OK, folks, as promised, now that the list of TC Most Recommended Operas got ready (we got as far as 272), we'll proceed with the next project.
It will be a long and ambitious one.
The ultimate goal is to provide a list of Most Recommended audio and video recordings (the latter, when available) of all 272 operas, and to have hyperlinks that will connect these lists together so that by clicking on the name of an opera, we'd be easily taken to a post with the TC Most Recommended recordings for that opera. Once more operas get into the In Depth project (only La Traviata so far; if I'm not mistaken, I believe that we have established that Die Tote Stadt is next, and then Les Troyens), these threads will be hyperlinked to the list as well.
Our esteemed member TxllxT will be coordinating the CD project. He happens to be about to travel to Italy for 3 weeks and will be back in mid-October, but wanted us to get going anyway (I did tell him that we could wait for him, but he insisted that we should get started). However, as the coordinator, I'd say that whatever recordings we start to nominate and vote for, would not be considered to have yielded final results until TxllxT comes back and is able to cast his votes as well.
We can use this time to test the waters... see what difficulties we bump into... see how to best proceed, etc.
Because see, the DVD part is not that difficult - there aren't that many different versions for each operas, except for a few operas. Most operas have below 10 different DVD versions.
CD recordings, on the other hand, are counted by the dozens and dozens for most famous operas. So, we may end up with many nominations and no overlap to be able to say that a given recording is the one that is most recommended by our members.
We already have a list of the most recommended DVDs and blu-ray discs for our Top 100 operas (and the list has been revised once already, and is scheduled to be revised annually).
Therefore, we'll need to start by picking the most recommended CDs for these Top 100.
Then, when we get to the operas listed 101-272, we'll be able to simultaneously nominate CDs and DVD-Blu-ray versions (when available) for each opera.
Maybe we won't be able to easily find a 1st and 2nd Most Recommended CD version like we did for the operas on visual media. Maybe we'll need to select, say, 3 or 5 recommended CDs for each opera, something like this, and not necessarily rank these 3 or 5 in a given order.
I don't know yet how to best proceed, because I don't know how many different versions people will usually nominate. I'm no authority in opera CDs... only a fraction of my opera collection is made of CDs, since I privilege so much the visual media. I'll rarely be able to offer nominations. But I know that others here such as TxllxT, schigolch, Ballo, Yashin, Superhorn, etc., do know a lot about opera CDs, and I'm hoping that these and other knowledgeable members will make of this project a successful one.
Anyway, while TxllxT is away, we can start to test the waters by nominating CDs that are recommended by our members for the first opera in our list, Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Since the Ring is a special case by being a set of four operas, we may need to give it special consideration by picking two categories of CDs:
1. What is in your opinion the best recording of the complete Ring in one box set? (Please mention conductor, year of recording, orchestra, and recording company - e.g., EMI, DG, etc. - no bootlegs, please)
2. What are in your opinion the best individual recordings for each one of the four Ring operas? (Again, please mention conductor, year of recording, orchestra, and recording company)
So, the effort is tentatively open. Make your nominations, suggest methodology, whatever. We'll see how this shapes up, and once TxllxT is back, we'll start to have official results and official recommendations ready.
Remember, just like in all similar efforts here on TC, we don't presume to be able to say which recording is the "best" one - which is a subjective and variable concept anyway. All we *can* say is which recordings are "most recommended" (as in, more often recommended) by our members.
Just like we did for the DVD effort, in order to cast a valid vote there are only two requirements:
1 - The voter must be a TC member in good standing (obviously, and self-regulating because only members in good standing have posting privileges)
2 - The voter must have listened to the CD, and liked it. This is to prevent people from voting for what they "think" is the 'best' version out of reading about it in guides and encyclopedias. There are numerous sources out there, some of them quite well informed, such as books and guides authored by professional music scholars. That's not what we're trying to accomplish here. What we're interested in, is in establishing what our Talk Classical members like and recommend.
So, if you've only listened to *one* CD of a given opera but you liked it and would recommend it to a friend, then feel free to vote for it, even though several dozens of other recordings exist and you don't know them.
However, don't vote for something that you *didn't* like just because it's the only one you know.
It's pretty simple, folks. If you can tell yourself that a given CD is 'recommended' out of having listened to it and liked it, do feel free to vote for it. Otherwise, don't.
