El gato montés
A three-act Spanish-language opera by Manuel Penella. Its English-language production was presented in New York as The Wild Cat in 1921.
Operas
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Clear filtersEl poeta
The poet José de Espronceda is exiled from Spain for his liberal beliefs and opposition to Ferdinand VII. Abroad, he falls in love with Teresa Mancha, while Carmen Osorio also loves him. After Espronceda rejects Carmen three times, she murders Teresa.
El puñao de rosas
Rosario, daughter of a farm overseer, gives a bunch of roses to a young master. Her fiancé becomes jealous; the couple are brought to the king’s court, where they marry and are raised to the aristocracy. Events at court prove to have been Rosario’s dream, and she wakes on her father’s farm in time to receive the king, who gives her a generous dowry.
El retablo de maese Pedro
Master Peter announces a puppet play about Melisendra, Charlemagne’s daughter, held captive in Zaragoza. The Boy narrates as the puppets perform the story: Don Gayferos rides to rescue her, and the two escape together. Don Quixote objects to details of the staging, then becomes convinced the puppets are real when the Moors pursue the lovers. He jumps up and destroys the puppet theater to defend them, leaving Master Peter in despair.
El último sueño de Frida y Diego
In 1957, Diego Rivera longs to see Frida Kahlo again as he nears death. Catrina, ruler of the dead, allows Frida to return to the living world for one day on Día de los Muertos. The former lovers revisit the joys and injuries of their relationship and seek forgiveness before Frida returns to the Land of the Dead; Diego is left comforted by their reconciliation.
Elegy for Young Lovers
At an inn in the Austrian Alps, poet Gregor Mittenhofer uses those around him—including his secretary, doctor, young muse Elisabeth, and a widow troubled by visions—as material for his art. When a young man arrives and attracts Elisabeth, Mittenhofer lets the couple go into a snowstorm without warning them. They die, and he turns the tragedy into a wordless elegy.
Elektra
At the palace of Mycenae, Elektra mourns her murdered father Agamemnon and urges her sister Chrysothemis to help avenge him by killing their mother Klytaemnestra and her lover Aegisth. Chrysothemis refuses. Elektra meets Orest, returned in disguise, and learns he will carry out the revenge. Orest and his followers kill Klytaemnestra and Aegisth. Elektra celebrates the deaths in a frenzied dance and collapses, dead.
Elena
Menelaus disguises himself as an Amazon to approach Helen, while Theseus also pursues her. Peritoo falls for Menelaus, believing him to be a woman. Theseus abducts Helen and abandons Hippolyta, who later finds him. Helen is freed by Castor and Pollux; Theseus marries Hippolyta, and Menelaus reveals himself and marries Helen.
Elena
An opera semiseria by Johann Simon Mayr.
Elena da Feltre
In Guelph-Ghibelline Italy, Elena loves Guido, while Ubaldo also loves her. Ubaldo abducts her and pressures her to marry him to save her father; the father is executed despite Elena’s compliance. After the truth emerges, Elena dies, and Ubaldo returns to the Guelph cause.
Eli
In a Polish village after World War II, the Jewish boy Eli has been killed by a German soldier during a pogrom. The opera unfolds in separate episodes in which the villagers remember him and his death; it has no continuous plot.
Eliogabalo
In Rome in 222 AD, Emperor Eliogabalo indulges his desires and disregards the people around him. He pursues Gemmira and Eritea, who love Alessandro and Giuliano, and plots to drug the women and kill his cousin Alessandro. His schemes collapse, and after Eliogabalo attempts to assault Gemmira, the guards kill him. Alessandro becomes emperor and marries Gemmira; Giuliano and Eritea also unite.
Elisa e Claudio
Elisa and Claudio are secretly married and have two children, while Claudio’s father pressures him to marry Silvia. The children are kidnapped, and Elisa is imprisoned after the family struggles to recover them. Claudio’s friend Celso frees the children, and the Count ultimately accepts Elisa and Claudio’s marriage while Silvia is allowed to marry Celso.
Elisabetta
Elisabetta journeys from Siberia to Moscow to seek a pardon for her exiled family. She survives danger on the way and ultimately secures the Tsar’s pardon, reuniting her family.
Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra
After Leicester returns from victory with Scottish hostages, he discovers his secret wife Matilda and her brother among them. When Elizabeth learns of the marriage and Leicester refuses her offer, she arrests them and sentences Matilda to death. Norfolk incites a rescue attempt, then tries to stab the Queen; Matilda shields her, and Elizabeth pardons Leicester and the prisoners.
Eliza
Set in 1588, Britannia despairs at the approaching Spanish Armada. The Genius of England, Peace, Liberty, Neptune, shepherds and shepherdesses encourage her until the group is ready to defend the country. After a battle at sea, the Genius celebrates victory and the ensemble welcomes peace.
Eliza, ou Le voyage aux glaciers du Mont St Bernard
Florindo, believing that Eliza is engaged to another, leaves for a glacier intending suicide. Eliza follows him after her father’s death clears the way for their marriage; monks rescue Florindo from an avalanche, and the lovers reunite.
Elmer Gantry
Football captain Elmer Gantry feigns conversion to gain a seminary scholarship and becomes an evangelist, first partnering with Sharon Falconer. His former lover Lulu and her husband Eddie expose his affairs at the opening of Sharon’s tabernacle, which catches fire; Sharon and her followers die, while Elmer escapes and later becomes a New Thought promoter haunted by the disaster.
Els Pirineus
Els Pirineus is a three-act opera with a prologue by Felipe Pedrell, based on Víctor Balaguer’s 1892 trilogy of the same name. Its subject matter includes Albigensians, troubadours, and inquisitors.
Elvida
Captured by the Moors, Castilian noblewoman Elvida is held by chieftain Amur as Spanish troops led by her fiancé Alfonso approach. Amur’s son Zeidar loves Elvida and opposes his father’s plans, but she rejects him. Alfonso’s troops rescue Elvida and capture Amur; Alfonso frees Zeidar and spares Amur, then announces his marriage to Elvida.
Emilia di Liverpool
Emilia lives in a hermitage after Federico seduced and abandoned her, and her father disappeared pursuing him. Years later Federico returns repentant, as does Claudio, who had been captured by pirates; when Claudio challenges Federico, Emilia stops the duel, declares her love for Federico, and plans to marry him.
Emma di Resburgo
Edemondo, accused of murdering his father, returns in disguise to find his wife Emma and son Elvino. Emma has disguised herself as a bard to remain near the boy. Edemondo is condemned to death, but Norcesto reveals his own father committed the murder and produces a deathbed confession. Edemondo, Emma, and Elvino reunite, and Edemondo regains his title.
Emma und Eginhard
A three-act German Singspiel by Telemann.
Emmeline
At fourteen, Emmeline is sent to work in a Lowell textile mill. The married factory supervisor, Mr. Maguire, seduces her; when she becomes pregnant, her aunt Hannah arranges for a couple to adopt the baby and hides its sex from Emmeline. Twenty years later Emmeline, still unmarried, falls in love with younger boarder Matthew Gurney and accepts his marriage proposal. At her mother’s funeral, Hannah recognizes Matthew as Emmeline’s son and reveals the truth. Matthew runs away; Emmeline remains in town, waiting for her child.
Empire of Wild
Joan searches for her missing husband in a Métis community near Georgian Bay, where his disappearance becomes entangled with the legend of the Rogarou.
Endlich allein
A German operetta by Franz Lehár, first performed in 1914 and revised in 1930 with a new text under the title Schön ist die Welt.
English Eccentrics
A two-act sequence of vignettes about eccentric figures. Among them, Sarah Whitehead becomes convinced the Bank of England is defrauding her after her brother is hanged; later scenes include quack doctors, Beau Brummell’s decline and death, and the impostor Mary Baker.
Enguerrande
In Palermo, Prince Gaëtan refuses the crown and the marriage proposed by Princess Enguerrande, though both are drawn to one another. After meeting in disguise and uncovering their identities, Enguerrande becomes queen and holds Gaëtan prisoner; persuaded to accept the throne to secure a pardon for Noéma’s exiled father, he signs, then flees with Enguerrande. When an enemy invasion threatens Palermo, Gaëtan returns to fight, but is mortally wounded and dies in Enguerrande’s arms; she dies beside him.
Enrico di Borgogna
Enrico, rightful heir to Burgundy, has been raised in hiding after his uncle Guido murdered the king. Enrico loves Elisa, whom Guido intends to marry by force. With the help of Pietro, Brunone, and the jester Gilberto, Enrico enters the castle and reunites with Elisa. His identity is revealed, Guido’s guards side with Enrico, and he defeats the usurper, then urges the people to show mercy.
