Since you are interested in Bizet: Carmen (Complete Opera recorded in 1958 & 1959), here is a list of other items that you may find interesting.
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Rigoletto (Complete Opera recorded in 1955) Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi, Giuseppe di Stefano, Nicola Zaccaria / Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin [ Warner Classics Maria Callas Remastered / 2 CD - released 10/Oct/2014 ] "There has never been a more compelling performance of the title-role in Rigoletto than that of Gobbi on his classic La Scala set. Callas is compellingly imaginative throughout." Penguin Stereo guide |
IGOR STRAVINSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Stravinsky: Le Rossignol / Oedipus Rex (Complete Operas recorded 1999 & 1993) Natalie Dessay, Anthony Rolfe-Johnson, Marjana Lipovsek / l'Opéra National de Paris, James Conlon / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Franz Welser-Most [ EMI The Opera Series / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/May/2010 ] "A fine recording of Stravinsky's colourful ballet, The Nightingale, with Natalie Dessay perfect in the title-role." (Gramophone) |
BOITO
Mefistofele (complete opera recorded in 1973) Norman Treigle, Plácido Domingo, Montserrat Caballé, Heather Begg / London Symphony Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Julius Rudel [ EMI The Opera Series / 2 CD Box Set - released 1/Feb/2012 ] "Caballé sings much of her music exquisitely and her voice blends with Domingo's to make magic in the "Lontano" duet." (Gramophone) |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia [The Barber of Seville] (Complete Opera recorded in 1957) Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi, Luigi Alva / Philharmonia Chorus & Philharmonia Orchestra, Alceo Galliera [ Warner Classics Maria Callas Remastered / 2 CD - released 10/Dec/2014 ] "She turns in a buoyant, joyful performance. Tito Gobbi's Figaro and Luigi Alva's Almaviva also came from the Scala production, and their experienced teamwork adds considerably to the whole achievement. Galliera's idiomatic conducting gives the... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Nabucco (complete opera recorded in 1977) Matteo Manuguerra, Renata Scotto, Elena Obraztsova, Nicolai Ghiaurov / Philharmonia Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Riccardo Muti [ Warner Classics Home of Opera / 2 CD - released 20/May/2016 ] "Scotto sings the most intelligent and, when needed, refined Abigaille on record." (Gramophone) |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann [The Tales of Hoffmann] (Complete Opera) (recorded 1964-65) Nicolai Gedda, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Victoria de los Angeles, Gianna d'Angelo, Nicola Ghiuselev, Ernest Blanc / Concerts du Conservatoire, Andre Cluy [ Warner Classics The Opera Series / 2 CD - released 1/May/2010 ] 'In a celebrated cast, Gedda, as Hoffmann, sings beautifully and with dramatic feeling, Victoria de los Angeles is a delightful Antonia, Schwarzkopf brings sumptuous creamy tone to Giulietta, Blanc is a splendid Dapertutto, and the smaller parts,... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte [The Magic Flute] (Complete Opera recorded in 1964) Nicolai Gedda, Gundula Janowitz, Walter Berry, Lucia Popp / Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer [ Warner Classics Legendary Opera Recordings / 2 CD Box Set - released 23/Sep/2016 ] "I have never heard The Magic Flute sound so magical and the complete ease and seeming rightness of this performance is a wonder. The cast, chorus and orchestra are inspired under Klemperer, whom I here salute as a real genius" (Gramophone) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Don Carlo (Complete Opera recorded in 1970) Placido Domingo, Montserrat Caballe, Shirley Verrett, Ryland Davies / Royal Opera, Carlo Maria Giulini [ Warner Classics Home of Opera / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Feb/2016 ] "Under Giulini's commanding and searching direction, the huge canvas is held together with unerring control" (Gramophone) |
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Debussy: Pelleas and Melisande (Complete Opera recorded in 1978) Richard Stilwell, Frederica von Stade, Josa van Dam. Berlin Philharmonic / Herbert von Karajan [ Warner Classics Home of Opera / 3 CD Box Set - released 20/Jan/2017 ] 1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (1901-1950) - "a very characteristically Karajan performance, deeply committed and full of beautiful things. The casting is excellent." (Gramophone) |
PUCCINI
La Rondine (Complete opera recorded in 1996) [with Le Villi - Highlights] Roberto Alagna / Angela Gheorghiu / London Symphony Orchestra / Pappano [ Warner Classics The Opera Series / 2 CD - released 1/Apr/2011 ] "An almost ideal account of Puccini's least-performed mature work, with both Alagna and Gheorghiu at their peak. Valuable extras from Alagna in Le Villi, too." (BBC Music) |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Don Pasquale (complete opera recorded in 1982) Sesto Bruscantini, Mirella Freni, Leo Nucci, Gosta Winbergh / Philharmonia Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Riccardo Muti [ Warner Classics Home of Opera / 2 CD - released 2/Sep/2016 ] "The charm of this recording lies in the ensemble work, the elegance of Gösta Winbergh's tenor, and the excellence of the orchestral playing. It is also a genuine production, with a sense of occasion: a sparkling occasion too and a pleasure to... |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Der Fliegende Hollander [The Flying Dutchman] Theo Adam, Anja Silja, Martti Talvela / BBC Chorus, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer [ EMI Classics / 3 CD - released 8/Mar/2010 ] "The most remarkable aspect of the performance… remains the empathy between Klemperer, Silja and Adam. Adam's Act 1 monologue seizes the dramatic high ground, but Silja raises the stakes still further with an electrifying account of Senta's Ballad,... |