Topic: Box Blather

[Mookalafalas]

Dear god Al, your abstemiousness is killing Moonfish! Scrooge-by-proxy Syndrome!

[Mookalafalas]

The Seon box looks about half duplicates to me. Check it carefully. 

  I counted and have 22, if I recall correctly. 

   Due to my concern for Moonfishes's health, I upped my CD allowance to about $25 a week.  Still more than I reasonably need, but I can still have the fun of new music without feeling guilty about spending too much.
   
  My weakest area of appreciation is opera. I wondered what you guys thought of this as a way in:

  I actually have virtually not touched the discount (but good) Verdi and Wagner boxes I have, so maybe it would also go un(der)appreciated.  ...or, maybe it would be the easiest way to become a fan?  It seems like when I play opera I like it, but I virtually never reach for it. 

[bigshot]

If you want to get into Opera, a good DVD or blu-ray would be a MUCH better introduction than bleeding chunk CD box sets. I would be happy to recommend a couple for you if you are interested.

[Mookalafalas]

If you want to get into Opera, a good DVD or blu-ray would be a MUCH better introduction than bleeding chunk CD box sets. I would be happy to recommend a couple for you if you are interested.

  thanks, Big Shot.
 I would be delighted to have some recommendations! Blu-ray preferably.

[Moonfish]

  thanks, Big Shot.
 I would be delighted to have some recommendations! Blu-ray preferably.

I agree with Bigshot. A highlights compilation is not a good idea. I cringe every time I come across highlight disks (actually any highlight disk except for arias focusing on specific singers). It is like reading Reader's Digest. Can you imagine a highlight disk of Bruckner's 6th? 

I know this is a dvd set, but it is a pretty good one.  Besides, you would become a Verdi maniac as well!   

[bigshot]

If you aren't seeing opera on the stage, but are watching it as a movie, it's best to start with versions that are photographed as movies. Once the opera bug bites you, you can move on to televised stage presentations. Sorry about the image sizes. Start with Traviata or Don Giovanni. Those are spectacular films.


http://www.amazon.com/Verdi-Traviata-Teresa-Stratas/dp/B000T0XEGS/


http://www.amazon.com/Don-Giovanni-Blu-ray-Ruggero-Raimondi/dp/B00A32GZOK/


http://www.amazon.com/Carmen-Blu-ray-Placido-Domingo/dp/B0054YIQK8/


http://www.amazon.com/Rosenkavalier-Film-Blu-ray-Elisabeth-Schwarzkopf/dp/B0043988GW/

[Mookalafalas]

Thanks for the suggestions, gentlemen.  I will see what I can do.  I actually have a couple of these already, and always plan to watch them...but don't.  It isn't really an opera thing, but a free-time thing (I also can also rarely sit through a movie these days.  This is stranger than it sounds, I have undergraduate and graduate degrees in film studies, and used to frequently watch 3 movies in a row). For some reason, when I try to watch anything over 1/2 an hour long, I feel strangely guilty, like I'm squandering valuable time.

[Moonfish]

Thanks for the suggestions, gentlemen.  I will see what I can do.  I actually have a couple of these already, and always plan to watch them...but don't.  It isn't really an opera thing, but a free-time thing (I also can also rarely sit through a movie these days.  This is stranger than it sounds, I have undergraduate and graduate degrees in film studies, and used to frequently watch 3 movies in a row). For some reason, when I try to watch anything over 1/2 an hour long, I feel strangely guilty, like I'm squandering valuable time.

Interesting! I feel exactly the same way! What happened to the days when one could take in double features? There used to be a very cool cinema in my town that showed artsy movies from the past on the big screen. Quite a bit of fun!
In terms of operas I got really hooked when I watched (listened to) La Traviata with Gheorghiu. Fantastic performance! I fell for her voice and "acting" while entranced by Verdi's music. Loved it!

[bigshot]

when I try to watch anything over 1/2 an hour long, I feel strangely guilty, like I'm squandering valuable time.

How do you get through Mahler or Bruckner symphonies?

For me, spending time on a good movie is a luxury, like soaking in a hot bath. Every Sunday night is movie night for sure, and I squeeze a few more films in during the rest of the week too. It helps to have a dedicated theater room and friends who come over to join me watching movies too.

Start with Zeffirelli's Traviata. That is one of the most beautiful opera films I've ever seen. The score is trimmed a bit to make it play better as a film, but that will be a good thing for you, because there are no parts that drag at all. No chance to feel guilty about the time you are taking to watch it.

[Mookalafalas]

How do you get through Mahler or Bruckner symphonies?

     For one, I never just sit and listen. Usually I read or "do something" on the internet. That is ironic because the internet truly is wasting time.  However, it feels like I'm doing something.
    It's hard to watch operas, too, because I'm married with children.  I got really excited by the filmed Boulez version of the Ring (didn't like the Levine and HATE the visuals of the Barenboim), but it bored my wife to tears. I watched a nice Magic Flute, which my daughters actually joined me watching and enjoyed (they had learned about it in school).  My wife sat through a really fun "Barber of Seville" with me but it was the exception that proves the rule--I haven't found another opera that moves that quickly and is as fun (and she just barely made it through that). 
  I've rented a couple of other opera Blu-Rays, but I had bad luck, i guess. I found the productions just terrible. One opened with a group of ninjas assassinating someone (it was not a modern opera).  It looked like it had been choreographed by a 14-year-old, and thought up by his little brother.
   I made it half way through a very good Julius Caesar that came with the HMD baroque opera box, but then the family came home and I never made it back to it...

