Famous opera masterpieces | Featuring many great opera singers

Overture to the opera “The Merry Wives of Windsor”Otto Nicolai

Overture to the opera “The Merry Wives of Windsor”

This is the Overture from the opera The Merry Wives of Windsor by Otto Nicolai, a German composer and conductor born in 1810.

The three-act opera was composed by Otto Nicolai, the founder and first conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic.

The overture, which skillfully weaves together melodies from the opera, is very popular and is often performed as a standalone piece.

Tchaikovsky: Polonaise from the opera Eugene Onegin, Op. 24Pyotr Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky: Polonaise from the opera Eugene Onegin, Op. 24

Polonaise, Op.

24 from the opera Eugene Onegin by Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, born in 1840.

Tchaikovsky wrote a total of ten operas, and this is the one performed most frequently among them.

my fatherRenée Fleming

Renée Fleming - O mio babbino caro (Gianni Schicchi)

From Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Lauretta’s aria.

It’s often titled in Japanese as “My Father,” but a more literal translation is “Oh, my dear daddy,” which has a subtly different meaning.

That’s because she’s sweetly pleading with him to allow her to marry her beloved.

Rachmaninoff – The Miserly Knight, Op. 24Sergei Rachmaninov

Rachmaninoff – The Miserly Knight, Op. 24

Op.

24 from the opera The Miserly Knight by Sergei Rachmaninoff, born in Russia in 1873, a composer, pianist, and conductor.

This distinctive work features an all-male cast.

It ushered in a new style of opera in which the orchestra carries a large portion of the work.

I don’t understand myself.Teresa Berganza

Mozart, The Marriage of Figaro: “I don’t know myself” — Berganza

From Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Cherubino’s Act I aria.

This role, in which a female singer performs a male character, is a so-called “trouser role.” It richly expresses the delicate and complex emotions of the adolescent Cherubino, offering a glimpse into the genius of Mozart.

Opera Orfeo (by Monteverdi)Jorudi Sabāru & Ra Kapera Reiaru De Katarūnya

Orfeo – Monteverdi

Monteverdi’s opera Orfeo is striking for the contrast between its brilliant trumpet prelude and the immediate shift to a quiet, graceful musical character.

In that era, performances typically featured a small ensemble of orchestra and opera singers, but starting with Orfeo the move toward large orchestral forces began, marking the starting point of modern opera.

Its premiere took place in February 1607 at the court in Mantua, Italy.

Overture to ‘Heaven and Hell’Surovakia Kokuritsu Kositsue Firuhāmonī Kangen Gakudan

Offenbach: Operetta 'Orpheus in the Underworld': Overture [Naxos Classical Curations #Energetic]

This piece was created for the Vienna production of the opera “Orpheus in the Underworld” (also known as “Heaven and Hell”) by combining pre-existing numbers.

In the opera, the gods dance and sing at a party in the underworld, but in concerts it is often performed without vocals, by orchestra alone.

(The video also has no singing.) The piece is in three parts, letting you enjoy both lightness and elegance; the final section features a brisk, exhilarating tempo and is famous as background music for school sports days.

(Note: The third section is often performed independently for events like sports days and is known as the “Infernal Gallop,” the “Can-Can,” or—taken from the opera’s title—“Orpheus in the Underworld.”