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Opera is said to be the ultimate art form, combining music, drama, art and dance. However, when one is listening to a recording of an opera, only the music and drama can be fully appreciated. The recordings recommended here are the performances I find to be the most musically satisfying and/or dramatically moving.
The first thing you will notice upon reading these recommendations is the prominence of recordings from the 50's, 60's and 70's and for good reason. A wealth of vocal talent was at its peak and opera recordings appeared much more frequently. The advent of digital recording in the late 70's and early 80's arrived at the beginning of an unfortunate vocal decline. The casts and performances of these digital recordings, with few exceptions, cannot begin to compete with those of the 50's, 60's and 70's.
In several instances, I have recommended video recordings both because of their artistic merit and because the video recording is comparably priced or less expensive than the CD recordings.
While sound quality is a consideration, for me, it is not the prime consideration. I much prefer a wonderful performance in poor sound than an poor performance in wonderful sound. The clarity of digital recording makes vocal flaws and weak drama more apparent. While digital remastering has improved the sound quality of great performances of decades ago, it has also revealed the poor quality of the original master recordings and magnified flaws that were hidden by LP sound. A prime example is the classic recording of Der Rosenkavalier with Elizabeth Schwartzkopf conducted by Herbert von Karajan from the 50's. The remastering has made the poor pitch of all three female principals blatantly apparent. The final trio and duet are now painful to listen to.
Those of you familiar with the Penguin Guide to Compact Discs will notice a vast discrepancy between my recommendations and their recommendations for three very important reasons. First, the Penguin Guide prefers purity at the expense of dramatic involvement. They love the Karajan recording of Cav and Pag because it is free of the "Italian Tradition". It may be well sung, but it is not verismo. Secondly, the Penguin Guide displays the British preference for sopranos that sound like boy sopranos (translation - vibratoless high notes, sometimes described as a white hoot). Henceforth, their high recommendations of the recordings by Elizbeth Schwarzkopf, Margaret Price and Kiri Te Kanawa. Lastly, the Penguin Guide is blatantly biased in favor of British artists and recordings by the British labels EMI and Decca. A "British" performance is usually top rated irregardless of its flaws. The latest editions of the Penguin Guide include a rather condescending explanation of their bias entitiled "To Our American Readers".
After each recording mentioned is a series of abbreviations in parenthesis ( ).
EX: (Angel 35467 ADD M $).
Angel - the recording manufacturer
35467 - the manufacturers serial number
ADD - Spars code:
DDD Digital master recording
ADD Digitally remastered analog recording
AAD Analog recording
M - source code for old and pirate recordings:
M Monaural recording (NOT STEREO)
L Recorded during a live performance with/without permission
H Historic, from 78 RPM originals
$ - Price reference (per disc, prices in NYC)
$$ Full Price ($12.99 - $16.99)
$ Midprice ($7.99 - $11.99)
˘ Budget ($3.99 - 6.99)
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