I think our tastes are very similar, as I almost always agree with your assessments! I do still use the 'Opera on Record' books, and of course the Penguin Guide. I tend to prefer recordings made before c.1980, what with the dearth of really good voices the last few decades, so those volumes do still come in handy. But your reviews I find on the whole to be much more accurate and balanced. Perhaps you could do a few more Lieder cycle reviews? Schubert's 'Schone Mullerrin' or Schumann's 'Dichterliebe'? Maybe some more of the great choral works? Mozart's Requiem or C Min Mass? Just a few suggestions! (And not easy ones at that!)
I am delighted that you find them so regularly useful, Iggy. I am well aware that my own taste influences my comments and recommendations but I try at least to ensure that there is also a fair amount of information and objective comment to help people make their own choices. The "Opera on Record" books are of course excellent - even if there are in them a few what I would call eccentric and/or curmudgeonly evaluations - and perhaps I stand convicted of the same faults - but they are now very out of date. Having said that, some of my own surveys are now a few years old, the only consolation being that the most recommendable recordings tend to be older, in any case - and occasionally I bother our Webmaster by asking him to update them with new entries. I am open to suggestions, by the way, if you think of something you think would be worth surveying.
I would like to thank Ralph Moore for his excellent surveys! In the past I used to reach for the 3 volumes of 'Opera on Record', now I reach for Ralph. I downloaded them all and converted them into PDF format on my PC, and they are an invaluable resource for any opera lover and Cd collector! I consult them on a weekly basis for some detail or other. Ralph, thank you so much for all your work on these surveys! It is much appreciated!
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