Operas for Beginners

So you're a first-timer at the opera. You want to watch a performance but don't know which one to start with. 

Here's a list of operas that should make you want to see more. It is a personal list of what I consider must-see for a beginner.   

Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), The Queen of the Night in an 1815 production. 

(Image: Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Public Domain.)

 

Trying to narrow it down has not been easy, with hundreds of possibilities crowding my mind, but these operas in my list are widely performed in opera houses worldwide; they are some of the most beloved ones in the repertoire. The operas in this list range from opera buffa (comedy), like The Marriage of Figaro, to seria (tragedy), like Madama Butterfly.  What they have in common?  Beautiful music and stimulating plots! 

• Aida - Verdi
• Carmen - Bizet 
• Così fan tutte - Mozart
  
• Don Giovanni - Mozart 
  
• La Boheme - Puccini 
• La Traviata (“the fallen woman” or “the one who goes astray”, referring to the main character) - Verdi
• Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly) - Puccini
• Peter Grimes - Benjamin Britten
• The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia) - Rossini
• The Magic Flute (Die  Zauberflöte)  - Mozart
• The Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) - Mozart
  
• Tosca - Puccini
  

Enjoy!   

 

Video Resources:

Carmen. Paris-Bastille Opera, conductor: Frédéric Chaslin. Béatrice Uria-Monzon, Sergei Larin. YouTube, uploaded by Frederic CHASLIN. Accessed August 12, 2021.

La Boheme - Freni, Pavarotti. YouTube, uploaded by Opera Lovers.  Mimì: Mirella Freni Rodolfo: Luciano Pavarotti Musetta: Annarita Taliento Marcello: Lucio Gallo Schaunard: Pietro Spagnoli Colline: Nicolai Ghiaurov. Accessed August 13, 2021.

La Traviata - Glyndebourne Opern House, premiered 2 August 2021. YouTube, accessed August 11, 2021.

Madama Butterfly.  A movie of Giacomo Puccini's 1905 opera w/english subtitles. The tragic love affair of a naive disillusioned with life Japanese girl and a thoughtless American playboy sailor set to a well thought out story and wonderful music. Music composed by Giacomo Puccini, libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. The opera was inspired by the stage play produced by David Belasco which in turn was based on the book written by Philadelphia lawyer John Long. Madama Butterfly makes a good comparison to Puccini's 1896 opera La Boheme that tells the tale of a doomed love between a poet and a seamstress. This film is distributed by Sony Pictures. Accessed August 13, 2021.

Peter Grimes (1969) - BBC telecast from 1969 of Britten's opera. Staged by Joan Cross, the original Ellen Orford in the 1945 world premiere.  Performed by: London Symphony Orchestra, Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Children from Leiston Modern School. Benjamin Britten, conductor. Accessed August 13, 2021.

The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia), YouTube, uploaded by Livermore Valley Opera. Artistic Director, Erie Mills; Music Director, Alex Katsman. Recorded in March 2019.  A riotous comedy with memorable arias and spectacular ensembles of one of the greatest Italian opera buffa ever written. YouTube, accessed August 11, 2021. 

Tosca - Puccini. Floria Tosca : Raina Kabaivanska, Mario Cavardossi : Placido Domingo, Barone Scarpia : Sherril Milnes.  Ambrosian Singers. New Philharmonia Orchestra. Conductor : Bruno Bartoletti Direction : Gianfranco de Bosio. 1976.  YouTube, uploaded by AVRVM. Accessed August 11, 2021.

 

(c) 2013. Updated August 13, 2021. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.