The online opera guide of the top 100 operas
Read Interesting facts and hear great YouTube Videos sung by the best singer of the famous Operas.
The list of operas is alphabetically sorted in the main Menu above
Online opera guide and synopsis to Giuseppe Verdi’s DON CARLO Don Carlos is an opera for great voices. Each of the six main characters receives a convincing dramatic foundation and development, and each singer has great musical highlights. Schiller wrote a brilliant literary model with his novel “Don Karlos” . It is a play about […]
Online opera guide & synopsis to Wagner’s PARSIFAL Like Verdi’s Falstaff and Puccini’s Turandot, “Parsifal” belongs to the last, age-wise words of a master. With “Parsifal”, Wagner was striving for something universal that would elevate the practice of art to the rank of a festival, a “stage-festival consecration play”, in Wagner’s words. This turned into […]
Online opera guide & synopsis to Puccini’s MANON LESCAUT “Manon Lescaut” is the opera that made Puccini the star of the operatic firmament. The work overwhelms the listener with motifs and melodies and never was he closer to the music of Richard Wagner than here. With “Donna non vidi mai”, the Intermezzo and the Love […]
Online opera guide and synopsis to Wagner’s TRISTAN UND ISOLDE Wagner’s ambition was to compose the greatest love music that had ever been heard. To do this, he had to invent a new musical language for “Tristan and Isolde. He lived up to this claim and composed a work that, with its sensual, stirring chromaticism, […]
Online opera guide and synopsis to Cherubini’s MEDEA No other opera is so closely associated with the name of an artist as Cherubini’s Medea. Maria Callas’ embodiment of this ancient figure was an elementary event that led to a renaissance of this opera in the middle of the last century, the force of which still […]
Online opera guide & synopsis to Bellini’s LA SONNAMBULA With “La sonnambula” Bellini created his first great masterpiece. The singers Battista Rubini and Giuditta Pasta made this opera immortal. 120 years later Maria Callas triggered a renaissance of this work, which continues to this day. A few months after La sonnambula Bellini wrote the greatest […]
Online opera guide & synopsis to Mozart’s IDOMENEO Mozart considered Idomeneo to be his greatest work in the genre of opera. Inspired by the operas of Gluck, which he had seen in his Parisian period, he wrote perhaps the best baroque opera in history.
Online opera guide & synopsis to Wagner’s DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG The Meistersinger are perhaps Wagner’s greatest stroke of genius. The musical themes are dazzling, the orchestration and compositional technique is masterful, the plot is originally designed, and with Hans Sachs, Wagner has created a unique role-portrait.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Nicolai’s THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR Nicolai’s comedy combines elements of Italian opera buffa and early German Romanticism. The overture, the drinking song, beautiful ensembles and the moon choir still inspire today and make it the main work of the German Singspiel of the Biedermeier period.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Rossini’s GUILLAUME TELL Rossini’s Tell is a great work, yet it is not often performed, the scenic effort and casting difficulties are too great. Nevertheless, it is one of the most influential operas that has co-founded the modern tenor and the Grand Opéra.
Online opera guide & synopsis to Berg’s WOZZECK Wozzeck is the most important opera of atonal music of the 21st century and the first full-length work of this style. Berg shows himself to be a great dramatist who continues to captivate audiences with this work to this day.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Korngold’s the dead city This work belongs to the great operas of the 20th century. Korngold once again evokes the intoxication of late romantic music, narcotic in its opulence and melancholy.
Online opera guide and synopsis of Monteverdi’s L’INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA “l’incoronazione di Poppea” inspires with a gripping plot with people made of flesh and blood. It is THE masterpiece of the early baroque period and Monteverdi presents himself as a mature master and innovative creator, who significantly influenced the history of opera with this “dramma […]
Online opera guide and synopsis to Tchaikowsky’s THE QUEEN OF SPADES At the peak of his ability as a composer and in a two-month creative frenzy, Tchaikovsky composed a true masterpiece based on a libretto of his brother Modest and a novel of Pushkin.
