STATISTICS
  (most counts current as of 1 September 2000)

 

Total Archive LPs:

ca. 50-60,000

  • Complete Operas:

ca.   8,591 (as of 13 May 2005)

  • Classical Vocal Recital LPs:

ca. 15,000

  • Choral LPs:

ca.   8,000

  • Opera-Vocal related LPs:

ca.   4,000

  • Opera-Vocal Books:

ca.   3,000

  • Autographs on LPs & Books:

ca.   8,000+

  • Videos and Film Items:

ca.   1,000

  • Opera-Vocal Ephemera:

Only God and U Haul know!


The Complete Operas in The Durbeck Archive

1642  individual opera titles by 664 individual composers
(Current as of 13 May 2005)


There are ca. 593 filler entries gleaned from the 8508 Archive operas.


It took ca. 25,000 hours to catalogue the complete operas in
The Durbeck Archive (includes all data entry and additional research).


The Archive occupies 815 linear feet of shelving on 103 feet of aisles.


The Complete Operas - The Archive Top 25 Lists
(indicated are the number of recordings in each category)

The Composers

The Operas

1.   Verdi, Giuseppe ...........................

1002

1.   TOSCA ...........................................

139

2.   Wagner, Richard ..........................

598

2.   LA TRAVIATA ................................

125

3.   Puccini, Giacomo .........................

551

3.   CARMEN ........................................

113

4.   Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus ........

506

4.   RIGOLETTO ...................................

115

5.   Donizetti, Gaetano .......................

357

5.   AIDA ................................................

109

6.   Rossini, Gioacchino .....................

266

6.   DON GIOVANNI  ............................

108

7.   Sullivan, Arthur ..............................

234

7.   LA BOHEME (Puccini) ..................

106

8.   Strauss, Richard ...........................

202

8.   LE NOZZE DI FIGARO ..................

97

9.   Bizet, Georges ..............................

159

9.   I PAGLIACCI ..................................

97

10. Bellini, Vincenzo ...........................

154

10.  IL TROVATORE ...........................

94

11. Offenbach, Jacques .....................

141

11. CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA .........

92

12. Mascagni, Pietro ..........................

131

12. DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE .....................

90

13. Massenet, Jules ...........................

123

13. FIDELIO ..........................................

87

14. Leoncavallo, Ruggiero .................

110

14. MADAMA BUTTERFLY ................

85

15. Gluck, Christoph ...........................

100

15. OTELLO (Verdi) ............................

83

16. Tchaikovsky, Peter .......................

98

16. IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA ...........

81

17. Beethoven, Ludwig von ...............

93

17.  LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR ..........

71

18. Gounod, Charles ..........................

84

18. DIE WALKÜRE ..............................

70

19. Strauss Jr., Johann ......................

83

19. UN BALLO IN MASCHERA .........

70

20. Handel, George Frideric .............

82

20. TRISTAN UND ISOLDE ................

69

21. Rimsky-Korsakov, Nicolai ...........

82

21. LA FORZA DEL DESTINO ..........

63

22. Musorgsky, Modest ......................

81

22. DIE MEISTERSINGER .................

62

23. Giordano, Umberto ......................

70

23. LOHENGRIN ..................................

61

24. Weber, Carl Maria von ................

64

24. GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG ...............

59

25. Lehar, Franz ..................................

63

25. FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER .........

57

This table is current as of 13 May 2005


Most Autographed Album and Most Autographed Book in 
The Durbeck Archive

The Most Autographed Album in The Durbeck Archive:  GALA FAREWELL  (the last performance at the old Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, 16 April 1966), MRF 7,  3 LPs,  monaural. Autographed by:   Franco Corelli, Justino Diaz, Rosalind Elias, Frank Guarerra, Jerome Hines, Dorothy Kirsten, John Macurdy, Robert Merrill, Mildred Miller, Birgit Nilsson, Jan Peerce, Roberta Peters, Regina Resnik, Cesare Siepi, Blanche Thebom, Giorgio Tozzi, Theodore Uppman, Jon Vickers

The Most Autographed Book in The Durbeck Archive:  Sokol, Martin L. THE NEW YORK CITY OPERA: An American Adventure. New York: Macmillan, 1981.  Autograhed by:   June Anderson, Shari Anderson, Kathleen Battle, Kenneth Bell, Ara Berberian, Frances Bible, Adelaide Bishop, John Cheek, Plácido Domingo, Nancy Dussault, Faith Esham, Joseph Evans, Carlisle Floyd, Maureen Forrester, Judith Forst, Harlan Foss, Glenys Fowles, Reri Grist, Frank Guarrera, Jerry Hadley, Robert Hale, Elizabeth Hines, Patricia Kern, Dorothy Kirsten, Brenda Lewis, Martha Lipton, John Macurdy, Spiro Malas, Sherrill Milnes, Carol Neblett, Louis Otey, Doug Perry, Mike Pollock, Ashley Putnam, Teresa Rácz, Sam Ramey, Julius Rudel, Carol Smith,  Richard Stilwell, Carol Vaness, Frederica Von Stade

(and five others I cannot read and have forgotten who they are)


The Durbeck Archive Complete Opera 
Performance/Recording Dates Count by Year
(LPs only - no 78s or CDs)

This table shows the count of the number of operas which were recorded in each stated year.  The dates refer to the year of each recorded performance, not the year the LP was published and issued.  For example: in the year 1907, two complete operas were recorded (DIE FLEDERMAUS and I PAGLIACCI); in 1990, only three complete operas were recorded on LP (three Hungarian operas).  In between 1907 and 1990 a lot happened and as much as has been possible is documented in The Durbeck Archive.  Continuing ........................ to 1908

1908

3

1912

7

1919

1

1921

1

1923

2

1924

3

1926

2

1927

6

1928

13

1929

12

1930

28

1931

15

1932

7

1933

13

1934

12

1935

23

1936

23

1937

47

1938

33

1939

28

1940

27

1941

27

1942

25

1943

34

1944

42

1945

7

1946

26

1947

54

1948

27

1949

94

1950

199

1951

247

1952

212

1953

238

1954

239

1955

278

1956

229

1957

218

1958

219

1959

201

1960

206

1961

178

1962

195

1963

148

1964

175

1965

138

1966

129

1967

113

1968

135

1969

126

1970

147

1971

127

1972

127

1973

154

1974

145

1975

172

1975

172

1976

160

1977

169

1978

146

1979

144

1980

133

1981

121

1982

123

1983

95

1984

67

1985

73

1986

58

1987

44

1988

23

1989

7

1990

3

              

Notes:

  • missing years means there are no Archive operas for those years

  • "recorded" for this table means recorded and issued on LP
  • any count listed above refers only to those operas in The Durbeck Archive
  • when specific dates are not listed, © dates are used when available
  • 231 opera sets do not list any date references at all