Moving further into opera.

[Harry]

This is my favorite Don:

On the to listening list, Andy!
Thank you for your input my friend!

[springrite]

Of course, visual is a very important part of opera. I hope you get some opera DVDs. The only problem is that only the later recorded performances have the excellent visuals that you can truly enjoy. But I have come across a few from the early 60's or earlier that are quite acceptable, though the staging back then are usually quite simple.

[Harry]

Of course, visual is a very important part of opera. I hope you get some opera DVDs. The only problem is that only the later recorded performances have the excellent visuals that you can truly enjoy. But I have come across a few from the early 60's or earlier that are quite acceptable, though the staging back then are usually quite simple.

Well I have seen this one Paul, several times. And allthough the visuals are not perfect, the singing is....
And of course I will try to find some more in this field.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Lost in the shuffle of Mozart opera recordings are Fricsay's thoroughly satisfying accounts on DG (all hailing from roughly 1954 to 1960).

Here we have Mozart with zest, crispness, and color, yet at the same time ravishing in its depth, detail, and rhythm. And that's just the orchestral accompaniment. The singers, including mainstays such as Fischer-Dieskau, Irmgard Seefried, Rita Streich, Sena Jurinac, Maria Stader, et al, scarcely make a wrong move and meet Fricsay head-on with their incisiveness and commitment.

It's an "all sides pulling together" affair and produces absolute gold.

Fricsay's Don Giovanni, Die Entführung, and Magic Flute are readily available although his Figaro, sadly, is long OOP.

[Harry]

Lost in the shuffle of Mozart opera recordings are Fricsay's thoroughly satisfying accounts on DG (all hailing from roughly 1954 to 1960).

Here we have Mozart with zest, crispness, and color, yet at the same time astute in its depth, detail, and rhythm. And that's just the orchestral accompaniment. The singing, including mainstays such as Fischer-Dieskau, Irmgard Seefried, Rita Streich, Sena Jurinac, Maria Stader, et al, scarcely make a wrong move and meet Fricsay head-on with their incisiveness and commitment.

It's an "all sides pulling together" affair and produces absolute gold.

Fricsay's Don Giovani, Die Entführung, and Magic Flute are readily available although his Figaro, sadly, is long OOP.

Marvelous! Thanks a bundle.

[Haffner]

Harry, please just try this one:

[Harry]

Harry, please just try this one:

Don't you think that is a step to far Andy?
I am not sure that I am ready for that.

[Haffner]

Don't you think that is a step to far Andy?
I am not sure that I am ready for that.

Okay. How 'bout this one? This is my favorite Traviata.

[Mozart]

Or this one


http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/ohViHhfTxNw

And of course the dvd from a later year

http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/iGtZHcC39do

But maybe it counts as a big voice.

[Sarastro]

Well since by now you all know, that I finally moved into the realm of opera

As we all know, tastes differ, and I am sure everyone would suggest you his or her favorite recordings, which could turn out to be unbearable for you. My advice is to keep listening to different recordings: different epochs, styles, dates of recordings (well, you can occasionally fall in love with some contemporary singers, never say never)...and find "your" music.
Certainly, there are no "bad" operas - there are "bad" performances, or just "not yours." At least you should find the most favorable ones, to define your tastes, and then move from there. Do not forget that tastes alters, and things you find uninspiring now might attract you later. The matter is to find right music in right time.
Good luck!


PS: Concluding all this, I must submit that everything is a matter of fortune. If you are to love this particular opera right now, you will, if later - you will love it later, if never...then never. But at least you have an opportunity to try.

[Sarastro]

I still have issues with big voices Marvin.

Then there are Birgit Nilsson and Ghena Dimitrova for you. Joan Sutherland also possessed a huge voice, though.

[Harry]

Okay. How 'bout this one? This is my favorite Traviata.

You can be sure that I will note down all recommendations, and one big order will go out, only with opera, to my local shop.
The Verdi looks yummy though, but I have to sample the voices first, for that is a big issue with me.
Have to be a tad careful right?

