Curated category
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…
- Der Ring des NibelungenDer Ring des Nibelungen is not one opera but four, running across fifteen hours of music and spanning three generations of gods, heroes, and monsters.
- Tristan und IsoldeTristan und Isolde, Richard Wagner's music drama in three acts catalogued as WWV 90, stands apart from nearly everything else in the operatic tradition.
- 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.
- The Magic FluteThe Magic Flute, known in German as Die Zauberflöte, premiered on the 30th of September 1791 at a suburban Viennese playhouse called the Freihaus-Theater auf…
- CarmenCarmen, the four-act opera by Georges Bizet, began its life on the 3rd of March 1875 with a Paris premiere so scandalous that one critic described the title…
- 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.
- JérusalemJérusalem opened at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris on the 26th of November 1847, a grand opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi. It was not a new story.
- 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…
- Der SchauspieldirektorThe Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II issued a direct order in early 1786 that changed the course of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's career.
- Die Entführung aus dem SerailIn the western Mediterranean, North African Barbary corsairs hijacked ships belonging to Christian states under the pretext of jihad.
- 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.