Got to agree with a lot of the selections above. You did ask specifically about DVDs, opera being an audio/visual medium after all. So ...
1. Wagner's Gotterdammerung as part of the Pierre Boulez's full Ring Cycle on Phillips (Deutshe Grammophon also has a full Ring Cycle by James Levine and the Metroplitan Opera that they released on Laser Disk that is even better but only Die Walkure seems to have been released on DVD for some reason).
2. Mozart's Die Zauberflote (the Magic Flute) on Deutshe Grammophon by James Levine and the Metroplitan Opera
3. Puccini's Madam Butterfly by Martin Scorsese on Sony (this one isn't just a simple presentation of the opera but is more broad in its presentation)
4. Verdi's La Traviata by France Zeffirelli on Universal. Again this is not simply a stage performance.
5. An off the wall choice (to make 5 selections) - The Who's Tommy by Ken Russel on Columbia. It's wild
1. Wagner's Gotterdammerung as part of the Pierre Boulez's full Ring Cycle on Phillips (Deutshe Grammophon also has a full Ring Cycle by James Levine and the Metroplitan Opera that they released on Laser Disk that is even better but only Die Walkure seems to have been released on DVD for some reason).
2. Mozart's Die Zauberflote (the Magic Flute) on Deutshe Grammophon by James Levine and the Metroplitan Opera
3. Puccini's Madam Butterfly by Martin Scorsese on Sony (this one isn't just a simple presentation of the opera but is more broad in its presentation)
4. Verdi's La Traviata by France Zeffirelli on Universal. Again this is not simply a stage performance.
5. An off the wall choice (to make 5 selections) - The Who's Tommy by Ken Russel on Columbia. It's wild