Classic FM

Opera

From Baroque masterpieces by Monteverdi and Handel, through to hummable songs by Mozart, Verdi's works of Italian genius, Puccini, Wagner... with over 400 years of history, it's no surprise opera makes up some of the most famous classical music in the world.

What is opera?

Opera, put simply, is a play set to music. Singers, orchestral musicians, actors, costume designers, stage managers, and a whole host of people behind-the-scenes go to create these dramatic stage performances, which are often packed with the highest and lowest emotions. Expect love, tragedy, heartbreak, confusion, humour, and almost everything in-between - and everyone's so overwhelmed with their feelings they simply HAVE to break into song.

Introduction to opera

The 20 best operas of all time, according to Classic FM presenters.

Famous opera plot guides

Top opera pieces

Download ''Casta Diva'' on iTunes

'Casta Diva' Vincenzo Bellini Soloists: Jean-Yves Thibaudet Record label: Decca

Download 'Carmen - Habanera' on iTunes

Carmen - Habanera Georges Bizet (1838-1875 : France) Conductor: Michel Plasson Ensemble: Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse Soloists: Angela Gheorghiu Record label: EMI

Download 'Carmen - Toreador's Song' on iTunes

Carmen - Toreador's Song Georges Bizet Conductor: Barry Wordsworth Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra Soloists: Bryn Terfel Record label: Deutsche Grammophon

Download 'Pearl Fishers - Duet' on iTunes

Pearl Fishers - Duet Georges Bizet Conductor: Paul Bateman Ensemble: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Soloists: Sol3 Mio Record label: Decca

Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes artwork

Download 'Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes' on iTunes

Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes Benjamin Britten Conductor: Vernon Handley Ensemble: Ulster Orchestra Record label: Chandos Catalogue ID: CHAN 241-2

Download 'Lakmé: The Flower Duet' on iTunes

Lakmé: The Flower Duet Léo Delibes

Download 'Song to the Moon' on iTunes

Song to the Moon Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904 : Czechoslovakia) Conductor: Gianandrea Noseda Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Soloists: Anna Netrebko Record label: Deutsche Grammophon Catalogue ID: 4742402

Orfeo & Euridice - Che faro Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787 : Germany) Conductor: Roger Norrington Ensemble: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Soloists: Andreas Scholl Record label: Decca Catalogue ID: 4661962

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Christopher Macchio will sing at the Inauguration.

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Introduction to opera

Famous opera plot guides

Top opera pieces

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Download Classic FM's Opera Classics

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Opera

Introduction to opera

The 20 greatest operas ever written

25 best opera singers of all time

11 black opera singers you should know about

Who was Luciano Pavarotti? How this Italian tenor became the world’s most famous opera star

12 of the best opera venues around the world

Famous opera plot guides

Don Giovanni: A beginner's guide to Mozart's operas

Puccini's Tosca: a beginner's guide

Britten's Peter Grimes: a beginner's guide

The Magic Flute: A beginner's guide to Mozart's operas

Puccini's Madama Butterfly: a beginner's guide

Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro: a beginner's guide

Dido and Aeneas: a synopsis in pictures

Puccini's La Bohème: a beginner's guide

Top opera pieces

'Casta Diva' Vincenzo Bellini Soloists: Jean-Yves Thibaudet Record label: Decca

Carmen - Habanera Georges Bizet (1838-1875 : France) Conductor: Michel Plasson Ensemble: Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse Soloists: Angela Gheorghiu Record label: EMI

Carmen - Toreador's Song Georges Bizet Conductor: Barry Wordsworth Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra Soloists: Bryn Terfel Record label: Deutsche Grammophon

Pearl Fishers - Duet Georges Bizet Conductor: Paul Bateman Ensemble: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Soloists: Sol3 Mio Record label: Decca

Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes Benjamin Britten Conductor: Vernon Handley Ensemble: Ulster Orchestra Record label: Chandos Catalogue ID: CHAN 241-2

Lakmé: The Flower Duet Léo Delibes

Song to the Moon Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904 : Czechoslovakia) Conductor: Gianandrea Noseda Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Soloists: Anna Netrebko Record label: Deutsche Grammophon Catalogue ID: 4742402

Orfeo & Euridice - Che faro Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787 : Germany) Conductor: Roger Norrington Ensemble: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Soloists: Andreas Scholl Record label: Decca Catalogue ID: 4661962

Features

Who is Christopher Macchio, the operatic tenor singing the national anthem at the US inauguration?

