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Curated category

Italian-language operas

  • OtelloOtello, Giuseppe Verdi's opera in four acts, was sixteen years in the making before it finally reached the stage at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on the 5th…
  • La traviataLa traviata, whose title translates as "The Fallen Woman", opened at La Fenice opera house in Venice on the 6th of March 1853. The audience jeered.
  • La bohèmeLa bohème, the opera Giacomo Puccini composed between 1893 and 1895, opens with a candle going out in a cold Parisian garret, a lost key, and two strangers…
  • Macbeth (Verdi)Verdi's Macbeth was born from a single practical decision: a baritone was available. In September 1846, Giuseppe Verdi received a commission from Florence's…
  • Anna BolenaFelice Romani crafted the libretto for Anna Bolena after reading Ippolito Pindemonte's Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena and Alessandro Pepoli's Anna Bolena.
  • La finta giardinieraWolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote La finta giardiniera in Munich during January 1775. He was only eighteen years old when he composed the score for this…
  • The Marriage of FigaroThe Marriage of Figaro premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on the 1st of May 1786, and on that first night the audience demanded five numbers be performed…
  • IdomeneoWolfgang Amadeus Mozart received a commission in 1780 from Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria. The Elector needed a new opera for the court carnival season.
  • Don GiovanniDon Giovanni opened at the National Theatre of Bohemia in Prague on the 29th of October 1787, and within days the city's newspapers were declaring that…
  • Falstaff (opera)Falstaff, the last opera Giuseppe Verdi ever wrote, began with a letter. In early July 1889, Verdi received a draft libretto from his collaborator Arrigo…
  • Così fan tutteThe Burgtheater in Vienna hosted the first performance of Così fan tutte on the 26th of January 1790. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart conducted this initial showing…
  • Lucio SillaWolfgang Amadeus Mozart stood at the age of 16 when he composed Lucio Silla. The young composer wrote this Italian opera seria in three acts during a single…
  • Lo sposo delusoWolfgang Amadeus Mozart began work on an opera titled Lo sposo deluso in 1783. The project started with a libretto written by Giuseppe Petrosellini for…
  • Ascanio in AlbaThe year 1771 brought a specific command from Empress Maria Theresa to her court. She needed an opera for the wedding of her son, Archduke Ferdinand Karl.
  • Mitridate, re di PontoWolfgang Amadeus Mozart stood in the city of Bologna during the summer of 1770. He was only fourteen years old when he began composing this opera seria.