Favorite opera DVDs?

What are some --one or two apiece please--of your favorite DVDs of opera performances? Why?

Favorite opera DVDs?ie 7

There are very few dvds that I really love, but I will name a couple of cds that I think are the very best. First would be the Toscanini Boheme( no one else does it right) The Rigoletto with Gobbi who was perfect in the role, Martinelli"s Otello cannot be even equaled, Both the Tosca and Traviata with Callas stand alone,any role sang by Gigli was close to perfection, , and though a relatively small role, Pinza,( even though I cannot locate the cd, )was electryfiying in Aida.

Favorite opera DVDs?ireland internet explorer

Richard Strauss - Der Rosenkavalie cond. Carlos Kleiber ( Lott, von Otter, Bonney ) -

This is both musically overwhelming and dramatically meaningful. Felicity Lott my not be as glamorous as Flemming or other Marschallins but she embodies the graciousness that Strauss put at the center of her character and of the opera as a whole. Kleiber is just the best and this one of the few examples we have of him on any kind of recording.

The Der Ring des Nibelungen Pierre Boulez cond, Bayreuth Opera.

Not my favorite musically (that would be Levine/Met) but quite good. What distinguishes this set is Patrice Ch茅reau's production which I think is just right. It is close to the interpretation of G.B. Shaw in 'The Perfect Wagnerite' which I think hits the mark exactly.