List of prominent operas


Since the origins of opera in late 16th century Italy, a central repertoire has developed, shepherded by major opera composers. The earliest major opera composer is generally considered to be Claudio Monteverdi, who wrote the first prominent opera, L'Orfeo, followed by two others. Throughout the later 17th century, his successor Francesco Cavalli and the Englishman Henry Purcell wrote numerous prominent operas. The early 18th century was dominated by the operas of George Frideric Handel, while other important works include Pepusch's The Beggar's Opera, Pergolesi's La serva padrona, and various works by Jean-Philippe Rameau.
This list provides a guide to the most prominent operas, as determined by their presence on a majority of [|selected compiled lists], which date from between 1984 and 2000. The operas included cover all important genres, and include all operas regularly performed today, from seventeenth-century works to late twentieth-century operas. The brief accompanying notes offer an explanation as to why each opera has been considered important. The organisation of the list is by year of first performance, or, if this was long after the composer's death, approximate date of composition.

1600–1699

  • 1607 L'Orfeo. Widely regarded as the first operatic masterwork.
  • 1640 Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria. Monteverdi's first opera for Venice, based on Homer's Odyssey, displays the composer's mastery of portrayal of genuine individuals as opposed to stereotypes.
  • 1642 L'incoronazione di Poppea. Monteverdi's last opera, composed for a Venetian audience, is often performed today. Its Venetian context helps to explain the complete absence of the moralizing tone often associated with opera of this time.
  • 1644 Ormindo. One of the first of Cavalli's operas to be revived in the 20th century, Ormindo is considered one of his more attractive works.
  • 1649 Giasone. In Giasone Cavalli, for the first time, separated aria and recitative. Giasone was the most popular opera of the 17th century.
  • 1651 La Calisto. Ninth of the eleven operas that Cavalli wrote with Faustini is noted for its satire of the deities of classical mythology.
  • 1683 Dido and Aeneas. Often considered to be the first genuine English-language operatic masterwork. Not first performed in 1689 at a girls' school, as is commonly believed, but at Charles II's court in 1683.
  • 1692 The Fairy-Queen. A semi-opera rather than a genuine opera, this is often thought to be Purcell's finest dramatic work.

    1700–1749

  • 1710 Agrippina. Handel's last opera that he composed in Italy was a great success, and established his reputation as a composer of Italian opera.
  • 1711 Rinaldo. Handel's first opera for the London stage was also the first all-Italian opera performed on the London stage.
  • 1724 Giulio Cesare. Noted for the richness of its orchestration.
  • 1724 Tamerlano. Described by Anthony Hicks, writing in Grove Music Online, as possessing a "taut dramatic power".
  • 1725 Rodelinda. Rodelinda is often praised for the fullness of the melodic writing among Handel's output.
  • 1728 The Beggar's Opera. A satire of Italian opera seria based on a play by John Gay, the ballad opera format of The Beggar's Opera has proved popular even up to the current time.
  • 1731 Acis and Galatea. Handel's only work for the theatre that is set to an English libretto.
  • 1733 Orlando. An opera that is described by Anthony Hicks as "remarkable" and by Orrey as one of Handel's "best works".
  • 1733 La serva padrona. Became a model for many of the opera buffas that followed it, including those of Mozart.
  • 1733 Hippolyte et Aricie. Rameau's first opera caused great controversy at its premiere.
  • 1735 Ariodante. Both this opera and Alcina enjoy high critical reputations today.
  • 1735 Alcina. Both this work and Ariodante were part of Handel's first opera season at Covent Garden.
  • 1735 Les Indes galantes. In this work Rameau added emotional depth and power to the traditionally lighter form of opéra-ballet.
  • 1737 Castor et Pollux. Initially only a moderate success, when it was revived in 1754 Castor et Pollux was regarded as Rameau's finest achievement.
  • 1738 Serse. Deviation from the usual model of opera seria, Serse contains many comic elements rare in Handel's other works.
  • 1740 Alfred. An English opera of all times, famous for the patriotic song "Rule Britannia".
  • 1744 Semele. Originally performed as an oratorio, Semele's dramatic qualities have often led to the work being performed on the opera stage in modern times.
  • 1745 Platée. Rameau's most famous comic opera. Originally a court entertainment, a 1754 revival proved extremely popular with French audiences.