[Harry]

Or this one


http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/ohViHhfTxNw

And of course the dvd from a later year

http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/iGtZHcC39do

But maybe it counts as a big voice.

The later video clip you posted is not valid anymore, so I could not listen to that.

I rather like Anna Moffo's voice, large and big, but not ugly and full of drama.
And what is more I like this aria, and the way she is singing it.
Thanks Elias, its on the list most definetively.

[Harry]

Then there are Birgit Nilsson and Ghena Dimitrova for you. Joan Sutherland also possessed a huge voice, though.

Birgit Nilsson was on my list allready, Dimitrova, I am not familiar with, so I will try to find some samples of her voice.
Joan Sutherland is a voice I do not like, she is indeed to big for my taste.
Thanks for your advice.

[Sarastro]

Dimitrova, I am not familiar with

Unfortunately, there are only few official recording with her issued. (but many pirates )

Let's then get acquainted 
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HkWcMl7LVIk ,  http://youtube.com/watch?v=c_TYBythGdY (watch these two one after another)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CefvAxb61-8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iu2MhVY0CPU
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZGBWhg4f7R4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Dx5MgTzP2wQ
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mS0YZMnEVyU

[Harry]

Unfortunately, there are only few official recording with her issued. (but many pirates )

Let's then get acquainted 
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HkWcMl7LVIk ,  http://youtube.com/watch?v=c_TYBythGdY (watch these two one after another)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CefvAxb61-8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iu2MhVY0CPU
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZGBWhg4f7R4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Dx5MgTzP2wQ
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mS0YZMnEVyU

Great, thank you, I will dive into those ones.
You took the trouble to do this for me.
I appreciate that enormously.

[Haffner]

Or this one

This looks good!

[Sarastro]

Joan Sutherland is a voice I do not like

Well, I can only say that you are, unfortunately, limiting yourself, excluding Callas, Sutherland and other supreme singers from your "list." I've just read an article about Callas, more like an interview with Gavazzeni, Visconti, Ghara, Celletti, and some other art and music historians, directors and conductors. They defined two types of singers: singers with beautiful voices and good singers who are not so much gifted, but try to do their best, and finally become great ones. Callas did not possess a beautiful timbre, but was a hard worker and had natural musicality, so she sang not only notes, but music. Callas had her defect work for her.

Try to distinguish voice timbre from the music they sing, try to concentrate on vocal line and how it is presented. Try to listen to music, not only voices.

If it is still impossible for you, I can suggest to pick early Sutherland's recordings, such as Don Giovanni (1959), Lucia di Lammermoor (1961), Carmen (1962), Norma (1964), La Sonnambula (1962), I Puritani (1961, 1962), and others.
Sutherland's early recordings show her possessing of a crystal-clear voice and excellent diction. By the early-1960s, her voice lost some of this clarity, and the diction worsened. I always considered it to be a consequence of the sinus surgery, which was done in 1959, but I've read somewhere that her husband, Richard Bonynge, said in an interview that her "mushy diction" occurred while achieving perfect legato. She took the criticism, and, within several years, her diction improved and she continued to amaze the audiences throughout the World.
I would admit that whereas she worked very hard, her diction was declining in years, more than that, for her, an Australian-born, it was obviously impossible to sing in Italian without an accent, but even with that she became one of the greatest divas ever - La Stupenda.

Here are also some clips:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z7E445edhyw - brilliant Lucrezia
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mn5p9eXm4v0&feature=related - fantastic Lucia
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TxLQVuURBKI - absolutely stunning Semiramide
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2e4e-_fsPNM - nimble Elvira
http://youtube.com/watch?v=j8P5moLEBxI - La Sonnambula finale (cabaletta)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gmpVGd23UuM - Amina's cavatina (cabaletta here)
And, attention, Tosca! (but only an excerpt)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wQ_SR3eVt0I

[Mozart]

I don't think its the voices but the style of music that Harry objects to. I wouldn't recommend him anything by Bellini, Donizetti, or Rossini, which are the roles that callas and those others generally sing.

What do you think about Handel Harry? This is pretty much as big as he gets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/ONkrwFiFudQ

[Harry]

Handel is okay for me Elias.