Me, currently it is Handel's Giulio Cesare in Egitto. I can think of four versions in my collection. Oh the shame of it ...
Edit: it won't be too long before that hits five versions because there is one other version I have been waiting to buy. It's all a matter of time. Oh the extra shame of it ...
The Onegin I mentioned at first has five recordings. I just counted and I have the same number of Flying Hollanders. Don't even know why, it probably wouldn't even be present in my top 5 Wagner operas.
Mahler - 7-8 recordings of each symphony and DLvdE (I will stop once I get the Levine box plus one or two other isolated recordings). Along the way I have accumulated 9 Kindertotenlieders as well (mostly as fill-ups).
Bruckner - 3 of symphony 00, 5 of symphony 0, 6 of symphony 1 and 7 each of symphonies 2-9 (that will do for me now).
Beethoven - 6 of symphony 9 and 5 each of the others (will probably stop when I get the Gardiner box).
Schubert - 6 of symphony 9 and 5 of the unfinished (will stop once/if Bruggen box gets reissued plus I also want Wand's Berlin PO 8 and 9 on RCA).
I've also got multiple recordings of Dvorak's Czech and American suites but that's more by luck than design AKA the Fill-Up Factor.
I've got many operas on CD but unlike quite a few of the esteemed forum members I have never been inclined to collect more than one recording of the ones I've got.
I should clarify: this thread for opera, any medium whether CD, DVD, Blue-Ray etc. But never mind! Just share with what you have.
I'm not the biggest fan of Wagner, but I do enjoy his operas. Yet I have two version of the Ring and two versions of Parsifal. Other operas by other composers I enjoy more, and I also have two or three versions. So I was thinking a lot of it had to do with commercial reasons, sale/discount from the shops, availability of versions due to populatrity etc. as well as being dissatisfied with existing versions of a great work (to some degree).
Figaro - 4 versions Don Giovanni - 3 versions Cosi fan tutti - 4 versions
And quite a few other operas with two versions - Verdi, and of Puccini especially.
The Varsovia Quartet
The Carmina Quartet
The Silesian Quartet
The Wilanow Quartet
The Royal String Quartet
The Maggini Quartet
The Szymanowski Quartet
Janacek String Quartets No.s I & II
The Vlach Quartet
The Gabrieli quartet
The Hagen Quartet
The Smetana Quartet
The Janacek Quartet
The Dante Quartet
The Pavel Haas Quartet
I listen to vinyl LP or CD. I'm not keen on electronic/digital downloads. The amount of hard drive failures .....
My opera collection is not good in depth. I do own some 300 operas, but the vast majority of them are in single version (and often not the best one available). These are my repeats:
Aida - 3
The Bartered Bride - 2
Bluebeard's Castle - 2
La Bohème - 3
I Capuleti e i Montechi - 2
Carmen - 3
Così fan Tutte - 3
Dido and Aeneas - 2
Don Giovanni - 2
L'Elisir d'Amore - 2
Die Fledermaus - 2
Gianni Schicchi - 2
Kat'a Kabanová - 2
Der Ring des Nibelungen - 3
Manon - 2
Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg - 2
Norma - 2
Le Nozze di Figaro - 3
Otello - 2
Parsifal - 2
Rigoletto - 2
Der Rosenkavalier - 3
La Traviata - 5
Tristan und Isolde - 2
Les Troyens - 2
Die Zauberflöte - 2
So, the one I have the most versions of is La Traviata.
I have 2 miserable Normas... when I hear that schigolch has more than 100 Normas, I realize how much of a newbie I am...
Well, this number includes not only commercial CD/DVD, but also inhouse recordings, radio/TV broadcasts,... In the "old" days, it was not so easy (though by no means impossible) to share this kind of things. Since some years back, with the full explosion of Internet, digital recording and social networking, is quite straightforward to get for instance:
Oh certainly Madame Butterfly with 25 cds. Probably still my favourite is the Eleanor Steber and Richard Tucker version with Max Rudolf conducting or the Price and Tucker version.
I have 'passed' my collecting phase now...not sure what it is, good sense or less money!!!
Now i tend to buy DVDs only and tend to have one or two of any opera only (anyway, the cd market has dried considerably) so in terms on DVD i have a lot of complete Wagners Ring Cycles:
I have Die Walkure from Aix-en-Provence and the Gotterdammerung from Valencia with the Fura del Baus. Not tempted by the Met Ring unless it is at a decent price.
