Thread: Embarrassement of riches - "budget for opera' problem solved

I just got free access to about 100 streaming opera videos that I haven't seen yet, from today until december 31st (a perk of membership provided by Opera America)

Now I don't know where to begin. Help!

What should I watch first?

A top 20 list?

ADAMS, J.: Doctor Atomic (DNO, 2007)
ALBENIZ, I.: Merlin (Teatro Real, 2003)
BERG, A.: Wozzeck (Frankfurt Opera, 1996)
BERNSTEIN, L.: Trouble in Tahiti
BIRTWISTLE, H.: Minotaur (The) (Royal Opera House, 2008)
BOITO, A.: Mefistofele (San Francisco Opera, 1989)
BRITTEN, B.: Billy Budd (ENO, 1988)
BRITTEN, B.: Death in Venice (Glyndebourne, 1990)
BRITTEN, B.: Gloriana (ENO, 1984)
BRITTEN, B.: Rape of Lucretia (The) (ENO, 1987)
BRITTEN, P.: Peter Grimes (ENO, 1994)
CIMAROSA, D.: Matrimonio segreto (Il) (Schwetzingen Festival, 1986)
DESHEVOV, V.: Eis und Stahl (Ice and Steel) (Saarlandisches Staatstheater, 2007)
DONIZETTI, G.: Don Pasquale (Ravenna Festival 2006)
DONIZETTI, G.: Lucrezia Borgia (Teatro Donizetti, 2007)
DONIZETTI, G.: Maria Stuarda (La Scala, 2008)
DONIZETTI, G.: Pia de' Tolomei (La Fenice, 2005)
DONIZETTI, G.: Roberto Devereux (Bergamo Musica Festival, 2006)
DOVE, J.: Adventures of Pinocchio (The) (Opera North, 2008)
GIORDANO, U.: Marcella (Festival della Valle d'Itria, 2007)
GLASS, P.: Satyagraha (Wurttemberg State Theatre, 1983)
HANDEL, G.F.: Admeto (Handel-Festspiele Halle, 2006)
HANDEL, G.F.: Agrippina (Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing, 2003)
HANDEL, G.F.: Ariodante (ENO, 1996)
HANDEL, G.F.: Serse (Xerxes) (ENO, 1995)
HANDEL, G.F.: Tamerlano (Teatro Real, 2008)
HANDEL, G.F.: Teseo (Handel-Festspiele Halle, 2004)
HOLTEN, B.: Visit of the Royal Physician (The) (Royal Danish Opera, 2009)
JANACEK, L.: Cunning Little Vixen (The) (Chatelet, 1995)
JANACEK, L.: Jenufa (Liceu, 2005)
LANGGARD, R.: Antikrist (Royal Danish Opera, 2002)
MARSCHNER. H.: Hans Heiling (Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, 2004)
MASCAGNI, P.: Amica (Festival della Valle d'Itria, 2007)
MASSENET, J.: Roi de Lahore (Le) (La Fenice, 2004)
MASSENET, J.: Werther (Badisches Staatstheater, 2007)
MESSIAEN, O.: Saint Francois d'Assise (DNO, 2008)
MEYERBEER, G.: Africaine (L') (San Francisco Opera, 1988)
MONTEVERDI, C.: Orfeo (L') (Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing, 2004)
MONTEVERDI, C.: Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (Il) (DNO, 1993)
MONTEVERDI, C.: Incoronazione di Poppea (L') (DNO, 1994)
MONTEVERDI, C.: Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria (Il) (DNO, 1998)
MOZART, W.A.: Clemenza di Tito (La) (Glyndebourne, 1991)
MOZART, W.A.: Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (Die) (DNO, 2008)
MOZART, W.A.: Finta Giardiniera (La) (Drottningholm Court Theatre, 1988)
MUSSORGSKY, M.: Khovanshchina (Liceu, 2007)
NIELSEN, C.: Maskarade (Royal Danish Opera, 2006)
NORDENTOFT, A.: On This Planet
OLIVEIRA, J.: As Malibrans (Ensemble Jocy de Oliveira, 2000)