Online opera guide & synopsis to Gluck’s ORFEO ED EURIDICE Orfeo is the oldest opera that has been in the repertoire without interruption and is one of the most influential works in the history of opera. And with “che faro senza Euridice” he has succeeded in creating the first mega-hit in operatic history.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Händel’s RINALDO Rinaldo is Handel’s opera with the most hits and a firework of beautiful arias and stage effects. It is unbelievable that this opera was a Sleeping Beauty sleep for 200 years.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Strauss’ DER ROSENKAVALIER The Rosenkavalier offers music lovers two of the most sublime scenes in the entire opera literature. The presentation of the silver rose and the closing scene are to be mentioned. Like Mozart, Strauss was a composer for female voices and with this opera he created with […]
Online opera guide and synopsis to Saint-Saens’ SAMSON ET DALILA Samson et Dalila is one of the 5 greatest works of French opera literature. Three immortal arias for mezzo-soprano, the overwhelming Bacchanale, an attractive tenor role and the great choirs leave lasting impressions. The second act shows the greatest emotions and passions.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Verdi’s LA FORZA DEL DESTINO La forza del destino is one of three Spanish operas (Don Carlo, Forza del destino, Il Trovatore) by Verdi, all of which enter the heroic-historical world of the grand opéra. It can justifiably be counted among the great works of Verdi. The many magnificent […]
Online opera guide and synopsis to Gershwin’s PORGY AND BESS With “Porgy and Bess” Gershwin reached the peak of his career. With this composition he has succeeded in creating a work of international standing, one of the great folk operas in history. The performance of this opera involves great difficulties, which is why the work […]
The portrait of George Gershwin’s aria SUMMERTIME Read Interesting facts and hear great YouTube Videos about the famous Aria “SUMMERTIME“.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Mussorgsky’s BORIS GODUNOV With Boris Godunov, Mussorgsky wrote a unique opera, a monolith of opera history. The most Russian of all operas inspires with great music and most fascinating scenes. Many of his musical ideas became decades later the inspiration for a new generation of artists.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Verdi’s SIMON BOCCANEGRA With the leading role of Simon Boccanegra, Verdi has written a grandiose role portrait. The somewhat convoluted plot offered the composer room for great scenes. Like Macbeth, Simon Boccanegra is undoubtedly a masterpiece, but nevertheless remains an opera for the connoisseur.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Strauss’ ELEKTRA Few operas can evoke such storms of applause at the end of a performance as Elektra. Its music and its leading role is unique in opera literature, and Strauss, the great tone painter, was able to go to the limits of his time with this music.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Donizetti’s LA FILLE DU REGIMENT “La fille de régiment” is a firework of voices and calls for two great interpreters of the leading roles. The female lead role of Marie requires a great voice with that of an extraordinary theatrical personality, and the male lead requires the tenoral tour […]
Online opera guide & synopsis to Wagner’s RING OF THE NIBELUNG The Ring of the Nibelung is a total work of art on a par with works of world literature such as Homer’s Iliad or Dante’s Divina commedia. It is astonishing how homogeneous this work appears to us, which was created over a period of […]
Online opera guide & synopsis to Wagner’s TWILIGHT OF GODS The Ring of the Nibelung is a total work of art on a par with works of world literature such as Homer’s Iliad or Dante’s Divina commedia. It is astonishing how homogeneous this work appears to us, which was created over a period of 25 […]
Online opera guide and synopsis to Wagner’s SIEGFRIED The Ring of the Nibelung is a total work of art on a par with works of world literature such as Homer’s Iliad or Dante’s Divina commedia. It is astonishing how homogeneous this work appears to us, which was created over a period of 25 years and […]
Online opera guide & synopsis to Wagner’s RHINEGOLD With “Rheingold,” Wagner depicts the worlds of the Rhinemaidens and the gods, the underworld of the Nibelungs and Valhalla Castle with masterful musical means. After a composer’s block of almost six years, the 40-year-old’s creativity exploded and he composed this colorful world within six months. It is […]