I live in a country with no opera performances to watch and so i buy DVDs to compensate.
Me and my Fidelio obsession:
1 DVD (with JK, of course)
3 CDs/4 LPs of the final version
2 CDs/1 LP of the original version
1 tape made from a radio broadcast of the final version (JK again -- surprise)
1 tape of the second act from a Met broadcast with Behrens and Goldberg
And I've had my eye on another recording of the original version since a YouTube selection of excerpts sounds very promising. One of these days, my "habit" will get the better of me and I'll order it.
I have two recordings of a number of Mozart's, Verdi's, and Puccini's operas, but the only other one that comes close to the Fidelio fixation is Die Zauberflöte, with four LPs.
Regarding which Ring cycle i prefer on DVD. What i look for i guess is accessibility, watchability and musical quality. Not sure which order though!!
My taste is for updated/modern productions rather than period costumes. I have to say i like aspects of all of them!!
Some of the more 'Eurotrash' versions interest me. Probably my favourite 'Rhinegold' is the Stuttgart one. A simply done Rhinegold, good singing and easy to understand. The Amsterdam Rhinegold runs it a close second and then the Weimar one. In the Amsterdam Ring i love the Rhinemaidens and Alberich scene and i think that Pierre Audi does well in the Nibelheim scene. The Weimar i loved the Giants as large puppets who lift up the roof of the house and watch the Gods arguing.
For Die Walkure i have to say i enjoy the Copenhagen Ring. Irene Theorin does a great job as Brunnhilde and i think it is James Johnson i thought a terrific Wotan. Nice setting too. I am part way through the Lubeck ring and they have the Valkyrie are fighter pilots....quite effective with video projection in the background. The Stuttgart Ring has the advantage of having Angela Denoke as Sieglinde and Robert Gambill. I thought the action of having a sword appear like light through a slit was effective.
For Siegfried, i have only one favourite and that is the Stuttgart Ring with jon Frederik West as Siegfried. I know many won't like this but in terms of ability to understand it i enjoyed watching it. Johnny Van Hal did a good job on the Weimar one and i enjoyed his youthful behaviour.
For Gotterdammerung, it has to be Copenhagen. Never have i understood the Norns so much as in this acted as 3 wise/old ladies. The ending is terrific too. The others have some good Brunnhilde's - the Amsterdam one has Jeannine Altmeyer and the new Lubeck DVD has Rebecca Teem (superb!). Both these have good Immolation scenes. Rebecca Teem is a real force out there and she was just stunning to watch throughout.
So, no out and out Winner. I enjoy aspects of them all to be honest. It all depends on how 'authentic' you want it and whether you can stomach some directors whims and strange taste. It also depends on who you like as Wotan, Brunnhilde, Siegfried, Sieglinde and i guess that is pure personal taste. If it enlightens and makes you think or understand then all well and good.
I would not hesitate to buy the newer European Ring cycles such as the stuttgart, Lubeck or Weimar. They have a lot to offer. But if you are used to the Met productions or similar Zeffirelli style over bloated stand and deliver performances then of course you will hate them.
I believe that the Met has been walking away from such productions quite a lot, lately. The Met has had many modern and visually striking stagings and has been hiring good-looking singers who are energetic on stage. The current Met Ring cycle is a case in point.
I agree about the fact that there have been many terrific new productions from the Met. I was referring to the more traditional productions from the 80's and 90's that whilst popular amongst many don't exactly push the envelope.
On CD my line up of the Ring cycle is poor. I have the Keilberth Ring (but alas not Gotterdammerung) and thats it! I am not sure it gets any better than this one, maybe i am wrong. I think Varnay is unsurpassed and all Brunnhilde's pale in comparison.
I thought i would just do one on CD since i find it difficult to listen to. I see the Ring as a visual/auditory opera rather than something i can sit and listen to in the car or relaxing at home.
I would love to hear the Goodall Ring cycle in English. I did hear snippets once on a sampler disc and i recall it being quite slow ...is that your opinion? I do like listening to opera in English and have a fair amount of the Chandos series of operas in English.
The operas I have the most performances of include La Sonnambula (6 on CD and one on DVD) and Fidelio (4 on CD and one DVD).
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