Recommendations for someone new to opera

[Superhorn]

   Another wonderful Czech opera is Dvorak's  Rusalka, a poignant and haunting fairy tale story about a water sprite who falls in love with a handsome young prince. She goes to a sorceress in order to be transformed into a human, be3cause humans cannot see water sprites,
but the price she pays is that she is unable to speak in human form.
The prince fall s in love with her, but out of frustration decides to marry a foreign princess.  Because of this, he is doomed to die, and Ruusalka returns to her former existence. 
Not exactly a feel good opera, but the music is is so gorgeous you can't help but fall under its spell.
The recording to get is on Decca,with Renee Fleming in the title role and Ben Heppener as the ill-fated prince, with Mackerras and the Czech Philharmonic.  There is also a DVD from the Paris opera with Fleming, conducted by James Conlon.