Online opera guide and synopsis to Verdi’s MACBETH If the success of an opera were determined by its greatness, Macbeth would be at the forefront of the opera-goers’ favour. Perhaps it is the lack of a love story (Italians call Verdi’s Macbeth “l’opera senza amore”) that stands in the way of the popularity of this […]
Online opera guide and synopsis to Weill’s and Brecht’s THREEPENNY OPERA The genesis of the Threepenny Opera was dramatic. Everyone expected a failure. But the premiere on August 31, 1928 became an unexpected triumphant success and made Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht all of a sudden famous. Weill’s melodies became popular and the work was […]
Online opera guide & synopsis to Gluck’s IPHIGENIE EN TAURIDE Together with his “Orfeo ed Euridice”, “Iphigenia on Tauris” is Gluck’s masterpiece. The melodies are straightforward and beautiful, the orchestration is gripping, the drama is coherent and the three main roles are captivating personalities and demand great, mature artists.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Leonard Bernstein’s CANDIDE This operetta by Leonard Bernstein is an absolute jewel. Each of the pieces has stunning humour, passion and musicality. It is both comedy and social criticism. It was the overture that made it famous. You almost have to go back to Rossini to find an overture […]
Online opera guide and synopsis to Gioacchino Rossini’s L’ITALIANA IN ALGERI The music of the Italiana in Algeri is gorgeous and sparkles with wit and melody. The finale of the first act can be considered the invention of slapstick comedy par excellence and for the female lead role Rossini created the vocal type of the […]
Online opera guide and synopsis to Franz Lehar’s the land of smile The music that Lehar presents to us in “das Land des Lächelns” (“the Land of Smiles”) is stunning. Lehar himself said of his music that he always sought the melody. And what splendor he offers us in this work! Each of the pieces […]
Online opera guide & synopsis to Mozart’s DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL Mozart was to write a Singspiel for Emperor Joseph II. He fulfilled his wish and wrote the first truly great work for this genre. At the same time he beyond it and wrote one of his great masterpieces. It became one of his […]
Online opera guide & synopsis to Giuseppe Verdi’s DON CARLO Don Carlos is an opera for great voices. Each of the six main characters receives a convincing dramatic foundation and development, and each singer has great musical highlights. Schiller wrote a brilliant literary model with his novel “Don Karlos” . It is a play about […]
Online opera guide and synopsis to Francesco Cilea’s ADRIANA LECOUVREUR Cilea had a great sense of drama and was a gifted melodist. It is a veritable Primadonna opera and can achieve an extraordinary effect with great voices.
Online opera guide & synopsis to Vincenzo Bellini’s NORMA Norma is an effective opera written in the heroic spirit of its time. A story full of passion and with a tragic end. What Lucia di Lammermoor was for Donizetti is Norma for Bellini, it is his signature work and perhaps the greatest master work of […]
Online opera guide & synopsis to Richard Wagner’s LOHENGRIN For a long time, Lohengrin was Richard Wagner’s most frequently performed work. King Ludwig II saw it in Munich in 1857 and left the theatre in tears. This experience should not only change his, but also Wagner’s life.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Charles Gounod’s FAUST Gounod’s Faust is one of the great operas. It is a masterpiece with many gripping scenes that have become famous. The role of Margeritue is one of the most beautiful and demanding roles in opera literature.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi “From a musical point of view, Gianni Schicchi is Puccini’s most ingenuous and wittiest score. But that’s not all: As a theatrical oeuvre “Gianni Schicchi” belongs to the most perfect works in the history of Italian operas. Libretto, composition and Comedy form a perfect unity. […]
Online opera guide and synopsis to Giuseppe Verdi’s OTELLO This opera by Giuseppe Verdi is considered a congenial work on Shakespeare’s contribution to world literature. For many tenors, the role of Otello is the crowning achievement of their career.
The online opera guide to DON PASQUALE Don Pasquale belongs to the 3 great Buffo operas of the Belcanto period. Despite severe health problems Donizetti created a work with so many great musical ideas in this late work.
