Your favorite opera from this list?

[raistlin65]

Looking for some recommendations of your favorites from the #1 Opera Album
https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-1-Opera-Album/release/5409292

My 78-year-old mother is losing her ability to use technology. So I have set her up a folder full of a few hundred songs on her laptop that streams to her bluetooth speaker and plays randomly from AIMP. She let me know yesterday she likes opera, as I had included a couple of songs by Andrea Bochelli. I have never really gotten into opera, so I ordered that album. I was hoping to pull together 15 or so out of that to add to her music selection.

BTW: I spend a lot of time curating the songs that I put in her music folder. I never realized until this week that Pat Boone was the Justin Bieber of the 1950s. I could have been just fine not getting to know his music. lol

 

[daftcombo]

oLots of goodies here, so hard to pick. I have great memories of Nabucco heard in Italy so here's my vote.

 

[raistlin65]

Great! Nabucco is first one for my list.

 

[Celty]

Any from that list are of course good choices. "La Boheme" by Puccini and "Carmen" by Bizet are wonderful, of course, and "accessible" to operatic newcomers. Really anything Puccini is good, I mean who does not like "Madame Butterfly". From there the world of opera is your oyster.

 

[Tom C]

My personal favorite is Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
Carmen, Pagliacci, and Le Nozze di Figaro are also quite enjoyable. But really, all the names on that list are tops and very popular.

 

[fitero]

1-19 for sure. The first opera that my parents saw together and the first one that I saw with my wife.

 

[Daverz]

Looking for some recommendations of your favorites from the #1 Opera Album
https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-1-Opera-Album/release/5409292

My 78-year-old mother is losing her ability to use technology. So I have set her up a folder full of a few hundred songs on her laptop that streams to her bluetooth speaker and plays randomly from AIMP. She let me know yesterday she likes opera, as I had included a couple of songs by Andrea Bochelli. g to know his music. lol

I would avoid any and all Boccelli completely (more serious opera fans heads would have exploded at just the thought of Boccelli's weak bleating being foisted on your poor unsuspecting Mater). He is not a good opera tenor. Not at all. His popularity is a sad indicator of the general decline of good singing.

If you want a "name" tenor, then Pavarotti is usually a good choice. He made some of the greatest opera recordings in stereo, for example La Boheme with Freni and Madama Butterfly with Freni again, both in excellent sound.

https://www.amazon.com/Puccini-Butterfly-Pavarotti-Karajan-S¨¦n¨¦cha/dp/B00FY3URBA/

https://www.amazon.com/Puccini-Boheme-Giacomo/dp/B0000041TD

A good place to start for recommendations is Ralph Moore (PDF):

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2019/Aug/Opera_untouchables_survey.pdf

More here: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/Ralph_Moore.htm

 

[Celty]

I would avoid any and all Boccelli completely (more serious opera fans heads would have exploded at just the thought of Boccelli's weak bleating being foisted on your poor unsuspecting Mater). He is not a good opera tenor. Not at all. His popularity is a sad indicator of the general decline of good singing.

If you want a "name" tenor, then Pavarotti is usually a good choice. He made some of the greatest opera recordings in stereo, for example La Boheme with Freni and Madama Butterfly with Freni again, both in excellent sound.

https://www.amazon.com/Puccini-Butterfly-Pavarotti-Karajan-S¨¦n¨¦cha/dp/B00FY3URBA/

https://www.amazon.com/Puccini-Boheme-Giacomo/dp/B0000041TD

A good place to start for recommendations is Ralph Moore (PDF):

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2019/Aug/Opera_untouchables_survey.pdf

More here: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/Ralph_Moore.htm

I was fortunate enough to hear Pavarotti in concert, what a fantastic experience! It was his last tour, sadly.

 

[raistlin65]

Thanks for all of the recommendations.

And yes. I know who Pavorotti is

 

[Echolane]

For sure avoid Andrea Bocelli opera recordings. However he does have a beautiful voice for popular Italian songs and any one of his reoddings would be a treat for easy listening.
as to opera recordings I can recommend several I find especially appealing to just listen to
1. La Rondine with either Anna Moffo or Placido Domingo
2. La Boheme. with Jussi Bjorling. Many lists of great recordings of La Boheme put this recording on top and Jussi Bjorling is one of the best tenors of all time.
3. Verdi’s Ernani. I like Bergonzi and Price or Domingo and Freni
4. My personal favorite opera is Werther. There are many recordings but a very good one is with Carreras and von Stade. One of them that is often considered the most authentic French style is with the remastered Thill/Vallin. Be sure to look for the remastered one because it is quite an old recording and the remastered version is in exceptionally better sound.
live been an opera lover and opera goer for 60 years. I don’t think your mother will be disappointed with my recommendations.

 

[Eulipian]

For sure avoid Andrea Bocelli opera recordings. However he does have a beautiful voice for popular Italian songs and any one of his reoddings would be a treat for easy listening.
as to opera recordings I can recommend several I find especially appealing to just listen to
1. La Rondine with either Anna Moffo or Placido Domingo
2. La Boheme. with Jussi Bjorling. Many lists of great recordings of La Boheme put this recording on top and Jussi Bjorling is one of the best tenors of all time.
3. Verdi’s Ernani. I like Bergonzi and Price or Domingo and Freni
4. My personal favorite opera is Werther. There are many recordings but a very good one is with Carreras and von Stade. One of them that is often considered the most authentic French style is with the remastered Thill/Vallin. Be sure to look for the remastered one because it is quite an old recording and the remastered version is in exceptionally better sound.
live been an opera lover and opera goer for 60 years. I don’t think your mother will be disappointed with my recommendations.

The Juice! Except no substitutes.

 

[Holmz]

A bit low brow, but some people need to start out easy and work up.

 

[DonR]

I am always torn between Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro. If she likes comic opera, Figaro.

 

[Echolane]

I am always torn between Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro. If she likes comic opera, Figaro.

I’ll help you choose. I enjoy Marriage of Figaro more than Don Giovanni.

 

[Andretti60]

My favorite is still Puccini’s Tosca, the Callas/Di Stefano/Gobbi version

Giacomo Puccini, Victor De Sabata, La Scala Orchestra, Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Tito Gobbi - Puccini: Tosca - Amazon.com Music

Giacomo Puccini, Victor De Sabata, La Scala Orchestra, Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Tito Gobbi - Puccini: Tosca - Amazon.com Music

www.amazon.com

I also do not like collections of opera highlights, for me an opera must be listened head to tail.
Bocelli is not a tenor, it was “built” by television talent shows the like of Paul
Potts and Susan Boyle. They all have a just decent voice, but they should never sing on an opera stage.

 

[Eulipian]

Il Trovatore: Bjoerling, Milanov, Babieri, Warren RCA
Turandot: Nilsson, Corelli, Scotto, Mercuiali, Mazzini EMI
La Boheme: Freni, Gedda, Sereni, Basiola EMI; Victoria de los Angeles, Björling etc;. RCA Chorus & Orchestra (1956)

 

[Keith_W]

Way too many Italian composers in that list and not enough Wagner.

And yes, I agree that Bocelli belongs on the list of not-really-classical performers, the others being Lang Lang, Richard Clayderman, and Vanessa Mae. And probably Nigel Kennedy.