    1750–1799

  • 1760 La buona figliuola. Piccinni's work was initially immensely popular throughout Europe. By 1790 over 70 productions of the opera had been produced and it had been performed in all the major European cities.
  • 1762 Orfeo ed Euridice. Gluck's most popular opera. The first work in which the composer tried to reform the excesses of Italian opera seria.
  • 1762 Artaxerxes . The first opera seria in English. After Metastasio's 1729 libretto Artaserse.
  • 1767 Alceste. Gluck's second "reform" opera, nowadays usually given in its French revision of 1776.
  • 1768 Bastien und Bastienne. Mozart's one-act Singspiel was set to a parody of Rousseau's Le devin du village.
  • 1770 Mitridate, re di Ponto. Composed when Mozart was 14, Mitridate was written for a demanding cast of star singers.
  • 1772 Lucio Silla. from Mozart's teenage years, was not revived until 1929 after its initial run of 25 performances.
  • 1774 Iphigénie en Aulide. Gluck's first opera for Paris.
  • 1775 La finta giardiniera. Generally recognised as Mozart's first opera buffa of significance.
  • 1775 Il re pastore. Mozart's last opera of his adolescence was set to a libretto by Metastasio.
  • 1777 Il mondo della luna. Last of three that Haydn set to libretti by Carlo Goldoni.
  • 1777 Armide. Gluck used a libretto originally set by Lully for this French work, his favourite among his own operas.
  • 1779 Iphigénie en Tauride. Gluck's "last and perhaps greatest masterpiece".
  • 1781 Idomeneo. Usually thought of as Mozart's first mature opera, Idomeneo was composed after a lengthy break from the stage.
  • 1782 Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Often thought of as the first of Mozart's comic masterpieces, this work is frequently performed today.
  • 1782 Il barbiere di Siviglia. Paisiello's most famous comic opera, later eclipsed by Rossini's work of the same name.
  • 1786 Der Schauspieldirektor. Another Singspiel with much spoken dialogue taken from plays of that time, the plot of Der Schauspieldirektor features two sopranos vying to become prima donna in a newly assembled company. Premiered together with Antonio Salieri's Prima la musica e poi le parole
  • 1786 Le nozze di Figaro. The first of the famous series of Mozart operas set to libretti by Lorenzo Da Ponte is now Mozart's most popular opera.
  • 1787 Don Giovanni. Second of the operas that Mozart set to Da Ponte's libretti, Don Giovanni has provided a puzzle for writers and philosophers ever since its composition.
  • 1790 Così fan tutte. Third and last of the operas that Mozart set to libretti by Da Ponte, Così fan tutte was scarcely performed throughout the 19th century, as the plot was considered to be immoral.
  • 1791 La clemenza di Tito. Mozart's last opera before his early death was extremely popular until 1830, after which the work's popularity and critical reputation began to decline; they did not return to their former levels until after the Second World War.
  • 1791 Die Zauberflöte. Has been described as "the apotheosis of the Singspiel", Die Zauberflöte was denigrated during the 19th century as confused and lacking in definition.
  • 1792 Il matrimonio segreto. Usually regarded as Cimarosa's best opera, Leopold II enjoyed the three-hour-long premiere so much that, after dinner, he compelled the singers to repeat the opera later during that same day.
  • 1797 Médée. Only French opera of the Revolutionary period to be regularly performed today. A famous showcase for sopranos such as Maria Callas.

    1800–1829

  • 1805 Fidelio. Beethoven's only opera was inspired by the composer's passion for political liberty.
  • 1807 La vestale. Spontini's opera about a vestal virgin in love was a great influence on Berlioz and a forerunner of French grand opera.
  • 1812 La scala di seta. An early Rossini work, this opera is outright farsa comica.
  • 1813 L'italiana in Algeri. This opera is described by Richard Osborne, writing in Grove Music Online, as "Rossini's first buffo masterpiece in the fully fledged two-act form".
  • 1813 Tancredi. This melodramma eroico was described by poet Giuseppe Carpani thus: "It is cantilena and always cantilena: beautiful cantilena, new cantilena, magic cantilena, rare cantilena".
  • 1814 Il turco in Italia. This opera stands out among Rossini's output for its frequent ensembles and absence of aria.
  • 1816 Il barbiere di Siviglia. This work has become Rossini's most popular opera buffa.
  • 1816 Otello. The composer Giacomo Meyerbeer described the third act of Otello thus: "The third act of Otello established its reputation so firmly that a thousand errors could not shake it".
  • 1817 La Cenerentola. Rossini's dramma giocoso with strong elements of comédie larmoyante was composed in just over three weeks.
  • 1817 La gazza ladra. In this opera Rossini drew upon French rescue opera.
  • 1818 Mosè in Egitto. This work was originally conceived of as a sacred drama suitable for performance during Lent.
  • 1819 La donna del lago. Another Romantic-era opera inspired by the works of Sir Walter Scott.
  • 1821 Der Freischütz. Weber's masterpiece was the first great German Romantic opera.
  • 1823 Euryanthe. Despite its weak libretto, Euryanthe had a great influence on later German operas, including Wagner's Lohengrin.
  • 1823 Semiramide. This is the last opera that Rossini composed in Italy.
  • 1825 La dame blanche. Boieldieu's most successful opéra comique was one of many 19th century works inspired by the novels of Sir Walter Scott.
  • 1826 Le siège de Corinthe. For this work Rossini heavily revised his earlier Maometto II, placing the action in a different setting.
  • 1826 Oberon, or The Elf-King's Oath. Weber's last opera before his early death.
  • 1827 Il pirata. Bellini's second professional production established his international reputation.
  • 1828 Der Vampyr. Marschner was a key link between Weber and Wagner, as this Gothic opera shows.
  • 1828 Le comte Ory. Rossini's opera has enjoyed a high critical reputation throughout the years: 19th-century critic Henry Chorley said that "there is not a bad melody, there is not an ugly bar in Le comte Ory", and Richard Osborne, writing in Grove Music Online, calls details that the work is one of the "wittiest, most stylish and most urbane of all comic operas".
  • 1829 La straniera. La straniera is rare among bel canto operas in that it offers remarkably few opportunities for vocal ostentation.
  • 1829 Guillaume Tell. Rossini's last opera before his retirement is a tale of liberty set in the Swiss Alps. It helped to establish the genre of French Grand Opera.