The online opera guide to UN BALLO IN MASCHERA After the music-dramatic operas “Macbeth” and “Simon Boccanegra”, Verdi returned to the Belcantist number opera with “Un ballo in maschera”. With this work Verdi offers the listener five brilliant parts and magnificent scenes. Already the premiere was one of Verdi’s most brilliant successes of his career, […]
The online opera guide to HÄNSEL UND GRETEL Humperdinck’s fairytale opera is loved all over the world for its folk music. Hardly any other work of opera literature has been translated into so many languages. The work is one of the most performed operas in the world.
The online opera guide to LA CENERENTOLA Rossinis wrote a rousing opera in just 24 days. Each of the numbers of this opera is a great piece, especially the ensemble scenes are of the greatest mastery.
The online opera guide to EUGEN ONEGIN Tchaikovsky wrote ten operas. Eugene Onegin is his most famous and most beautiful opera. Emotional music, dazzling instrumentation and inner drama characterize this work. Tchaikovsky also gives us beautiful musical orchestral passages reminiscent of his greatest ballets.
The online opera guide to TANNHÄUSER Tannhäuser is probably the most human hero among all the figures created by Wagner, who cannot escape the carnal lust (Venus), although he strives for spirituality (Elisabeth). Wagner himself has described that his “inclination to sensual impetuosity” is in conflict with the “seriousness of artistic feeling”.
The online opera guide to PAGLIACCI Pagliacci was a stroke of genius of youth. Leoncavallo was 33 years old when he composed this masterpiece. He owes his fame to a single work and throughout his life Leoncavallo searched for a second “Pagliacci”. He shared this fate with Pietro Mascagni, who two years earlier wrote the […]
The online opera guide to DER FREISCHÜTZ Along with Wagner’s “Meistersinger von Nürnberg,” Freischütz is considered the German national opera par excellence. Von Weber shows himself to be a brilliant theater dramatist and creator of great melodies, and with this work he made a decisive contribution to the transfiguration of German Romanticism. Few operas have contributed […]
The online opera guide to TURANDOT In his last opera Puccini shows himself at the height of his compositional art. The melodic power of the over 60-year-old had not diminished. On the contrary, he draws from the full, from Liu’s intimate aria to Calaf’s splendid aria, mass scenes and parodic elements, all masterfully resolved.
The online opera guide to DIE FLEDERMAUS Johan Strauss’ Fledermaus reflects the unforgettable magic of the belle epoque and the charm of Vienna.
The online opera guide to RIGOLETTO The opera is regarded as Verdi’s first masterpiece and established his worldwide fame. The third act is one of the highlights of all opera literature.
The online opera guide to DON GIOVANNI In order to describe the final result of the collaboration between Da Ponte and Mozart, superlatives must not be neglected. “World theatre at the level of Don Qujote and Hamlet” or “opera of the operas” are attributes heard and read again and again.
The online opera guide to MADAMA BUTTERFLY For Puccini, the Butterfly was “the most soulful, expressive opera he had written”. None of the heroines of the Puccini operas can keep up with Butterfly. No wonder Butterfly is one of the most coveted roles of the sopranos in all opera literature.
The online opera guide to DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE Mozart finished the work in September of 1791, the year of his death, and by November he was already in bed sick and died on December 5. It is inconceivable that this magnificent opera was written in the shadow of his death. The Magic Flute became the most […]
The online opera guide and synopsis to Elisir d’amore Donizetti wrote the opera in incredible 13 days. Together with his Don Pasquale and Rossini’s Barbiere di Siviglia, Elisir d’amore forms the luminous triumvirate of the best Italian buffo operas of the 19th century (Csampai/Holland).
The online opera guide to COSI FAN TUTTE When Mozart wrote “Cosi fan tutte” in 1790, he was economically devastated. He wrote this opera in an incredible 2 months in his penultimat year of death. Mozart again offers us an abundance of melodies. Especially the ensemble scenes like the love duets “soave sia il vento” […]
Online opera guide and synopsis to Puccini’s LA BOHÈME This opera offers Puccini at his best. Every detail of this work is masterfully composed and the melodies are passionate and tender. The opera is one of the most performed of the entire opera repertoire.
