Most popular operas
These are but a few...
Aida
The action of this opera by Verdi takes place in the royal palace in ancient Egypt, where the beautiful Ethiopian princess Aïda is a captive slave of Egyptian Princess Amneris. When Ethiopian forces try to rescue Aïda, Radames, captain of the Egyptian guard and Aïda's lover, captures King Amonasro, Aïda's father. As a reward for his victory, the Egyptian king grants to Radames the hand of his daughter, Princess Amneris, who is obsessed with the captain and jealous of Aïda. On the other hand, Aïda obeys her father's wish to betray Radames, but Amneris discovers their plan and orders Radames to renounce Aïda or be buried alive. Radames is eventually led to the dungeon, where he reunites with Aïda and they both die.
Carmen
Though Carmen, by Georges Bizet, is now a universal favourite, the opera's first performances failed. Soon after the composer's death, the opera, set in a romantic Spanish world, became a big success. The gypsy girl Carmen teases Don José. The gentle peasant girl Micaela, who loves Don José , cannot break Carmen's spell, and the man gives up everything to follow the gypsy into the mountains. She quickly gets tired of Don José and runs off with the handsome bullfighter Escamillo. As Escamillo triumphs in the bullring, Don José meets Carmen in a close alley and kills her there. This opera is in French.
Don Giovanni
One of the most renowned operas, Mozart's Don Giovanni combines drama with comedy to illustrate the adventures and eventually the sad end of a seducer. When the story begins, Don Giovanni leaves Donna Anna's house, but she goes after him. The scandal alarms her father, the Commendatore, who fights a duel with Don Giovanni and is killed by him. He sets off again with his servant, Leporello, and meets the sad Donna Elvira, who loves him although he has been unfaithful to her. He leaves her quickly and he later meets a number of farmers, among them the pretty Zerlina and her fiancé, Masetto. Don Giovanni's true nature is revealed: he is as a seducer and a murderer. He escapes, only to meet later a statue of the murdered Commendatore, who sends Don Giovanni to hell.
Il Trovatore (The Trobadour)
The complicated story of Verdi's Il Trovatore is about the gypsy Azucena, whose mother was burned alive for casting a spell on the elder count di Luna's baby son. To revenge her mother's death, Azucena kidnaps the count's baby, then by mistake she throws her own son into the flames. Horrified, she escapes with the count's stolen baby and raises him as her own son, Manrico. At the beginning of the opera, the younger count, Manrico's brother, is waiting for a mysterious troubadour who has captured the heart of the Duchess Leonora. The troubadour Manrico appears, and the two men, not knowing that they are brothers, fight a duel. When Leonora hears a rumor that Manrico has been killed by the count's forces, she thinks of becoming a nun, but her lover eventually runs to her side. The count's forces raid the couple's hiding place. On the other hand, Azucena is sentenced to death. Trying to save his mother, Manrico is also captured and taken to prison. The furious count forces Azucena to watch her supposed son Manrico's execution, but the gypsy screams that the count has killed his own brother. In that way, she has finally taken revenge on her mother's death.
La Bohème
Puccini's most passionate opera describes life among the bohemians, the poor artists of Paris's Latin Quarter. Hungry but cheerful, the poet Rodolfo shares a very modest attic with the painter Marcello and two others. One moonlit Christmas Eve, the frail seamstress Mimi comes to Rodolfo's door for help, and the two fall passionately in love, while Marcello carries on an affair with Musetta. But Rodolfo is jealous of Mimi, and they part, until Musetta reveals that Mimi is dying. Rodolfo runs to Mimi's side, and the lovers are united, only to be separated forever by Mimi's death.
La Traviata (The Fallen Woman)
Verdi's opera La Traviata caused a scandal with its kind portrait of Violetta, an open-minded woman who is redeemed by love. When she learns of Alfredo's adoration for her, sick Violetta abandons a life of partying to live with her lover, and the two are very happy. But Alfredo's father warns Violetta that her past behaviour threatens his son's reputation and asks her to abandon her lover. Violetta agrees, leaving Alfredo furious. Then Violetta falls mortally ill, and Alfredo's father, taking pity on her, informs his son of her sacrifice. The young man flies to Violetta's arms.
Madama Butterfly
One of the world's most popular operas, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, explores the consequences of obsessive love. Pinkerton, a U.S. Navy officer in Japan, arranges what he considers a temporary marriage to Cio-Cio-San, called Butterfly, who renounces religion and family for him. When Pinkerton leaves for America, Butterfly ignores warnings of his unfaithfulness and expects him to return. She is shocked when Pinkerton comes back with an American wife. Butterfly kills herself with a sword.
