If you are looking for a little adventure with opera, I suggest actually a DVD of the movie "Fitzcarraldo" by Werner Herzog, starring Klaus Kinski and featuring a soundtrack of music composed by German moog pioneer Popol Vuh (Florian Fricke), and classic opera excerpts from some of the people already listed above (Puccini, Verdi, Leoncavallo, Massenet, Bellini). The movie is stunning visually, and aurally. Herzog has an unmatched aptitude for delivering images and scenes of immesurable clarity, often decoupled from the normal portrayal or sense of time passing. The plot of the story, of course, has a central theme involving opera. You won't be disappointed.
Opera What is the best opera recording?
I know how hard it will be to narrow down to one single recording, but that's what I'm looking for. I have no opera recordings what so ever, so your advise will either leave me wanting more of leave me out in the cold. What advise would you give with such pressure?