AE # Disc 006 The Operas of Giacomo Meyerbeer 004 The Operas of Richard Strauss 003 The Operas of Richard Wagner 203 Opera from Bayreuth 205 Opera from Bulgaria 210 Bulgarian National Radio - Italian, French and German Opera 215 Russian Opera from Bulgaria 220 Bulgarian Operas 209 Opera from Germany 208 Opera auf Deutsch - non-German opera from Germany 204 Opera from Munich 202 Opera from Paris 206 Opera from Russia 207 Opera Russe - Western opera from Russia 211 Italian Opera from Teatro Colón 201 San Francisco unavailable by demand of the Opera 001 Men of Empire - male singers of the British Empire born in the 19th century 002 Stars of David - classical singers of Jewish heritage 005 "Si puo?" Historic Italian Baritones 007 "Fanget an!" Germanic Tenors 301 From Which We Came - the first opera sets 102 "El Anillo"Wagner's Ring from Buenos Aires 1962 103 Sir Thomas Beecham 101 Maria Callas master classes - complete from Juilliard 104 Titta Ruffo - the complete recordings
The idea for an audio encyclopedia occurred to me late in 1995. It is simply to provide encyclopedic coverage of an aspect of recorded history through audio selections connected by HTML, the language of the World-Wide Web.
A prototype was distributed early in 1996 with the complete recordings of Enrico Caruso. It was well received in very limited distribution and both its comprehensive coverage and its sound quality were particularly noted by the recipients. Several lessons were learned in the process which are incorporated in later releases. Among them, we now include a simple Windows browser as an alternative to the commercial products; and we have upgraded the sound quality so that in most cases it now approaches that of monaural FM radio. Our hope is to use the broad coverage of each volume to inspire publication of at least selected materials in higher quality from better sources using modern processing. Ideally, the Encyclopedia will become a reference work, summarizing in sound a portion of our history otherwise preserved only in text and pictures. As with any reference, the Encyclopedia is intended to support research and education while pointing to the best materials for further investigation.
The Encyclopedia project has been reviewed in Opera News, Luister, The Record Collector and other journals around the globe. Steven Blier's article in The Yale Review reflects the purpose more effectively than most.
These discs run on a computer CD-ROM, not on a conventional CD player. They have been tested on many platforms, including PC's with various Windows implementations, Macintosh systems with OS 7 and above, and Unix boxes. On the most common configuration (a PC with a 486/100 or above and Windows 95 or above), the discs will operate without requiring any installation. On a Mac, you should download Quick Time 4 from Apple and install it into your preferred browser. You then simply browse WELCOME.HTM on the disc - no Internet connection is required. Earlier discs in this series contained instructions and files to support the Mac; they are no longer required.
All but AE001 "Men of Empire" can also run on some CD or DVD players capable of playing MP3 files. Unfortunately, the capability needed - playing 22.05 ksps files - is often not specified for such players and some do not provide it. In addition, such players vary in display properties and some may not be convenient for some of these discs. Please verify operation on the drive of your choice before assuming that it will handle these discs.
I solicit your input at operas@mrichter.com with ideas for future volumes and sources of material to include in them. Production of the volumes is time-consuming and requires both an extensive library of recordings and knowledge of the subject. While I have an ample backlog of projects, a stimulating new idea is always welcome.