Nabucco
Verdi's first truly successful opera opens in ancient Jerusalem, as King Nabucco of Babylon, whose daughter Fenena is a hostage to the Jews, invades the Jewish Temple. Fenena converts to Judaism and frees the Jewish prisoners. The slave Abigaille, who claims to be Fenena's sister, organizes a plot to imprison Nabucco and steal the crown of Jerusalem for herself. In his cell, Nabucco has a vision that Fenena is about to be executed, but he escapes in time to free her and also converts to Judaism, as a repentant Abigaille poisons herself.
Pagliacci (The Clowns)
Leoncavallo's sentimental work takes place in an Italian village, where a group of travelling actors are to perform. The jealous Canio, head of the troupe, discovers that his actress-wife Nedda has decided to leave him, as she has a lover. Canio declares that the guilty man will reveal himself at that evening's performance. During the play, when Nedda as Columbine addresses Harlequin, her stage lover, Canio forces his wife to reveal her lover's real name. Terrified, Nedda leaves the stage, but Canio runs after her and stabs her to death. Nedda whispers the name of Silvio, and Canio kills him. The audience is paralyzed with fear by the drama that has suddenly and tragically taken place.
Rigoletto
Realistic characters and energetic music have made Verdi's Rigoletto a long-time favorite. Rigoletto is the hunchbacked court jester whose daughter, Gilda, has caught the eye of the seducer Duke of Mantua. The duke declares his love, and the girl discovers a passion for him. Court nobles, annoyed by the jester's many insults, kidnap Gilda, who is delivered to the Duke and seduced by him. Determined to show his daughter the Duke's true nature, Rigoletto takes her to the house of Sparafucile. Rigoletto has paid Sparafucile to kill the duke, but Maddalena, Sparafucile's sister, convinces her brother to murder somebody else. Knowing she will be murdered, Gilda appears in disguise, is stabbed and delivered to Rigoletto in a sack, in place of the duke's body. At the last minute, the horrified hunchback finds his daughter in the sack as she whispers her last words of love for the duke and dies.
The Barber of Seville
Though its premiere was a failure, Rossini's The Barber of Seville has become a standard of comic opera repertory. Figaro, town barber and jack-of-all-trades, learns that Count Almaviva loves the young, rich and beautiful Rosina, the intended wife of strict Dr. Bartolo. Rosina is equally in love with the count, who she has never met, and drops him a love note from her balcony. Figaro plans an escape, employing a series of tricks that eventually bring the lovers together.
The Magic Flute
First performed only two months before Mozart's death, The Magic Flute is the story of true lovers who must prove their love before they can be together. Prince Tamino ends up into the land of the Queen of Night, where he is attacked by a giant serpent. He is rescued by three ladies, who show him a picture of the beautiful Pamina, and Tamino instantly falls in love. Protected by a golden flute, he sets off with the bird-catcher Papageno to rescue Pamina from the sorcerer Sarastro. But the sorcerer is actually a wise priest, who tells Pamina that though she and Tamino are destined for each other, they must first pass some tests. The lovers end up together, as the forces of light overcome the darkness, and the magic flute carries the final melody. This opera is in German.
Tosca
Puccini's Tosca begins in a church, where the artist Cavaradossi paints a Mary Magdalen portrait while dreaming of his lover, Tosca, a singer. Suddenly the escaped political prisoner Angelotti appears. When Tosca arrives, she is suspicious that Cavaradossi has another lover, but the painter reassures her and hides Angelotti. The angry Scarpia arrives. He makes the jealous singer betray her lover's secret. Cavaradossi is arrested and brutally tortured. Tosca reveals Angelotti's hiding place. As the artist is going to be executed, Tosca kills him with a knife. Joyfully, she goes to free Cavaradossi, but Scarpia's final cruel orders were to execute him. As the police go after her, Tosca throws herself from a wall and dies.
Turandot
The story of this Puccini opera takes place In Peking's Imperial Palace, the beautiful Princess Turandot receives unlucky suitors from everywhere, who must answer three riddles to win her hand -or die. Calaf, son of the exiled King Timur of Tartary, is struck with Turandot's beauty, and ignoring protests from his father and Liù, the servant girl who loves him, he goes to the Palace to try his luck. Although he guesses the three riddles, Calaf offers his life to Turandot if she can discover his secret name. Searching the city in vain, the princess finally tortures Liù, driving her to suicide. Turandot, weeping in Calaf's arms, declares that his secret name is Love.