[bigshot]

You can't really multi-task with opera. It's as much drama as it is music.

[Mookalafalas]

You can't really multi-task with opera. It's as much drama as it is music.

  I never multi-task with anything I'm watching, ever. Which is probably why I don't watch anything anymore.  If we are watching a movie together and my wife asks me a question, I pause the movie while I answer.

  BTW, I got another of the little DHM 10 disc boxes today.  The Leonhardt bach edition.  DHM boxes are all worth blathering about. 

[mc ukrneal]

  I counted and have 22, if I recall correctly. 

   Due to my concern for Moonfishes's health, I upped my CD allowance to about $25 a week.  Still more than I reasonably need, but I can still have the fun of new music without feeling guilty about spending too much.
   
  My weakest area of appreciation is opera. I wondered what you guys thought of this as a way in:

  I actually have virtually not touched the discount (but good) Verdi and Wagner boxes I have, so maybe it would also go un(der)appreciated.  ...or, maybe it would be the easiest way to become a fan?  It seems like when I play opera I like it, but I virtually never reach for it. 

Well, it doesn't look too bad as these things go. It has a lot of operas from Mozart to Strauss, but it is sorely lacking in breadth outside that period (20th centuty is under-represented). But it is difficult to find something with both depth and breadth. Within that period it hits on a number of the great operas. As I see that time is an issue for you, highlights can be a way to enjoy the music/drama without having to commit to long periods of time. Within this category though, you could also consider various aria discs, which would center around a particular voice (for example). ALthough, you may have the same problem as with this survey in that many focus on certain types of roles/sounds/etc. So as way to gain exposure, it is not really bad at all.

Thing is, if you really like something from a highlight, you can always run out and get the whole opera (whether video or disc).

If your wife liked Barber of Seville, she might like Mozart's Marriage of Figaro as well. Music is glorious and it is hilarious at times.

[Mookalafalas]

Well, it doesn't look too bad as these things go. It has a lot of operas from Mozart to Strauss, but it is sorely lacking in breadth outside that period (20th centuty is under-represented). But it is difficult to find something with both depth and breadth. Within that period it hits on a number of the great operas. As I see that time is an issue for you, highlights can be a way to enjoy the music/drama without having to commit to long periods of time. Within this category though, you could also consider various aria discs, which would center around a particular voice (for example). ALthough, you may have the same problem as with this survey in that many focus on certain types of roles/sounds/etc. So as way to gain exposure, it is not really bad at all.

Thing is, if you really like something from a highlight, you can always run out and get the whole opera (whether video or disc).

If your wife liked Barber of Seville, she might like Mozart's Marriage of Figaro as well. Music is glorious and it is hilarious at times.

 Thanks for the comments, MC.   About Marriage of Figaro, I actually have a filmed version that is more along the Zefirelli filmed lines (in fact, it might even be Zefirelli...) that Bigshot mentioned above.  I actually forgot I had it.  I need to start watching/listening to opera in the daytime, when i have the house to myself...then if I really like it, I can see if the Mrs will watch it with me...

[bigshot]

Not all Zeffirelli is the same. He did design for the stage and he did filmed versions shot as movies. Traviata is the latter. It plays like a film in real locations, so it might be easier for opera newbies to connect with. All of the recommendations I made were shot as films on location.

[mc ukrneal]

Not all Zeffirelli is the same. He did design for the stage and he did filmed versions shot as movies. Traviata is the latter. It plays like a film in real locations, so it might be easier for opera newbies to connect with. All of the recommendations I made were shot as films on location.

His Otello with Domingo is like that.

[marvinbrown]

 While we are on the subject of opera and Verdi and seeing as how this is the BOX BLATHER thread, it is with great sadness and dismay that I announce that the following mega boxset released in Feb 2013, has gone OOP! DECCA has deleted it from its production line. I looked at my copy and I seem to have number 0047. So the 47th copy. It must not have sold well at all.  This is proof that not only is classical music marginalised within the domain of the music industry (pop, rock, etc.) but opera as a genre is marginalised within the classical music repertoire as a whole. Sad day indeed!

 

  marvin

[The new erato]

 but opera as a genre is marginalised within the classical music repertoire as a whole. Sad day indeed!

 

  marvin

And gigaboxes where buffs regularly have upwards of 60% of the works already, are even more marginalized. There was a Verdi box for some years with 95% of the same recordings, this set only supplanted a handful of works with DG recordings (IIRC). I got that "original" set for around £80 IIRC. 

[marvinbrown]

And gigaboxes where buffs regularly have upwards of 60% of the works already, are even more marginalized. There was a Verdi box for some years with 95% of the same recordings, this set only supplanted a handful of works with DG recordings (IIRC). I got that "original" set for around £80 IIRC.

  You did well to pick that box up.  Good price too:)

 

  I really can not express the immense joy the Verdi  boxset has given me.  The quality of recordings (save for a few ie 2-3) are top notch. Plus recordings of both La Forzas and Don Carlo/s that Verdi composed are included and many rarities.  I know I will treasure this boxset for many years to come.

  marvin

[The new erato]

Of course I went to amazon.it for that price. A couple of years ago.