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From: greg@olivej.UUCP (Greg Paley)
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: Re: Opera on TV/Opera for Novices
Message-ID: <137@olivej.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 6-Feb-84 21:34:44 EST
Article-I.D.: olivej.137
Posted: Mon Feb  6 21:34:44 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 9-Feb-84 23:27:39 EST
Organization: Olivetti ATC., Cupertino, Ca
Lines: 72


The televised "Marriage of Figaro" was one of the specifically
made-for-TV productions that I feel come off better than the
live telecasts.  The producer was Jean-Pierre Ponelle whose
work I've often disliked in the theater but find interesting
and enlivening on TV.  Other TV productions he's been responsible
for were Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" (Freni/Domingo), Mozart's
"Clemenza di Tito" (Neblett/Tappy/Troyanos), Rossini's "Barber
of Seville" (Prey/Berganza/Alva) and "Cenerentola" (Von Stade/
Araiza) and the Monteverdi trilogy ("Poppea"/"Return of Ulysses"/
"Orfeo").

It's hard to make recommendations for newcomers.  Some of
the great works take time to appreciate, whereas others seem
to be immediately accessible.  Some of the conventional starting
points are the very works which I hated when I first got into
opera.  One thing I clearly remember is that when I first
was listening to opera, I had a very low tolerance for voices
that "wobbled".  I also hated voices, particularly female,
which were shrieky or strident.  Other people might hear the
same voices, however, and find them bright and exciting.

Another problem for opera newcomers, as far as recordings are
concerned, is sound quality.  If you really get into opera,
you'll find that much of the greatest singing is to be heard
on old mono records, often transfers from 78's.  For someone
"uninitiated", those can be hard to take.  I personally prefer
to hear the greatest performance, regardless of the sound.

The following is my suggested "starting list."  In all cases,
they are recordings which are not necessarily what I consider
the greatest performance, but which represent the best 
performance I know of in good sound.  All are currently
packaged with a full libretto and translation.

(1)	Mozart: Le Nozze Di Figaro (Te Kanawa/Allen/Popp/Ramey,
		Solti, cond.)  London (digital)

(2)	Beethoven: Fidelio (Behrens/Hofmann/Sotin, Solti, cond.)
		London (digital)

(3)	Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Prey/Berganza/Alva,
		Abbado, cond.)	DGG

(4)	Verdi: Aida (Caballe/Cossotto/Domingo/Ghiaurov, Muti, cond.)
		Angel

(5)	Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Dernesch/Vickers/Ludwig,
		Karajan, cond.) Angel

(6)	Bizet: Carmen (Bumbry/Vickers/Freni, Fruhbeck de Burgos, cond.)
		Angel

(7)	Puccini: La Boheme (Freni/Pavarotti/Hardwood, Karajan, cond.)
		London

(8)	Strauss: Salome (Nilsson/Waechter/Stolze, Solti, cond.) London


This is a starting point.  A lot of people are likely to disagree
with just about any item on the list (opera performances in general
are controversial - one man's "incomparable performance" is another
man's piece of s--t).  I've tried to give an overall spectrum and
have surely left out someone's favorite piece in the world.

I've spent a lot of time over the past 15 years listening to
classical music and making comparisons with available recordings.
Anyone who's interested in my highly subjective opinions on
any given work and the available recordings will be more than
welcome to them.

Greg Paley