One assumes that Jonathan Knapp <[log in to unmask]> intends the
selection to be made from studio recordings and not those made "on the
hoof" however magnificent they may be (the Callas "Berlin" Lucia and
"Scala" Traviata, perhaps, would be two examples)?

Here are some to consider, also in no special order:

Verdi: Falstaff (Gobbi/Karajan) EMI
Wagner:Tristan & Isolde (Flagstad/Furtwangler) EMI
Puccini: Boheme (Los Angeles/Bjorling/Beecham) EMI
Wagner: Ring (Solti) Decca
Mozart: Cosi fan tutte (Schwarzkopf/Ludwig/Bohm) EMI
Wagner:Parsifal (Knappertsbusch - 1962) Philips
Mozart:Don Giovanni (Giulini) EMI

John G. Deacon
Home page: www.ctv.es/USERS/j.deacon