Any of you folks into opera?

Big fan of Carmina Burana here, though not necessarily opera. The Telarc recording of it is stellar!

Nope

I want to second what @cnh has said and add a personal comment.

I make no claim to being either an expert on opera or an opera lover.

With that said, however, I do love really great opera. Anything less than the best -- e.g., the New York Metropolitan with first-rate singers -- does not "grab" me. Opera that is performed by any company less than the best, in my opinion, most often becomes mediocre and tedious.

While I was teaching and serving as Assistant Dean of the Faculty at Princeton, I also was an Associate Master of one of the residential colleges. The Master and I organized a program to introduce these freshmen and sophomores from all over the world to opera and the Met. We went to a couple of opening nights and to at least a couple of performances with great singers, like Pavarotti. These experiences were extraordinary musical experiences for me.

More recently, my wife and I have subscribed to season tickets to the Boston Lyric Opera. While these productions have been improving over the last two years, they are far from the same league as the Met or the Lyric Opera of Chicago, which I had the pleasure to attend occasionally as a graduate student at the University of Chicago (as a result of the generosity of a faculty member who subscribed, but could not always attend). My wife and I are not subscribing for the coming season because BYO performances, I am truly sorry to say, have become tedious for us.

My advice for those interested in putting their toes in the"opera water" is to get a couple of well recorded compilations of the best singers singing the best arias and to give that music a listen. If it is pleasurable, try a couple of recording of the best of the best operas (see @cnh's list above, for examples). Then, if that is pleasurable, start a wider range of exploration.

As @cnh implies above, you will find a wide range of opera music to whet your appetite for the genre. The differences among Mozart, Wagner, Puccini and even Gilbert & Sullivan (more properly called "operetta," I suppose) are, for example, as vast as the differences among Bach, Mahler, and The Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones, Beatles, etc.

afterburnt wrote: »

What are you saying,The Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones, Beatles, all suck?

No, I'm saying that genres of music and examples of specific music within a single genre are vastly different -- a pretty obvious observation.

As a consequence, one is unlikely to like all opera music simply because he/she likes any one instance or subset of opera. For example: I am not a fan of Wagnerian opera (although I like some music within individual Wagnerian operas). I like Mozart's operas very much, and some Puccini (e.g., "Tosca"), which is very different from Mozart or Wagner.

Further: I like the Beatles' music by and large, with preferences for some of their later albums. But I have never liked The Rolling Stones very much, although I have heard Rolling Stones pieces that I really enjoy (e.g., "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction").

I'm just saying, "Different strokes for different folks."

Or to go back to my formal education:

"De gustibus non est disputandum" -- in matters of taste there is no disputing.

@afterburnt,

LOL!

I would not presume to disparage the favorite musicians of so many of my fellow human beings.

afterburnt wrote: »

@Moose68Bash You are a kind and considerate individual of the highest order. I however am not. The matter is not debatable it is a fact, they suck.

o·pin·ion
əˈpinyən/
noun
noun: opinion; plural noun: opinions

a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
"I'm writing to voice my opinion on an issue of great importance"
synonyms: belief, judgment, thought(s), (way of) thinking, mind, (point of) view, viewpoint, outlook, attitude, stance, position, perspective, persuasion, standpoint; More
sentiment, conception, conviction
"she did not share her husband's opinion"
as I see it, to my mind, (according) to my way of thinking, personally, in my estimation, if you ask me, for my money, in my book
"in my opinion, the green tiles clash with the yellow walls"
the beliefs or views of a large number or majority of people about a particular thing.
"the changing climate of opinion"
an estimation of the quality or worth of someone or something.
"I had a higher opinion of myself than I deserved"

@afterburnt I have this recording - but I have the original 1984 CD - and I think its stellar:

http://www.amazon.com/Orff-Carmina-Burana-Carl/dp/B000003CSM/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1440423079&sr=1-3&keywords=carmina+burana+cd

Some opera suggestions that are easy to begin with and amazing sonic spectaculars are:

Bizet, Carmen Deutche Gramm 2709 043
Mussorgsky, Boris Godonov Decca SET-514/7
Puccini, La Boheme Decca SET-565/6
Wagner, Das Rheingold London OSA-1309

And, in my opinion, one of the most believable sounding recordings of all time is the Decca/London blue back Benjamin Britten, Peter Grimes, not a particularly easy opera to get into, but in terms of actually creating a completely believable stage in front of you this is the tops. This was recorded in a time where the producer actually made a map of singer's placements on the stage and spent hours moving people closer and further away from the microphones in order to create the perfect positioning placement and balance. SDA owners should definitely have this one in their collection, while the early vinyl is preferable the CD is fine and the open reel is stunning.

Oh man +1 on Marriage of Figaro! Can't believe I neglected that.

I appreciate the talent, but even with a collections of over 3500 album the closest thing that I have to opera is...Phantom of the Opera

I don't believe it's possible to become an opera fan from recordings alone, it's too much of a challenge for most. However, I was fortunate enough to have heard some truly fantastic live performances. I can very clearly remember Luciano Pavarotti and Renata Scotto sing in La Boheme and it was just amazing. Without amplification they filled a huge auditorium with the most beautiful singing. This combined with superb orchestras and amazing stage scenery shouldn't be missed if you get the chance.
No other musical event even begins to come close, you can feel your spine tingle when those voices soar. It's no wonder everyone jumps to their feet and applauds like a maniac.
If a friend ever says, "want to go to an opera?" and if you like the human voice at all, say yes with an open mind.

Even with many or most classical were written with a story behind it. If you read up on the story you will more than likely appreciate and understand the music...you can paint the interpretation in your mind while listening.

I found opera very intimidating to try, too many choices and usually very long time commitment required. Then I rented Aria which is a collection of very famous arias, sung by very famous singers and updated with very famous directors.
http://www.amazon.com/Aria-Theresa-Russell/dp/B00000IYR0
You can taste/hear the different arias as you like. Wonderful opera to start with.