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Operas... Any fans?

Hi all,
I'm starting to get into Opera (I actually have season tickets to the Opera de Montreal)...

I would like to find some well recorded and well interpreted opera on CDs. The only problem is that I find that most CDs I purchased have a poor recording (or they sound like they were recorded from the 250th row).

Does anyone have any suggestion as to what opera CDs I should try getting (or any better labels than other ones)?

By the way, I am looking for complete operas or CDs with multiple opera passages (sorry, I don't know any better english words).

So in short, I'm looking for must have CDs...

So far the operas I really liked were:

Madama Butterfly
Rigoletto
Turandot
Lakmé
Carmen

Any of the above operas or any other operas worth while listenning would be appreciated...

Thanks ahead
lgregoir
slipknot1
1,423 posts
 
Aaron Copeland's "The Tender Land" Very accessible for someone who is just beginning to get into opera. Sung in English. Story is of a Midwest farming community, and a young girl's high school graduation/coming of age celebration.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
Probably every opera that is regularly performed around the world is worth a listen. Don't forget that Porgy and Bess is an opera as well. For modern stuff, I've always had a liking for John Adam's "Nixon in China".
lgregoir OP
106 posts
 
I seem to appreciate more Italian and French Operas. Don't know why since I don't understand italian at all... They sound more smooth to my ears than German or English operas (which sound more brutal to me).

I totally agree that the singing is very important (that's the main point in Opera I guess) but I just have a hard time with opera which the orchestra sounds miles behind the singers (low dynamics for a lack of a better word)... I agree that the orchestra should be a little away from the singers but I would still like to have a 10th row experience (wide soundstage and very present orchestra without overwelming the singers).

Like I mentionned in my first post, since I'm new to Opera, it is very possible that I'm asking for something that's not possible or just doesn't exist, but it's worth asking...

Thanks again
newbee
4,093 posts
 
Without commenting on the quality of the performances themselves, I would suggest that for your purposes Von Karajan might just fit. Many of his recordings were studio recordings and he had his singers standing in front of mic's so the orchestra/vocal blending can be very good. You won't hear footsteps on a creaky wood stage very often in his stuff. Some to consider - Turandot (DG), Aida (Decca), and LaBoheme (London).
jacpiii
9 posts
 
A lot of the best opera recordings sound bad (historical, live, mono, etc).

Since you seem to like Puccini and Verdi:

La Boheme
Tosca -- you must hear Callas/diStefano/Gobbi, but it's in mono and sounds awful (by audiophile standards).

La Traviata -- The live Callas/Giulini La Scala is phenomenal, but again, it's in TERRIBLE sound.
Il Trovatore

For French, try Faust.
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