Bill Skarsgård worked with an opera singer to produce terrifying ‘vampire voice’ for Nosferatu

Angelina Jolie says ‘everyone should learn to sing’ after playing Maria Callas

Maria Callas biopic starring Angelina Jolie: cast, plot, music and trailers revealed

Operatic dog sings a perfect duet of ‘Nessun dorma’ with Luciano Pavarotti

Conductor dad sits his son on the podium, who reveals his incredible baton skills

The opera that killed its star – the eerie story of how baritone Leonard Warren died on stage

The tragic tale of a top violinist who vanished mid-performance at New York’s Met Opera House

Who was Maria Callas, and what made her the world’s greatest opera diva?

Does Angelina Jolie sing in the Maria Callas biopic? Actress reveals her operatic training

Who is Jakub Józef Orliński? The breakdancing countertenor who sang at the Olympics

Who is Angel Blue? All about the Grammy-winning American soprano with a heavenly voice

Star soprano sings spectacular surprise concert 1,300 metres up in a hot air balloon

Classical music world mourns coloratura soprano star Jodie Devos, who has died aged 35

Innocent Masuku’s ‘unstoppable’ Nessun dorma leaves Britain’s Got Talent judge in tears

10 greatest pieces of music by Verdi, ranked

Mozart’s fiendish Queen of the Night aria – how on earth do you sing it? This soprano explains...

Meet the cimbasso, the epic brass contraption heard in ‘Inception’ and ‘Call of Duty’

Freddie De Tommaso breaks down what exactly makes ‘Nessun dorma’ the greatest aria of all

Operatic mezzo stuns with impromptu Bizet ‘Habanera’ in busy London restaurant

In historic first, a Lord of the Rings opera has been approved by the Tolkien Estate

Pavarotti kept a secret pasta stash at the Met Opera for snacking between arias

When Pavarotti and Tracy Chapman stunned the world in a soulful operatic duet

‘Smoke inhalation and lots of vodka’ – soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa on working with Leonard Bernstein

What are the lyrics to ‘La donna è mobile’ and what do they mean?

The 10 most romantic opera duets of all time

Bryn Terfel: who is the Welsh bass-baritone? Age, family, songs and height revealed

The 15 greatest pieces of classical music by Mozart

Amanda Seyfried stars as director tackling gory Strauss opera ‘Salome’ in new film

Star tenor sings thundering ‘Nessun dorma’ in viral bookshop flashmob

World’s first major opera about a transgender historical character is premiered

English National Opera to move north, relocating to new Manchester home by 2029

Who is Jonas Kaufmann, the German opera singer often called ‘the world’s greatest tenor’?

Historic footage of Maria Callas’ 1958 Paris gala is restored and colourised for first time

English National Opera music director quits suddenly over plans to axe 19 orchestra jobs

Freddie De Tommaso sings a glorious ‘Nessun dorma’ at dawn, on Rome’s famed golf course

When Whitney Houston surprised the world with an extraordinary Verdi aria… with Luciano Pavarotti

Royal Swedish Opera cancels all performances as stage technician tragically dies after fall

20 of the greatest sopranos and mezzos of all time

Conductor John Eliot Gardiner ‘deeply regrets’ punching bass soloist in opera festival altercation

What are the lyrics to Puccini’s ‘Nessun dorma’ and what do they mean?

What is Glyndebourne? The annual opera festival in a 500-year-old country house

The 10 best versions of ‘Nessun dorma’ – ranked!

The 20 greatest opera arias of all time

Italian maestro fired for conducting blindfolded, in protest against opera’s ‘political’ staging

Malakai Bayoh sings magical Puccini from within London’s famed ‘Harry Potter staircase’

Trumpeter finds extraordinary church stairwell acoustic, plays opera’s greatest tune

English National Opera is holding its first ‘yard sale’ of costumes and props in a decade

This ‘Drinking Song’ from Verdi’s La traviata is a glass of pure musical joy

Singer casually gives astonishing karaoke performance of Mozart’s fiendish ‘Queen of the Night’ aria

Operatic chorus sings Verdi’s thunderous ‘Anvil Chorus’, raising the Royal Albert Hall roof

Glyndebourne opera disrupted as Just Stop Oil blast air horns during Poulenc performance

14-year-old chorister Malakai Bayoh, signed to Pavarotti’s label, releases first single ‘Pie Jesu’

Opera star’s tongue-twisting ‘Figaro’ aria blows Royal Albert Hall roof off