OLIVEIRA, J.: Fata Morgana / Liturgia do Espaco (Ensemble Jocy de Oliveira, 1988)
OLIVEIRA, J.: Inori a prostituta sagrada / Illud Tempus (Ensemble Jocy de Oliveira, 2003)
OLIVEIRA, J.: Kseni, A Estrangeira / Kseni, Die Fremde (Ensemble Jocy de Oliveira, 2006)
PEPUSCH, J.C.: Beggar's Opera (The) (BBC TV version, 1983)
PETITGIRARD, L.: Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man (Nice, 2002)
POULENC, F.: Dialogues des Carmelites (La Scala, 2004)
POULENC, F.: La voix humaine (Quaife, Vorster, 2006) (Sung in English)
PROKOFIEV, S.: Amour des 3 Oranges (L') (DNO, 2005)
PROKOFIEV, S.: Fiery Angel (The) (Kirov Opera, 1993)
PROKOFIEV, S.: War and Peace (Kirov Opera, 1991)
PUCCINI, G.: Manon Lescaut (Chemnitz Opera, 2007)
PUCCINI, G.: Rondine (La) (La Fenice, 2008)
PURCELL, H.: King Arthur (Salzburg Festival, 2004)
PURCELL: Fairy Queen (The) (ENO, 1995)
RAMEAU, J.P.: Indes galantes (Les) (Paris National Opera, 2003)
RAMEAU, J.P.: Les Boreades (Paris National Opera, 2003)
RAMEAU, J.P.: Paladins (Les) (Chatelet, 2004)
RAMEAU, J.P.: Zoroastre (Drottningholm Court Theatre, 2006)
RAUTAVAARA, E.: Gift of the Magi (The) (TV production, 1997)
ROSSINI, G.: Cambiale di matrimonio (La) (Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro, 2006)
ROSSINI, G.: Gazza Ladra (La) (Cologne Opera, 1987)
ROSSINI, G.: Maometto II (La Fenice, 2005)
ROSSINI, G.: Occasione fa il ladro (L') (Schwetzingen Festival, 1992)
ROSSINI, G.: Signor Bruschino (Il) (Schwetzingen Festival, 1989)
ROSSINI, G.: Tancredi (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 2005)
ROSSINI, G.: Turco in Italia (Il) (Rossini Opera Festival, 2007)
ROSSINI, G.: Viaggio a Reims (Il) (Chatelet, 2005)
SALLINEN, A.: Palace (The) (Savonlinna Opera Festival, 1995)
SCHREKER, F.: Gezeichneten (Die) (Salzburg Festival, 2005)
SCHUBERT, F.: Alfonso und Estrella (Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, 2004)
SHOSTAKOVICH, D.: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (DNO, 2006)
STRAUSS, R.: Capriccio (San Francisco Opera, 1993)
STRAUSS, R.: Daphne (La Fenice, 2005)
STRAUSS, R.: Elektra (Vienna State Opera, 1989)
STRAVINSKY, I.: Rake's Progress (The) (La Monnaie - De Munt, 2007)
TIKKA, K.: Luther (Finnish National Opera, 2003)
TIPPETT, M.: King Priam (Kent Opera studio production, 1985)
TURNAGE, M.A.: Greek (Studio Production, 1990)
VERDI, G.: Corsaro (Il) (Teatro Regio di Parma, 2004)
VERDI, G.: Ernani (Teatro Regio di Parma, 2005)
VERDI, G.: Luisa Miller (La Fenice, 2006)
VERDI, G.: Macbeth (Liceu, 2004)
VERDI, G.: Oberto, conte di San Bonifacio (Opera de Bilbao, 2007)
VIVALDI, A.: Orlando furioso (San Francisco Opera, 1989)
VIVIER, C.: Reves d'un Marco Polo
WAGNER, R.: Tannhauser (Baden-Baden, 2008)
WAGNER, S.: Kobold (Der) (PPP Music Theatre, 2005)
WEBER, C.M.: Euryanthe (Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, 2002)
WEILL, K.: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Los Angeles Opera, 2007) (Sung in English)
WOLF-FERRARI, E.: Vedova scaltra (La) (La Fenice, 2007)