Entente Cordiale
In 1919 northern France, soldier Erb Iggins is sent to buy food and obtain signed receipts. His poor French complicates his attempt to buy a chicken from Jeanne Arcot, who refuses to sign. Erb and Bill ask a notary to write an explanation in French. When Erb gives the document to Jeanne, she reveals that he has signed a marriage contract. The wives and Charles are outraged until Jeanne explains she was joking; Bill realizes Erb’s repeated mispronunciation of “poulet” as “pool” confused the notary, since “poule” can be a term of endearment. Order and marital harmony are restored.
Eraclea
An Italian dramma per musica by Leonardo Vinci, featuring the title character and her daughters alongside Roman, Capuan and Syracusan figures. The entry does not provide a plot synopsis.
Ercole amante
This five-act opera concerns Hercules and draws on Sophocles' The Trachiniae and Book 9 of Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Ercole amante
Ercole loves Iole, who loves his son Hyllo. After divine interventions and mistaken suspicions, Iole is enchanted into accepting Ercole and gives him a poisoned shirt; he dies, while Hyllo and Iole reunite.
Ercole su’l Termodonte
To complete his ninth labor, Hercules travels to Thermodon to seize the sword of Amazon queen Antiope. He is accompanied by Theseus, Telamon, and Alceste; the expedition captures Antiope’s daughter Martesia, while the Amazons capture Theseus. Hippolyta falls in love with Theseus, and the goddess Diana eventually decrees their marriage as well as the marriage of Martesia and Alceste.
Erismena
This three-act opera features Erismena, daughter of King Erimante, along with Aldimira, a favourite of the king, and princes Idraspe and Orimeno.
Eritrea
An Italian three-act opera by Francesco Cavalli to a libretto by Giovanni Faustini.
Erminie
Erminie is promised in marriage to Ernest, but she loves her father's secretary Eugène, while Ernest loves Eugène's sister Cerise. Thieves Ravennes and Cadeaux rob Ernest and disguise themselves to attend the engagement ceremony; Ernest arrives later and is falsely accused and jailed. In a second farcical scheme, the robbers' plans fail, and Erminie and Eugène, as well as Ernest and Cerise, are united.
Ermione
In Epirus after the Trojan War, Andromaca agrees to marry Pirro only to protect her son Astianatte, while the rejected Ermione turns to Oreste for revenge. Pirro is killed by soldiers; Ermione then condemns Oreste, who escapes with his companion Pilade.
Ernani
The outlaw Ernani and King Don Carlo both love Elvira, who is promised to the elderly Gomez de Silva. Silva discovers Ernani and Elvira together but protects Ernani according to his word; the two men later ally against Carlo and Ernani swears to die if Silva sounds a horn. Carlo is elected emperor and pardons the conspirators, then gives Elvira to Ernani. At their wedding, Silva sounds the horn; Ernani keeps his oath and kills himself, dying in Elvira’s arms.
Ernelinde, princesse de Norvège
In a Viking-era saga, rival powers struggle for control of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark and for the hand of Ernelinde, Princess of Norway.
Ero s onoga svijeta
Mića, a young man, claims to have come from the other world and tells Marko’s wife Doma that her deceased husband is angry, persuading her to give him a sock of gold coins. He later disguises himself at the mill and escapes an angry mob while arranging to elope with Marko’s daughter Đula. At the fair, Mića reveals that he pretended to be poor to find someone who would love him for himself, returns Marko’s horse and coins, and receives Marko’s blessing to marry Đula.
Eroii de la Rovine
Ottoman sultan Baiazid demands the surrender of Mircea the Old. Peace talks fail, and Mircea vows to fight. The chorus recounts the ensuing battle and Wallachian victory, including the bravery of Mircea’s son Mihail. Mihail writes to his wife, telling her of the triumph and promising to return.
Erwartung
A woman searches a forest at night for her lover. She first mistakes a tree trunk for a body, then finds that her lover is dead. She tries to revive him, accuses him of infidelity as if he were alive, and finally wanders away alone.
Erwin und Elmire
Elmire fears that her coldness drove Erwin away. Her tutor Bernardo persuades her to meet an old hermit in a secluded valley; the hermit is Erwin in disguise.
