The first rapresentation was at "Teatro La Fenice" (La Fenice Theatre), in Venice on March 9th 1844.• FALSTAFF by Giuseppe VerdiFamous italian opera, is the last of Giuseppe Verdi, composed of three acts, libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on "Le allegre comari di Windsor" (William Shakespeare's "The merry wives of Windsor").The first rapresentation was at the "Teatro alla Scala" (the Scala Theatre), in Milan, on February 9th 1893.• GIANNI SCHICCHI by Giacomo PucciniIt is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, based on a story that is referred to in Dante's "The Divine Comedy".• IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA by Gioachino RossiniThis is a very famous italian opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, libretto by Cesare Sterbini from the homonymous comedy by P. Augustin Beaumarchais.The first representation was at "Teatro Argentina" in Rome, on February 20th 1816.• I LOMBARDI ALLA PRIMA CROCIATA by Giuseppe VerdiIt is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, libretto byTemistocle Solera. ‎For all opera fans! Famous Italian Operas From the first opera, Dafne, composed by Jacopo Peri in 1598, to centuries of exquisite masterpieces, Italy has been at the centre of the development of this art. An opera of opposites, Tchaikovsky pits Tatyana’s rustic and open-hearted musical language against Onegin’s starkly cynical one. According to Da Ponte, it was the composer’s idea to make an opera of Figaro, the most controversial play of its time. The Italian style influenced strongly many important foreign composers, particularly Germans like Handel (who lived and wrote Italian opera in England), Hasse, Hassler, etc. Wozzeck’s hallucinations of apocalypse become more than just metaphors, propelled by a lush, atonal score that is at once exquisitely orchestrated and rigorously structured in a kind of homage to classical forms; all the better to give heartrending voice, through Wozzeck and his equally doomed Marie, to a nightmare reality in which the poor and vulnerable are tormented and abandoned. Yet Italian opera would stimulate the French to make their own experiments at the genre and, paradoxically, it would be an Italian-born composer, Jean-Baptiste Lully , who would found a lasting French operatic tradition. Opera (7): 20th Century Opera Author: David Paul Wagner Recommended recording of Britten’s Peter Grimes:  Alan Oke, Giselle Allen, David Kempster, Alexander Hutton, Gaynor Keeble, Charmain Bedford, Robert Murray, Henry Waddington, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Christopher Gillett, Charles Rice, Stephen Richardson; Chorus of Opera North; Chorus of Guildhall School of Music and Drama; Britten-Pears Orchestra/Steuart Bedford. These are fact-based lists about famous operas by composer, language, and more. With short musical themes that define each of his characters and their worlds and which – master orchestrator that he was – are conjured back into the score in a way that makes them sound the same but always different. In Leporello’s Catalogue Aria he created a piece unlike anything else in all opera. From Poppea and Nero’s first smouldering, post-coital duet, ‘Signor, deh non partire’, to the astringent chromatics of ‘Non morir Seneca’, the hypnotic beauty of Arnalta’s ground bass lullaby, ‘Oblivion soave’, and the shattered desolation of Ottavia’s ‘Addio Roma’, the writing is unfailingly psychologically acute. “La donna è mobile” from Verdi’s Rigoletto. Alban Berg’s expressionist first opera is as viscerally wrenching today as the audience found the premiere in Berlin in 1925 – and it remains as socio-politically radical; one of most powerfully incisive, influential works in the entire repertoire, relating the tragedy of an ordinary soldier who is driven to madness and brutal murder by the grotesque cruelty of his supposed superiors. Bask in the glorious sounds of some of the world’s greatest singers singing tunes from the world’s most famous operas. Never let the facts get in the way of a good opera. Peter Grimes himself – an impractical dreamer with anger issues, whose bruised young apprentices have the unfortunate tendency of dying – is hardly the most sympathetic role. Premiered in 1643, Monteverdi’s last opera is Venetian to the core: a morally ambiguous, multi-layered drama of court intrigues, contract killings and broken promises among the high- and low-born subjects of a psychotic emperor. In northern Italy, near Lake Garda, there is the city of Verona with its What is the difference between a musical and an opera? And nowhere more so than in the Act I love duet for Otello and Desdemona. With a culture like no other, its no wonder why Italian Americans have made such an impact in the music scene through the years. By 1790 over 70 productions of the opera had been produced and it had been performed in all the major European cities. Operas are usually performed in opera houses. Although best known for his Eugene Onegin , Tchaikovsky composed a number of famous operas in his life, including Iolanta , The Queen of Spades , and The Enchantress . Recommended recording of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea: Sonya Yoncheva (Poppea), Kate Lindsay (Nerone), Stéphanie d’Oustrac (Ottavia), Les Arts Florissants, William Christie, Jan Lauwers (director), A rollercoaster opera of high emotions that features some of Puccini’s finest orchestrations. Georges Bizet: Carmen. Demonstrate your knowledge of the 50 most performed operas by the most important opera composers. The second instalment of the colossal Ring tetralogy is packed full of musical wonders. Opera is the quintessential element of Italian culture. Long before the term was coined, Puccini here created an operatic genre: the political thriller. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther Long and on the novel "Madame Chrysanthème" (1887) by Pierre Loti.The original version of the opera, in two acts, was premiered on February 17th, 1904, at "La Scala" in Milan. Set against the sinister backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition, it is unmatched for spectacle and drama – not least in the auto da fe of Act III – while Verdi lets his musical imagination run riot with moments such as the monks’ haunting prayer early in Act II. His realisation has come too late, and the damage he caused cannot be undone. Here his music reflects each tiny twist and turn of the plot, reaching extraordinary heights of complexity as the audience experiences every fleeting emotion that the individual characters are feeling; few operatic comedies can match Figaro’s combination of wit with emotional truth. It shows the problem of violence and the m afia in the north of Naples , particularly within the criminal organisation known as Camorra . Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. At just over four hours, Wagner’s score was his longest yet, but unlike Tristan und Isolde’s musical and dramatic stases (see No. Recommended recording of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin: Simon Keenlyside, Krassimira Stoyanova, Pavol Breslik, Peter Rose; Royal Opera House/Robin Ticciati; dir. Paul Agnew (Caen, 2017), Read our reviews of the latest Monteverdi recordings here, Wagner’s consummately beautiful comic opera explores the heart of the human soul. Recommended recording of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Adam, Evans, Kollo, Donath; Staatskapelle Dresden/Karajan, Verdi’s grandest opera combines spectacle with moments of exquisite intimacy. Coming in at No. Jonathan Kent (Covent Garden 2011), Read our reviews of the latest Puccini recordings here, In this evocative, bleak work, Britten ratchets up the tension within a small coastal village. The Italian composer was born in 1792 and died in 1868. Recommended recording of Verdi’s Otello: Vickers, Rysanek, Gobbi, Andreolli, Carlin, Mazzoli, Calabrese, Kerns, Pirazzini; Rome Opera Orchestra & Chorus/Tullio Serafin, An opera of perfect proportions, both thematically and musically balanced. Opera is a drama set to music. Recommended recording of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo: Cyril Auvity, Hannah Morrison, Paul Agnew, Miriam Allan, Lea Desandre, Carlo Vistoli, Sean Clayton, Zachary Wilder; Les Arts Florissants/Paul Agnew; dir. Read our reviews of the latest Debussy recordings here, A revolutionary chord heralds the start of modern opera and a new way of thinking. The glorious music, arresting from the start, mirrors the opera’s conceit of tradition’s renewal through innovation and acceptance of outside influence – Wagner’s use of Baroque counterpoint and Lutheran chorales are perfumed by judicious use of daring chromatic harmony. In portraying these dark situations and characters – notably the unforgettable evil police chief Scarpia – in his score, Puccini opened up novel areas of harmonic and orchestral expression. Strauss intended them that way, with the characters stepping out of time, but his first wholly original collaboration with the Viennese poet and playwright Hugo von Hofmannsthal is also shrewd and pointed. If the drama is taut then the score is as expansive as anything Puccini composed. ADDucation Tips: Click column headings with arrows to sort famous operas. Opera (1): Opera Before 1800 Opera (2): 19th Century German Opera (except Wagner) Opera (3): Operas of Richard Wagner Opera (4): 19th Century Italian Opera (YOU ARE HERE) Opera (5): 19th Century French Opera Opera (6): Other 19th Century Opera (Russian, English, Czech, etc.) The intricate plot, placing the relationship between Caesar and Cleopatra at its centre, never loses its focus, thanks partly to Nicola Francesco Haym’s brilliant libretto, but also to Handel’s dazzlingly original recitative work whose striking modulations constantly surprise and delight. However, some operas stand out above the rest for their brilliant story and music. Recommended recording of Puccini: La bohème: Michael Fabiano, Nicole Car, Simona Mihai et al; Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House/Antonio Pappano; dir. A rapidly repeated rhythm on the xylophone, representing a water wheel, sets Janáček’s masterpiece into motion, and so begins a devastatingly poignant tale of love, jealousy and misguided morality in rural Moravia. • 1760 La buona figliuola (Niccolò Piccinni). Performers Like many fin de siècle French composers, Debussy was at one point a fervent Wagnerian. The first rapresentation was at the "Teatro alla Scala" (the Scala Theatre), in Milan, on February 9th 1893. An opera is like a play in which everything is sung instead of spoken. Later, when the tables are turned, Onegin’s change of heart is made plain in his sudden harmonic shift to the romantic figure he should always have been, while Tatyana is now stuck in a removed minor key. Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. With links to: the scene itself (with movie, libretto and more information), the roles, the composer and the opera. • ANDREA CHENIER by Umberto GiordanoIt is an opera in four pictures of Umberto Giordano on the libretto by Luigi Illica. After the Emperor had given it the go-ahead, the work was premiered in Vienna on 1 May 1786 and has been entertaining audiences since. The most famous Italian operas of all time Opera is the quintessential element of Italian culture. Figaro is unusually rich in ensembles, where the test for the composer is to maintain individual vocal character and specific individual emotions while the other characters are singing something entirely different – a trick Mozart pulls off with flying colours, notably in the sextet in the trial scene in Act III that was Mozart’s own favourite piece in his score. But in his only complete opera he sought to realise his own rather different ideal of opera. Ruggero Cappuccio (Teatro Verdi, Busseto, 2001), An extraordinary creation that sets its glittering music at the service of the text. world famous ancient Arena and a very popular "Opera Season". Very little actually happens onstage, in the manner of Wagner’s beloved Greek tragedies. Giacomo Puccini (1858 – 1924) His popular • AIDA by Giuseppe VerdiOne of the most famous Italian opera, it is a melodram in four acts of Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, from a subject of Auguste Mariette.The first representation was at "Kedivial Opera House ", Cairo Egypt, Dec. 24th 1871, in occasion of the inauguration of Suez canal. Included are 141 arias from 29 operas by Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, Donizetti, Bellini, and 12 other composers. Famous Operas All Time List Opera, as works of art, rather than musical theatre, first appeared in Italy in the late 1590s and spread rapidly across Europe and the wider world. Following the bel canto era, a more direct, forceful style was rapidly popularized by Giuseppe Verdi, beginning with his biblical opera Nabucco . Check out these 6 fiery Italian series today! Like Romeo and Juliet, James Dean, Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, the best die young, thus robbing age of its wrinkled victory. First performed in Rome in 1900, Tosca was Giacomo Puccini’s fifth opera, composed at the beginning of his forties. Question 2 - I've seen 70, and of the remainder 30, 8 are sitting on my unwatched pile or I have tickets to see them this season, and 22 are yet to be purchased or ticketed. Da capo arias are exquisitely paced, with Handel’s understanding of the expressive power of the human voice unrivalled in Baroque music. Discover the Italian male singers who have made significant contribution to their field. It premiered at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan on May 21, 1892, conducted by Arturo Toscanini.• RIGOLETTO by Giuseppe VerdiIt is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, the Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play "Le roi s'amuse" by Victor Hugo. … The story is based on the 1731 novel "L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut" by the Abbé Prévost. Idomeneo Although Mozart complained of problems with Idomeneo’s first cast (describing the ageing Anton Raaff as being ‘like a statue’ in the title role), he created a breakthrough work. Everything about Verdi’s late comic opera about a plump, arrogant, cowardly knight leaps from the stage: its ingenious libretto by the composer’s long-term collaborator, Arrigo Boito, combining elements of three Shakespeare plays, The Merry Wives of Windsor and both parts of Henry IV; the detail of the orchestrations over which Verdi laboured, changing and revising right up to the day of the premiere; and its sheer wit, often displayed through Verdi’s sudden and rapid changes of musical pace and direction. Bask in the glorious sounds of some of the world’s greatest singers singing tunes from the world’s most famous operas.Performers include Luciano Pavarotti, Maria Callas, Renée Fleming, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and Anna Netrebko. operas based on the situations that Tasso originally after La donna del lago, there were 25 Italian operas based on works by Scott (the most famous being of Philip Hagemann's Shaw Sings!, two one-act operas based on theoperas It was ETA Hoffmann, whose own stories were to inspire many great musical masterworks, who called Don Giovanni ‘the opera of all operas’. Explore our best operas guide featuring the top 10 most popular operas of all time. Wagner’s description of his only comic opera as ‘something lighter’ belies the brilliance of the composer’s insights into the complications of life, love and tradition within the context of a singing competition in a medieval German town. With this handy dual-language volume, students of Italian can improve their knowledge of the language while enjoying the passion and poetry of some of the most famous arias ever written. And woe betide the theatre that brings up the houselights too soon. Nicknamed the King of the High Cs, Pavarotti is regarded as one of the best tenors of the 20th century.Also a well-known humanitarian, Luciano Pavarotti hosted annual charity concerts to raise money for various UN causes. So much so, that Tristan has been called ‘the first modern opera’, a unique watershed beyond which music changed for good. Opera (3): Operas of Richard Wagner Opera (4): 19th Century Italian Opera (YOU ARE HERE) Opera (5): 19th Century French Opera Opera (6): Other 19th Century Opera … Van Morrison ain't got nothin' on Bononcini. And then there is the brilliantly drawn cast of complex characters. From the opera Griselda to the stage of Jewel, this glorious aria set the bar high for songs about eyes. 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