Opera What is the best opera recording?

Tosca by Puccini with Frene, Ramey and Domingo on DG conducted by Sinopoli and Die Zauberflote by Mozart with Fisher-Deiskau conducted by Solti on London are 2 pretty good discs( the LP of Tosca is superior) with good-very good sound and excellent performances. If you're just starting out, you may find Wagner ponderous, maybe even if you aren't starting out :-) Personally, I like the Germans, but I love the Italians. Any Verdi or Puccini are great starting places. IMHO.

If you are looking for a little adventure with opera, I suggest actually a DVD of the movie "Fitzcarraldo" by Werner Herzog, starring Klaus Kinski and featuring a soundtrack of music composed by German moog pioneer Popol Vuh (Florian Fricke), and classic opera excerpts from some of the people already listed above (Puccini, Verdi, Leoncavallo, Massenet, Bellini). The movie is stunning visually, and aurally. Herzog has an unmatched aptitude for delivering images and scenes of immesurable clarity, often decoupled from the normal portrayal or sense of time passing. The plot of the story, of course, has a central theme involving opera. You won't be disappointed.

The Ring Cycle; Weiner Philharmoniker, cond. Solti either on original vinyl or the latest CD remaster on DECCA. Great performances by the classic artists, great sound. Stereophile reviewed this CD several years ago - it might be in their archives online.

I'll try to stick the most popular ones......Some are available in both full version and highlights versions.

Bizet's "Carmen"..Callas, Gedda; Paris Opera/Pretre...or:
Johnson, Domingo; Concert version..Radio France/Maazel.

Mozart's "Magic Flute"..Gedda, Popp, Philharmonia/Klemperer..or:
Schreier, Moser; Bavarian State Opera/Sawallisch

Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro"..Ramey, Te Kanawa, Popp, Von Stade; London Philharmonic/Solti

Mozart's "Don Giovanni"..Battle, Ramey, etal; Berlin/Von Karajan

Puccini's "La Boheme"..Freni, Pavarotti; Berlin/Von Karajan

Verdi's "Aida"..Freni, Carreras; Vienna State Opera/Von Karajan

Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess"..White, Haymon; London Philharmonic/Simon Rattle

Available as a set, because both operas are short and usually performed together are Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana" and Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci"....Pavarotti, etal; National Philharmonic/Giuseppe Patane;
In Rusticana you will notice that the music at the midpoint was used as the theme music in the movie "Raging Bull".

You may also look for Verdi Highlights with samples of the Operas "Aida", "Otello", "Rigoletto", and "La Traviata", "Il Trovatore" and more. There is a good one on Polygram; catalog number 469217

I am no opera expert, but a Requiem is not an opera. It is a mass for the dead. The Rutter Requiem on Reference is an excellent recording, but it isn't an opera.