Don Carlo x 3, Macbeth x 2, Nabucco x 2, Otello x 2, Rigoletto x 2, La Traviata x 6, Il Trovatore x 2, I Vespri Siciliani x 2).
I’m not at home, so doing this from memory. 
Next would probably be Puccini ( all his mature operas from Manon Lescaut to Turandot) Wagner (all from Dutchman to Parsifal) and Britten (still missing Paul Bunyan, Albert Herring, Owen Wingrave and Death in Venice). 
I’ve got a few Donizetti too (Anna Bolena, L’Elisir d’Amore, Lucia, Don Pasquale, Maria Stuarda, Poliuto, Roberto Devereux).


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

Don Fatale said:


> --- why does this website allow duplicate posts, but not the ability to delete them---


What? (Oh ... darn, 15 characters.) What's that you say?


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

Don Fatale said:


> --- why does this website allow duplicate posts, but not the ability to delete them---


What? (Oh ... darn, 15 characters.) What's that you say?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

It's a curious coincidence that as this thread comes on I'm in the process of thinning out my CD collection, and some operas are biting the dust. I find myself no longer wanting multiple performances of most works, particularly once I've lit upon one that I really treasure, after which others just don't satisfy. Fellow Callas fans may be horrified that I'm willing to part with her studio Sonnambula, Medea, and Normas, but with more exciting live performances at hand I'm simply no longer tempted by the more staid studio versions (and who needs Monti when you can have Valletti?). Cases where I do need more than one recording are operas that seem impossible to perform quite satisfactorily; Tristan is perhaps the prime example, where different performances are essential to understanding what's in the work. I used to want to hear as many performances of everything as possible - congrats to those with the time, money and youthful enthusiasm - but paring down is now a very satisfying process. 

(Most of my music collection is not opera, but I invite anyone interested in acquiring some good music dirt cheap to PM me about it. I've already weeded out several hundred CDs.)


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## Taplow (Aug 13, 2017)

Recount, based on new no-repeat criterion:

*Händel (34)*
Verdi (27)
Rossini (16)
Strauss (11)
Wagner (11)
Donizetti (9)
Mozart (9)
Puccini (8, 10 if you count Il Trittico as 3)
Massenet (7)
Bellini (6)
Britten (5)
Janáček (5)

I'm quite proud of the fact that I have so many Händel operas, and even if I were to complete my Verdis (I'm only missing Il Battaglio and Jerusalem) he would still win. By far my favourite composer.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Taplow said:


> Recount, based on new no-repeat criterion:
> 
> *Händel (34)*
> Verdi (27)
> ...


I'm assuming you mean Richard Strauss and that Rienzi is the eleventh Wagner opera unless you have a fetish for either Die Feen or Das Liebesverbot.:lol: Well done with the Handel. I never knew that he wrote so many operas.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

Wagner wins, both by opera and by number of recordings (or time, which is how I used to keep track, when I did).

Verdi is second, followed by Richard Strauss and Leoš Janáček. I'm counting a variety of formats, which is what makes sense to me.

These composers are also the four from whom I've seen the most number of performances (with Janáček in third and Strauss fourth).

Verdi is an interesting case on both lists. He is incredibly popular (like Puccini) and was very prolific (more so than any of the others I've mentioned here) and I have not actively avoided him (like I have Puccini, mostly) so he's higher on these lists than might be suggested by my tastes.

I feel like I should start actively avoiding his works, but (a) Nicola Luisotti is gone from SFO so hearing a different conductor lead his works may help and (b) I already have tickets for _Falstaff_ next week in Berlin. And I'm definitely going to that.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Granate said:


> Ok, for the number of works and the intentions of the OP, even more opaque than the 100ºF/50ºF poll, I state that:
> 
> Giuseppe Verdi dominates my opera collection


Snap! This is an interesting thread as given the OP's stipulations I would have thought that Verdi or Donizetti would have been the top choices. Good to read about other people's collections.

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Barbebleu said:


> I'm assuming you mean Richard Strauss and that Rienzi is the eleventh Wagner opera unless you have a fetish for either Die Feen or Das Liebesverbot.:lol: Well done with the Handel. I never knew that he wrote so many operas.


I have all 13 of Wagner's operas! 

N.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

I just listen to youtube. I'm a bad opera fan.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> I just listen to youtube. I'm a bad opera fan.


If you are fine with that, who are we to criticize you. 
( Hope you have a better sound then me in your P.C)


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

I have 525.6 days of music on my PC. Of that total, opera takes up 101.3 days.

Clearly there are multiple versions of a lot of these operas.

Mozart 22 operas, 3.2 days
Wagner 11, 78.7
Strauss 10, 6.6
Puccini 9, 1.9
Verdi 8, 2.6
Britten 7, 1.4
Mussorgsky 2, 1.6

All the following have 1 opera each.
Berg, Bartok, Brecht, Weber, Gounod, Debussy, Shostakovich, Humperdinck, Korngold, Bizet, Rossini, Beethoven, Falla, Tchaikovsky, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Giordano.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

NickFuller said:


> Rossii, by a log chalk; I have 32 of his. The, tyig, Doizetti ad Verdi, each o 24. Masseet o 21.
> 
> I have o "" o my keyboard.


This challenge presents you with an oportunity, you need to get creative ....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Void


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

Sadly predictable.

Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Donizetti, Mozart, Rossini.....

Unlees of course I can include Sondheim, Rogers, Porter...


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## Taplow (Aug 13, 2017)

Barbebleu said:


> I'm assuming you mean Richard Strauss and that Rienzi is the eleventh Wagner opera unless you have a fetish for either Die Feen or Das Liebesverbot.:lol: Well done with the Handel. I never knew that he wrote so many operas.


Yes, it's Richard Strauss.
Yes, Rienzi is one of the Wagner eleven (Heinrich Hollreiser: Staatskapelle Dresden; Kollo, Wennberg, Martin, Adam, Schreier, Hillebrand, EMI: 763980 2)
No fetishes (that I'm prepared to share) 

Handel wrote nearly 40 true operas. A few of his early operas, written before me moved to London, are either partly or completely lost. Some he re-worked into other more successful versions. I'm only missing two (_Il Pastor Fido_ and _Arianna in Creta_). It's such a shame that the London opera scene imploded like it did in the mid-18th century or we'd have more of his operas and fewer oratorios. ... You can tell where my priorities are.


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