Damn, just close your eyes and pick one. You can't lose.

Originally Posted by ozradio

Damn, just close your eyes and pick one. You can't lose.

I picked Donizetti's Roberto Devereux.

I'm watching the first act as we speak. Sublime. Excellent choice.

Les Indes galantes next, I'd suggest, if you haven't seen it.

I'm very envious of Satyagraha. $40 second hand on amazon

Originally Posted by mamascarlatti

LesIindes galantes next, I'd suggest, if you haven't seen it.

I'm very envious of Satyagraha. $40 second hand on amazon

Or free on Google Video (albeit with subpar video and audio, alas)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...4368192097977#

Originally Posted by mamascarlatti

Les Indes galantes next, I'd suggest, if you haven't seen it.

I'm very envious of Satyagraha. $40 second hand on amazon

The ones I listed are all operas that I haven't seen yet. They have many more, but the others I've seen.

I enjoyed 49 gorgeous minutes of Roberto Devereux then the site crashed. It's the first day of this membership perk, so, I guess there are too many members trying to get their fill. Frustrating... but if it doesn't come back, I'll try again tomorrow.

I second mamascarlatti's endorsement of Les Indes galantes if this is "Les Arts Florissants" version.

Originally Posted by Weston

I second mamascarlatti's endorsement of Les Indes galantes if this is "Les Arts Florissants" version.

Yes, it is.



But you know, I wasn't even able to watch the entire Roberto Devereux yesterday, so, I may have jumped the gun when I got all excited about this perk. If the site is too slow and the stream freezes all the time, it won't be fun. I hope it improves and I can enjoy at least some of these operas for free. My fear is that they will think that the perk backfired on them and they can't handle the demand which slows down their entire site, and then they may cancel the program before I get my fill.

In any case, if the bottleneck resolves as the novelty wears off, I'll make sure to watch Les Indes Galantes right after I (hopefully) finish Roberto Devereux, thanks for the suggestion.

Originally Posted by Weston

I second mamascarlatti's endorsement of Les Indes galantes if this is "Les Arts Florissants" version.

I watched it today. Simply phenomenal. Spectacular. I don't recall in the last several months anything this entertaining. Kudos to Opéra Nationale de Paris and Les Arts Florissants, this is one of the best productions in all of opera, period.

The problem is, I was supposed to watch these operas online to save money, but now, how can I *not* buy this DVD? It's a must have, just to be able to watch it again and to show scenes of it to friends.

Originally Posted by Almaviva

I watched it today. Simply phenomenal. Spectacular. I don't recall in the last several months anything this entertaining. Kudos to Opéra Nationale de Paris and Les Arts Florissants, this is one of the best productions in all of opera, period.

The problem is, I was supposed to watch these operas online to save money, but now, how can I *not* buy this DVD? It's a must have, just to be able to watch it again and to show scenes of it to friends.

If it was your aim to save money with this thing, I think you better stop watching right now!

Les Indes are a hard act to follow, as near to perfection as possible.

I enjoyed les Boreades to, and am currently watching les Paladins. The latter production is a bit like taking LSD, but legal.

I loved the Jenufa from the Liceu which is on the list. Nina Stemme is wonderful.

L'Africaine is a good taster of French grand opera, with Verrett and Domingo very fine in the principal roles.

The problem is, I was supposed to watch these operas online to save money, but now, how can I *not* buy this DVD? It's a must have, just to be able to watch it again and to show scenes of it to friends.

haha, I know how you feel! I am just as bad with music. I try to listen to Pandora internet radio so I can enjoy music for free. All this does is make me want to own the good music I discover

Originally Posted by mamascarlatti

Les Indes are a hard act to follow, as near to perfection as possible.

I enjoyed les Boreades to, and am currently watching les Paladins. The latter production is a bit like taking LSD, but legal.

I loved the Jenufa from the Liceu which is on the list. Nina Stemme is wonderful.

L'Africaine is a good taster of French grand opera, with Verrett and Domingo very fine in the principal roles.

Great, I'll probably go next to Jenufa since I also like Nina Stemme a lot.
I don't know about the Meyerbeer. I didn't like Les Huguenots very much so maybe I'll sit on this one for a while. Macbeth is an important gap that I could fill in the meantime. They have several Macbeth productions (I only listed one for short) so later I'll be listing them all to see which one people recommend.

Originally Posted by Sonata

haha, I know how you feel! I am just as bad with music. I try to listen to Pandora internet radio so I can enjoy music for free. All this does is make me want to own the good music I discover

Exactly! There's a reason why these corporations keep offering us these apparent freesbies, we end up buying more of their products.

Originally Posted by Almaviva

Macbeth is an important gap that I could fill in the meantime. They have several Macbeth productions (I only listed one for short) so later I'll be listing them all to see which one people recommend.

I'll be really interested in your views.

I started as usual by listening to the CD over & over & over & reading the libretto. I have this studio recording



and all three principals are fabulous. Carreras' Macduff is also good. Then I progressed to DVD & got these




Which I've reviewed here