Steve Schwartz wrote:

>Berlioz, maybe.  Strauss, maybe, if you count the Alpine Symphony or
>Heldenleben as a symphony.

Always a complicated matter deciding what is a symphony and probably not
worth the effort.  Berlioz, as you might note from my e-address, is my
main man.  Not my only man but well, one of my main men.  I don't care
much for the Strauss operas after Salome and Elektra but that's personal
taste and I know that the Strauss lovers have the Berlioz lovers beat
by 1000 to 1 or something like that.  Oh well.

>Tchaikovsky as a great opera composer?  Sure.  Onegin and Pique Dame
>alone are terrific.  They're also the only Tchaikovsky operas I've heard.
>I have no idea what the others are like.

I am deeply fascinated with Orleanskaya Dyeva (Maid of Orleans), Charodeika
(The Enchantress), and Mazeppa amongst other Chaikovsky operas.  So again
a matter of both exposure and personal response.

Cheers,
Yoel