Opera

Heil dir, Brünhilde, prangender Stern!

In general, I appreciate all forms of music. However, there is one genre that I am especially fond of: opera. I should probably qualify that by saying I like German opera, as if you couldn't tell from the bias demonstrated by the following recordings. Below are a few recommended recordings. Yes, there are a few repeat titles, but each recording is unique; different singers, different interpretations. All synopsis of opera recordings, with the exception of Lohengrin, Arabella, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Die lustige Witwe, and Die Herzogin von Chicago, are from A Night at the Opera by Sir Denis Forman (Modern Library Paperback, ISBN 0375757169).

Das Rheingold Das Rheingold. The one where we start under water, where a goddess is walled up in gold blocks, one giant kills another, and a dwarf turns into a toad. London, Flagstad, Watson, Kmentt, and Wächter. Solti. Wiener Philharmoniker. Die Walküre Die Walküre. The one about a sword being pulled out of a tree, the ride of the Valkyries, and a ring of fire being ignited around our heroine. King, Crespine, Frick, Hotter, Nilsson, and Ludwig. Solti. Wiener Philharmoniker.
Die Walküre Die Walküre. The one about a sword being pulled out of a tree, the ride of the Valkyries, and a ring of fire being ignited around our heroine. King, Rysanek, Nilsson, Adam, and Burmeister. Böhm. Orchester der Bayreuther Festspieler. Siegfried Siegfried. The one where Siegfried turns blacksmith and forges a sword with which he kills a dwarf and a dragon and then walks through fire to discover eternal love. Windgassen, Nilsson, Hotter, Stolze, and Neidlinger. Solti. Wiener Philharmoniker.
Götterdämmerung Götterdämmerung. The one where Siegfried makes new friends who stab him in the back, where Brünnhilde is very brave, and Valhalla goes up in flames. Nilsson, Windgassen, Neidlinger, Frick, Watson, and Fischer-Dieskau. Solti. Wiener Philharmoniker.

 Tristan und Isolde Tristan und Isolde. The one with two lovers, a love potion, and a love death. Windgassen, Talvel, Nilsson, Wächter, Heater, and Ludwig. Böhm. Orchester der Bayreuther Festspieler.
Tristan und Isolde Tristan und Isolde. The one with two lovers, a love potion, and a love death. Nilsson, Uhl, Resnik, van Mill, and Krause. Solti. Wiener Philharmoniker.

 Der fliegender Höllander Der fliegende Holländer. The one where the Dutchman seeks a good woman to release him from sailing the high seas for ever: he finds one who jumps off a cliff and they both ascend to heaven. Adam, Silja, Talvela, Kozub, and Burmeister. Klemperer.
Der fliegender Höllander Der fliegende Holländer. The one where the Dutchman seeks a good woman to release him from sailing the high seas for ever: he finds one who jumps off a cliff and they both ascend to heaven. Bailey, Martin, Kollo, and Talvela. Solti. Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Lohengrin Lohengrin. The one with a mysterious knight who arrives on a boat that is pulled by a swan, a forbidden question, a transfiguration. Thomas, Grümmer, Ludwig, and Fischer-Dieskau. Kempe. Wiener Philharmonker.
Lohengrin Lohengrin. The one with a mysterious knight who arrives on a boat that is pulled by a swan, a forbidden question, a transfiguration. Kónya, Amara, Dooly, and Gorr. Leinsdorf. Boston Symphony Orchestra. Parsifal Parsifal. The one where a simple-minded teenager by shooting a swan gets involved with a religious sect whose king is permanently wounded and whose official messenger is a convertible womean, sometimes witch, sometimes houri. London, Talvela, and Hotter. Böhm. Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele.
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The one with a disagreeable town clerk, a noble cobbler, a street brawl, and a prize song. Weikl, Heppner, Studer, Moll, van der Walt, and Kallisch. Sawallisch. Bayerisches Staatsorchester. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The one with a disagreeable town clerk, a noble cobbler, a street brawl, and a prize song. Van Dam, Heppner, Opie, and Mattila. Solti. Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Tannhäuser Tannhäuser. The one where the Pilgrims sing their Chorus, where Venus loses her man, and where runner beans start to grow out of the Pope's staff. Kollo, Ludwig, Sotin, and Dernesch. Solti. Wiener Philharmoniker. Ariadne auf Naxos Ariadne auf Naxos. The one where a troupe of comedians are instructed to do their act on stage at the same time as a classical tragedy, with confusing consequences. Schwarzkopf, Streich, Seefried, and Schock. Karajan. Philharmonia Orchestra.
Der Rosenkavalier Der Rosenkavalier. The one where a Field Marshal's wife sends her lover to assist in the wedding of her cousin with the unforeseen result that he falls in love with the cousin's bride and she loses him. Schwarzkopf, Edelmann, Ludwig, and Wächter. Karajan. Wiener Philharmoniker. Der Rosenkavalier Der Rosenkavalier. The one where a Field Marshal's wife sends her lover to assist in the wedding of her cousin with the unforeseen result that he falls in love with the cousin's bride and she loses him. Crespin, Jungwirth, Minton, Wiener, and Donath. Solti. Wiener Philharmoniker.
Salome Salome. The one where Salome does the dance of the Seven Veils and gets the head of John the Baptist in return. Nilsson, Stolze, Hoffman, Wächter, Kmennt, and Veasey. Solti. Wiener Philharmoniker. Arabella Arabella. The one where a desparate gambler dresses one of his daughter as a boy, lots of love letters are passed, and the boy reveals she's really a girl and is in love with an officer. Edelmann, Malaniuk, della Casa, Gueden, and London. Solti. Wiener Philharmoniker.
Elektra Elektra. The one where the half-crazy Elektra gets her brother Orest to avenge her father's murder by killing her mother Klytemnästra and her mother's lover Aegisth. Resnik, Nilsson, Collier, and Stolze. Solti. Wiener Philharmoniker. Die Frau ohne Schatten Die Frau ohne Schatten. The one with a woman, who was previously a gazelle, cannot cast a shadow, an attempt to steal someone else's shadow, an emporer who is turned into stone. Domingo, Varady, Runkel, and van Dam. Solti. Wiener Philharmoniker.
Die Zauberflöte Die Zauberflöte. The one with three temples, three ladies, three boys, a birdcatcher, the Queen of the Night, and a serpent. Moll, Heilmann, Jo, Ziesak, and Leitner. Solti. Wiener Philharmoniker. Carmen Carmen. Carmen is unforgettable, but for opera amnesiacs it is the one with the tor-ee-a-dor song, the gypsy Carmen, and the simple soldier who stabs her to death. de los Angeles, Gedda, Micheau, and Blanc. Beecham. Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française.