Recommendations for Opera on DVD?

Matt<>Broon · 04-16-2003, 08:20 AM

I'm not specifically talking about a simple audio disc here, rather a filmed production (stage or otherwise) so perhaps this is the wrong place for my post, let me know if it is.

Can anyone recommend a good DVD featuring good sound as well as a good production for my collection? I'm quite the opera fan but time and money being what they are I don't exactly get down to Covent Garden on a regular basis and would enjoy something I could watch at home.

I'm not particular about the type of opera although I have a leaning towards everything Mozart.

Oh, and I have a multi region player so I don't mind ordering from abroad. R1 et al.

Thanks in advance.

Stefan A · 04-16-2003, 07:20 PM

I am very pleased with the little bit I have watched so far of Das Rheingold with the Met and James Levine.

DanaA · 04-17-2003, 10:42 AM

I'm very much new to opera, so take this with a grain of salt. My friend, who's an afficiando gave me a copy of the Kathleen Battle, Luciana Serra Die Zaubergflote with the Metropolitan Opera and I enjoyed it quite a bit, especially Manfred Hemm, who plays Pagageno and displays quite a flair for comic acting. In a pure sense, I guess I prefer the only copy of the opera I have on CD, that being The Kurt Moll, Edda Moser, Peter Schreier EMI Munich recording, but, to my untrained ears, it's right in the ballpark.

Sathyan · 04-17-2003, 03:47 PM

Matt,

Unfortunately, I can't give you Mozart recommendations but I've impressed by the following opera DVD's:

(note: I tend to like "opera movies" which can be a bit more extravagant with their sets; many live operas are lacking in production values and look like cheap video transfers with compromised mixes - this includes most of the Wagner and that '86 Aida at the Met, and sometimes you can't turn off the subtitles)

Tosca with Domingo on Decca
Rigoletto with Pavarotti on Decca
La Traviata with Stratas and Domingo, directed by Zefferelli on Universal
Madama Butterfly with Freni and Domingo on Decca
La Cenerentola with Bartoli on Decca
Der Ring des nibelungen with Boulez on Philips
Carmen with Migenes and Domingo on Columbia
Cav/Pag with Domingo directed by Zefferelli on Universal

altered movie operas (but still worth watching):
Otello with Domingo, directed by Zefferelli on MGM (there are issues with this transfer)
La Boheme directed by Baz Luhrmann (the Moulin Rouge guy) on Image. Its set in postwar Paris

One last thing, Netflix has a pretty decent opera collection for which there's rarely a wait. I always preview through Netflix before buying.

Sathyan



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