I have about 1,000+ opera CD's ranging from popular fares to very obsure stuff; from Italian, French, German, Russian and the Vernacular.
I found that Decca generally offers sound that is more present (about 15th row) while Philips adds a warmer glow to their sound although slightly more distant. At the end what matters are the singers, their art and voices.
During seasons, I may attend 2 to 3 performances per week. I have been lucky enough to see some historical performances (Birgit Nilsson, Leonie Rysanek, Leontyne Price, Margaret Price, Joan Sutherland, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballe, Magda Olivero etc. just to name a few) in SF, Chicago, LA, NY etc.
Here are some spine tingling suggestions:
- Puccini: Tosca: Decca Legends 1962 Remastered 24-bit 96KHz: Price, Di Stefano, Taddei cond. by Herbert Von Karajan. (Wow!)
- Puccini: Turandot: DECCA: Sutherland, Pavarotti, Caballe cond. by Zubin Mehta. (Another Wow!)
- Bellini: Norma: EMI: Callas, Corelli, Ludwig cond. by Tullio Serafin (High drama!)
- Boito: Mefistofele: DECCA: Ghiaurov, Pavarotti, Freni, Caballe cond. De Fabritiis (Grand!)
- Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur: CBS SONY: Scotto, Domingo, Obraztsova, Miles cond. James Levine
- Donizetti: Lucia Di Lammermoor: DECCA: Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes cond. Richard Bonynge
- Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana & Leoncavallo: Pagliacci: DG: Cossotto, Bergonzi, Carlyle, Taddei cond. Herbert von Karajan
- Puccini: La Boheme: DECCA: Freni, Pavarotti, Harwood, Panerai cond. Herbert von Karajan (Melting, lovely performance from start to finish!)
- Offenbach: Contes d'Hoffman: DECCA: Sutherland, Domingo cond. Richard Bonynge
- Ponchielli: La Gioconda: DECCA: Cerquetti, Simionato, Del Monaco cond. Gianandrea Gavazzeni (Sizzles! rather hard to find)
- Bizet: Carmen: ERATO: Domingo, Migenes, Raimondi cond. Lorin Maazel (Well paced but not for pure Francophone!)
- Saint Saens: Samson et Dalila: EMI: Meier, Domingo cond. Myung Whun Chung
- Verdi: Aida: EMI: Freni, Carreras, Baltsa, Cappuccilli cond. Herbert von Karajan (Freni was stretched to the limits but Baltsa is unforgettable!)
- Verdi: Don Carlos: Domindo, Cabalee, Verrett, Raimondi, Milnes cond. Carlo maria Giulini (Heavenly!)
- Verdi: La Traviata: DG: Cotrubas, Domingo, Milnes cond. Carlos Kleiber (What can I say, Cotrubas was at the peak of her career!)
- Mozart: Nozze Di Figaro: DECCA: Te Kanawa, Popp, von Stade, Ramey, Allen cond. Georg Solti (Enchanting)
- Mozart: Die Zauberflote: ERATO: Mannon, Dessay, Blochwitz, scharinger, Hagen cond. William Christie (Limpid!)
- Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen: DECCA: Nilsson, King, Crespin, Hotter, Ludwig, cond. Georg Solti (A must for every opera lover. This is singing and engineering at its best ever. It's hard to imagine sound from the late 50s and early 60s this great. It will be the first to buy the SACD version if it ever gets produced!)
I own several versions of each opera. Sic. Some of my faves are mot listed here due to sound quality etc. What I'm suggesting have decent to great sound married with good to great performances; what would qualify as well rounded performances.
For a thorough review of all operas and classical works, one of the best references is Gramophone Magazine.
www.gramophone.co.uk
Happy Hunting!
I found that Decca generally offers sound that is more present (about 15th row) while Philips adds a warmer glow to their sound although slightly more distant. At the end what matters are the singers, their art and voices.
During seasons, I may attend 2 to 3 performances per week. I have been lucky enough to see some historical performances (Birgit Nilsson, Leonie Rysanek, Leontyne Price, Margaret Price, Joan Sutherland, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballe, Magda Olivero etc. just to name a few) in SF, Chicago, LA, NY etc.
Here are some spine tingling suggestions:
- Puccini: Tosca: Decca Legends 1962 Remastered 24-bit 96KHz: Price, Di Stefano, Taddei cond. by Herbert Von Karajan. (Wow!)
- Puccini: Turandot: DECCA: Sutherland, Pavarotti, Caballe cond. by Zubin Mehta. (Another Wow!)
- Bellini: Norma: EMI: Callas, Corelli, Ludwig cond. by Tullio Serafin (High drama!)
- Boito: Mefistofele: DECCA: Ghiaurov, Pavarotti, Freni, Caballe cond. De Fabritiis (Grand!)
- Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur: CBS SONY: Scotto, Domingo, Obraztsova, Miles cond. James Levine
- Donizetti: Lucia Di Lammermoor: DECCA: Sutherland, Pavarotti, Milnes cond. Richard Bonynge
- Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana & Leoncavallo: Pagliacci: DG: Cossotto, Bergonzi, Carlyle, Taddei cond. Herbert von Karajan
- Puccini: La Boheme: DECCA: Freni, Pavarotti, Harwood, Panerai cond. Herbert von Karajan (Melting, lovely performance from start to finish!)
- Offenbach: Contes d'Hoffman: DECCA: Sutherland, Domingo cond. Richard Bonynge
- Ponchielli: La Gioconda: DECCA: Cerquetti, Simionato, Del Monaco cond. Gianandrea Gavazzeni (Sizzles! rather hard to find)
- Bizet: Carmen: ERATO: Domingo, Migenes, Raimondi cond. Lorin Maazel (Well paced but not for pure Francophone!)
- Saint Saens: Samson et Dalila: EMI: Meier, Domingo cond. Myung Whun Chung
- Verdi: Aida: EMI: Freni, Carreras, Baltsa, Cappuccilli cond. Herbert von Karajan (Freni was stretched to the limits but Baltsa is unforgettable!)
- Verdi: Don Carlos: Domindo, Cabalee, Verrett, Raimondi, Milnes cond. Carlo maria Giulini (Heavenly!)
- Verdi: La Traviata: DG: Cotrubas, Domingo, Milnes cond. Carlos Kleiber (What can I say, Cotrubas was at the peak of her career!)
- Mozart: Nozze Di Figaro: DECCA: Te Kanawa, Popp, von Stade, Ramey, Allen cond. Georg Solti (Enchanting)
- Mozart: Die Zauberflote: ERATO: Mannon, Dessay, Blochwitz, scharinger, Hagen cond. William Christie (Limpid!)
- Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen: DECCA: Nilsson, King, Crespin, Hotter, Ludwig, cond. Georg Solti (A must for every opera lover. This is singing and engineering at its best ever. It's hard to imagine sound from the late 50s and early 60s this great. It will be the first to buy the SACD version if it ever gets produced!)
I own several versions of each opera. Sic. Some of my faves are mot listed here due to sound quality etc. What I'm suggesting have decent to great sound married with good to great performances; what would qualify as well rounded performances.
For a thorough review of all operas and classical works, one of the best references is Gramophone Magazine.
www.gramophone.co.uk
Happy Hunting!