The online opera guide to MANON Massenet’s Manon is one of the absolute highlights of French opera. The role of Manon is one of the most impressive role portraits in opera literature. Experience the great wealth of ideas Massenet has composed in it.
The online opera guide & synopsis to IL TROVATORE It was Caruso who said, that Il Trovatore is very easy to cast, namely «with the four best voices in the world». Experience the infinite abundance of great musical themes Verdi has composed into this opera.
The online opera guide and synopsis on NABUCCO Nabucco was Verdi’s first work for Olympus. After the bitter years of 1838-40, overshadowed by crises, it was Verdi’s return to the light. Verdi displayed a gigantic wealth of ideas in “Nabucco” and the work became a sensational success. He later called the seventeen-year creative frenzy that […]
The online opera guide to DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER With the “Flying Dutchman” Wagner succeeded in creating his first masterpiece. The perfect orchestral language, the grandiose leitmotifs and the magnificent choral scenes make this work one of the German composer’s top works.
The online opera guide and synopsis on LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR Interesting facts and great YouTube Videos about Gaetano Donizetti’s LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR. Highlights are «Veranno a te sull’aure» with Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti, , «Regnava nel silenzio» with Anna Netrebko, the «Mad scene» with Joan Sutherland, “Tu che a Dio spiegasti le ali” with […]
The online opera guide on LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN Interesting facts and great YouTube Videos about Jacques Offenbach’s «LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN». Highlights are «Il était une fois à la cour d’Eisenach» with Placido Domingo, «Les oiseaux dans la charmille» with Joan Sutherland and the Barcarolle.
The online opera guide about CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA Interesting facts and great YouTube Videos about Pietro Mascagni’s CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA. Highlights are «Ineggiamo» with Maria Callas«, Quel vino e generoso » with Franco Corelli and the «Intermezzo».
The online opera guide about THE VALKYRIE “The Valkyrie” offers a wealth of great scenes that belong to the greatest in all of opera literature. First and foremost Wotan’s farewell scene and Sieglinde’s and Siegmund’s happiness in love.
The online opera guide of LA TRAVIATA Verdi has rarely identified himself with a role as much as with Violetta’s. Due to his biography, he was able to put himself in the characters’ shoes to the highest degree, and never was his music more soulful and tragic than in this opera. Traviata became the most […]
The online opera guide to LE NOZZE DI FIGARO That Da Ponte and Mozart were able to create a masterpiece out of this intricate comedy is a miracle. With “Le nozze di figaro” Mozart not only wrote wonderful situation comedy with stunning music, but also five immortal role portraits for the main characters.
The online operaguide and Synopsis to TOSCA Love, death and terror. Everything is in this opera. Puccini created three great role portraits which, with gripping duets and famous arias, made “Tosca” one of the most frequently performed operas.
The online opera guide to ANDREA CHÉNIER Umberto Giordano achieved a sensational success with this opera even before his thirtieth birthday. He became immortal and, together with Mascagni, Leoncavallo and Puccini, one of the four brightest stars in the “Verismo sky”.
The online opera Guide to FIDELIO Hardly any other work occupied Beethoven so persistently as his only opera. Only with the third version did it reach its definitive version. Beethoven created scenes that went down in the history of opera and still touch us today with their power and truthfulness.
The online opera guide to CARMEN “Carmen” belongs to the imperishable masterpieces of opera history. The role of Carmen is one of the most attractive roles ever written for female voices, and the work became the most performed opera in the entire repertoire.
The online opera Guide and Synopsis to IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA The Barber is rightly one of the most popular operas in the entire repertoire and is perhaps the opera comedy par excellence. An intoxicating music and the hilarious situation comedy unite to form a great masterpiece.
Online opera guide and synopsis to Giuseppe Verdi’s AIDA With “Aida” Verdi created one of the absolute highlights of opera history and offers the music lover everything opera can do. The popularity of the work is unbroken: Mass scenes like the Triumphal March thrill the general public, intimate scenes like the farewell of Aida and […]
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