It will be a long and ambitious one.
The ultimate goal is to provide a list of Most Recommended audio and video recordings (the latter, when available) of all 272 operas, and to have hyperlinks that will connect these lists together so that by clicking on the name of an opera, we'd be easily taken to a post with the TC Most Recommended recordings for that opera. Once more operas get into the In Depth project (only La Traviata so far; if I'm not mistaken, I believe that we have established that Die Tote Stadt is next, and then Les Troyens), these threads will be hyperlinked to the list as well.
Our esteemed member TxllxT will be coordinating the CD project. He happens to be about to travel to Italy for 3 weeks and will be back in mid-October, but wanted us to get going anyway (I did tell him that we could wait for him, but he insisted that we should get started). However, as the coordinator, I'd say that whatever recordings we start to nominate and vote for, would not be considered to have yielded final results until TxllxT comes back and is able to cast his votes as well.
We can use this time to test the waters... see what difficulties we bump into... see how to best proceed, etc.
Because see, the DVD part is not that difficult - there aren't that many different versions for each operas, except for a few operas. Most operas have below 10 different DVD versions.
CD recordings, on the other hand, are counted by the dozens and dozens for most famous operas. So, we may end up with many nominations and no overlap to be able to say that a given recording is the one that is most recommended by our members.
We already have a list of the most recommended DVDs and blu-ray discs for our Top 100 operas (and the list has been revised once already, and is scheduled to be revised annually).
Therefore, we'll need to start by picking the most recommended CDs for these Top 100.
Then, when we get to the operas listed 101-272, we'll be able to simultaneously nominate CDs and DVD-Blu-ray versions (when available) for each opera.
Maybe we won't be able to easily find a 1st and 2nd Most Recommended CD version like we did for the operas on visual media. Maybe we'll need to select, say, 3 or 5 recommended CDs for each opera, something like this, and not necessarily rank these 3 or 5 in a given order.
I don't know yet how to best proceed, because I don't know how many different versions people will usually nominate. I'm no authority in opera CDs... only a fraction of my opera collection is made of CDs, since I privilege so much the visual media. I'll rarely be able to offer nominations. But I know that others here such as TxllxT, schigolch, Ballo, Yashin, Superhorn, etc., do know a lot about opera CDs, and I'm hoping that these and other knowledgeable members will make of this project a successful one.
Anyway, while TxllxT is away, we can start to test the waters by nominating CDs that are recommended by our members for the first opera in our list, Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Since the Ring is a special case by being a set of four operas, we may need to give it special consideration by picking two categories of CDs:
1. What is in your opinion the best recording of the complete Ring in one box set? (Please mention conductor, year of recording, orchestra, and recording company - e.g., EMI, DG, etc. - no bootlegs, please)
2. What are in your opinion the best individual recordings for each one of the four Ring operas? (Again, please mention conductor, year of recording, orchestra, and recording company)
So, the effort is tentatively open. Make your nominations, suggest methodology, whatever. We'll see how this shapes up, and once TxllxT is back, we'll start to have official results and official recommendations ready.
Remember, just like in all similar efforts here on TC, we don't presume to be able to say which recording is the "best" one - which is a subjective and variable concept anyway. All we *can* say is which recordings are "most recommended" (as in, more often recommended) by our members.
Just like we did for the DVD effort, in order to cast a valid vote there are only two requirements:
1 - The voter must be a TC member in good standing (obviously, and self-regulating because only members in good standing have posting privileges)
2 - The voter must have listened to the CD, and liked it. This is to prevent people from voting for what they "think" is the 'best' version out of reading about it in guides and encyclopedias. There are numerous sources out there, some of them quite well informed, such as books and guides authored by professional music scholars. That's not what we're trying to accomplish here. What we're interested in, is in establishing what our Talk Classical members like and recommend.
So, if you've only listened to *one* CD of a given opera but you liked it and would recommend it to a friend, then feel free to vote for it, even though several dozens of other recordings exist and you don't know them.
However, don't vote for something that you *didn't* like just because it's the only one you know.
It's pretty simple, folks. If you can tell yourself that a given CD is 'recommended' out of having listened to it and liked it, do feel free to vote for it. Otherwise, don't.