Famous opera masterpieces | Featuring many great opera singers

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.”

Opera The Magic Flute (by Mozart)Mirano Sukara-za Kangen Gakudan

Mozart “The Magic Flute,” La Scala, Milan, 1995

The magnificent and grand Magic Flute is the most popular of Mozart’s fantastical operas.

He completed this large-scale work in about half a year, and just three months later he died young, making it his final opera.

It premiered on September 30, 1791, at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, where it was met with a storm of enthusiastic applause.

Quel guardo il cavaliereAnna Netrebko

Anna Netrebko – Norina aria ( Quel guardo il cavaliere )( Don Pasquale – Gaetano Donizetti )

From Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, this is Norina’s aria from Act 1.

The music beautifully captures the coquettish air that pervades the entire work and Norina’s tomboyish, headstrong character.

It’s performed by Anna Netrebko, a leading prima donna of our time.

Faust (by Gounod)Uīn Kōkyō Gakudan

Gounod Faust Ruggero Raimondi Francisco Araiza Gabriela Benackova 1985

Gounod’s Faust is a superb masterpiece distinguished by the refined elegance of its melodies—quintessentially French opera.

In particular, arias such as “Salut! demeure chaste et pure” (The Pure and Holy Dwelling), “Le veau d’or” (The Golden Calf Song), and the “Jewel Song” are magnificent highlights packed with listening delights.