Erwin und Elmire
Elmire believes that her coldness has driven away Erwin, her low-born suitor. Her mentor Bernardo sends her to meet an old hermit in a secluded valley. In the second act Bernardo disguises Erwin as the hermit, and Elmire confesses that she feigned indifference to satisfy social propriety. Convinced of her love, Erwin reveals himself, and the lovers reunite.
Eréndira
After a fire destroys her grandmother’s palace, Eréndira is forced into prostitution to repay an imposed debt. Ulysses tries to free her, but the grandmother repeatedly intervenes; eventually they plot the grandmother’s death, after which Eréndira leaves alone.
Es war einmal
A German-language fairy-tale opera by Alexander von Zemlinsky in a prologue and three acts, adapted from Holger Drachmann’s play Der var engang through Marie von Borch’s German translation.
Esclarmonde
Esclarmonde, empress and sorceress of Byzantium, secretly meets Roland and gives him a magic sword to defend Blois, provided he remains faithful. After Roland reveals their meetings, monks tear away her veil and the sword shatters; she disappears. Her father later forces her to renounce Roland, but Roland wins a tournament in disguise, and they recognize each other and are acclaimed together.
Esmeralda
Vincenzo Battista’s four-act grand opera is the English-language version of his 1851 Italian opera Ermelinda, based on Victor Hugo’s novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. The London version is set in Paris in 1482.
Esmeralda
In fifteenth-century Paris, Esmeralda agrees to a nominal marriage with the poet Gringoire, then falls in love with Captain Phoebus. The archdeacon Frollo tries to abduct her and later stabs Phoebus, accusing Esmeralda of the attack. In prison she refuses Frollo; Quasimodo dies shielding Phoebus from him, Frollo is arrested, and Esmeralda and Phoebus reunite.
Esther
Jan Meyerowitz’s English-language opera retells the biblical story in the Book of Esther, with a libretto by Langston Hughes.
Esther
Queen Esther, persuaded by her uncle Mordecai, reveals her Jewish identity to King Achasuerus despite the danger to herself. She seeks to persuade the king to rescind the edict to exterminate the enslaved Hebrews.
Esther
In Susa, King Xerxes banishes Vashti and seeks a new queen. Esther, a Jewish woman, is summoned to court. Vashti plots to poison Xerxes, but Mordecai uncovers the plan. Haman and his wife Zeresh persuade Xerxes to issue an edict to exterminate the Jews because Mordecai refuses to bow to Haman. Mordecai asks the now-queen Esther to intercede, though approaching the king unbidden risks death. Xerxes receives her and grants a request. At a banquet, Esther reveals she is Jewish and demands Haman and his sons be hanged; she also secures permission for the Jews to defend themselves. The Jewish people survive and celebrate.
Estrella de Soria
Countess Estrella expects to marry General Salvaterra, but he falls in love with the captive Moorish princess Zulma. After Muza’s death and Salvaterra’s banishment, Estrella attempts to seize Zulma; Salvaterra and Zulma escape by sea, and Estrella kills herself.
Eteocle e Polinice
The libretto retells the conflict of Eteocles and Polynices over Thebes, but ends happily: Antigone reunites with Tideo, Eteocles with Deifile, and Adrastus oversees the restoration of peace.
Eugene Onegin
Tatyana falls in love with the worldly Onegin and writes him a letter. He kindly rejects her and warns her against such openness. At a ball held for Tatyana, Onegin flirts with Olga to annoy her fiancé Lensky. Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel and is killed. Years later, Onegin meets Tatyana again, now the wife of Prince Gremin, and recognizes that he loves her. Tatyana admits she still loves him but chooses to remain faithful to her husband. She leaves, and Onegin is alone in despair.
Euphrosine, ou Le tyran corrigé
Euphrosine, one of three orphaned girls under the tyrant Coradin’s guardianship, seeks to reform him by marrying him. The jealous Countess of Arles turns Coradin against Euphrosine and encourages him to poison her, but Euphrosine feigns death; remorseful, Coradin prepares to kill himself before she reveals she is alive and forgives him.
Euridice
On the wedding day of Orfeo and Euridice, the nymph dies after being bitten by a serpent. Orfeo vows to rescue her from the underworld. Guided by Venus, he pleads with Pluto and persuades the gods to let Euridice return. The couple come back from the underworld and rejoice.
Euridice
At the wedding celebrations of Orfeo and Euridice, Daphne arrives with news that Euridice has died from a serpent bite. Orfeo resolves to rescue her from the underworld. With Venus’s help, he reaches Pluto and Proserpina, who are moved by his plea and music and restore Euridice to life. The shepherds welcome the reunited couple back to Arcadia and resume the wedding celebration.
Europa riconosciuta
In ancient Tyre, Europa is abducted by Asterio of Crete and presumed lost. When the pair are captured after a shipwreck, Europa reveals her identity and claim to the throne, defeating Egisto’s bid for power; she then cedes the crown and marries her former fiancé Isséo and Semele.
Europeras
John Cage’s five-part opera series juxtaposes fragments of earlier operas with indeterminate music and staging. Europeras I and II use 19 singers and the full resources of an opera house, with performers guided by projected clocks. III and IV feature gramophones, and V is scored for a pianist, two singers, lighting, and tape.
Euryanthe
Lysiart wagers that he can win Euryanthe and conspires with Eglantine after learning the secret of Adolar’s dead sister. Adolar believes the false accusation of Euryanthe’s infidelity and abandons her, but her courage and the exposure of Eglantine’s scheme restore the lovers; the king blesses their reunion.
Eurydice
Eurydice dies while trying to recover a letter from her father and descends to the underworld, where she has lost her memory. Her father helps her remember, and Orpheus follows her below to bring her back. On their return journey she calls out to him; he looks back, and she is lost again. She later chooses forgetfulness in the river, while Orpheus finds but cannot read the letter she left.
Everest
On 10 May 1996, Beck Weathers lies unconscious in a snowdrift while Rob Hall leads climbers toward the summit and helps Doug Hansen reach it. Weathers hallucinates a barbecue with his daughter Meg. The action shifts to Jan Hall in New Zealand as she awaits her pregnant husband’s return. Hansen struggles to breathe; Hall radios for help. Weathers remains behind as a storm arrives. Guide Guy Cotter urges Hall to leave Hansen, but Hall stays; Hansen dies. At 2 a.m. on 11 May, Hall speaks to Jan, and they choose Sarah as their unborn daughter’s name before he dies. Weathers eventually reaches base camp.
Ezio
After defeating Attila, Roman general Ezio returns to find Emperor Valentiniano intent on marrying Fulvia, whom Ezio loves. Fulvia’s father Massimo plots against the emperor and falsely implicates Ezio; Fulvia shields her father, and when Ezio’s loyalty is revealed, the emperor pardons Massimo and allows the lovers to marry.
Ezio
After twists in a conspiracy against the emperor, the Roman general Ezio saves Valentiniano from Massimo’s plot. Massimo is arrested but spared, and the emperor allows Ezio to marry Fulvia.
Ezio
A three-act heroic opera about the fifth-century Roman general Ezio (Flavius Aetius), returning from victory over Attila.
Ezio
An Italian opera seria in three acts by Josef Mysliveček, his first setting of Metastasio’s Ezio libretto, based on events in the lives of Roman emperor Valentinian III and general Aetius. Its characters include Ezio, Fulvia and Emperor Valentiniano.
Ezio
An Italian opera seria in three acts by Josef Mysliveček, his second setting of Metastasio’s Ezio libretto, based on the lives of Roman emperor Valentinian III and general Aetius. The Munich court required a completely new score for this setting.
Facing Goya
The Art Banker pursues a plan to clone Francisco Goya using his long-lost skull, while characters embodying craniometry, eugenics and art criticism contest the project. Goya appears in a fantastical sequence rather than as the result of cloning.
Fair Rosamond
In this retelling of the Rosamund Clifford legend, Henry II courts Rosamond while disguised as the troubadour Edgar. Their relationship provokes jealousy and conflict. At Rosamond’s garden bower, Queen Eleanor threatens her with death, but Henry arrives and Rosamond pleads for the Queen’s pardon.
Fallen Fairies
Curious about human love, the fairies summon the mortal knights Ethais and Phyllon to Fairyland, where the sisters fall in love and become jealous. Selene, their queen, gives up her crown after being betrayed by Ethais, who returns to Earth without her. Once the men leave, the fairies acknowledge that they too can love and restore Selene as queen.
Falstaff
An Italian-language opera by Michael William Balfe, identified as based on Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. The entry does not provide a plot synopsis.
Falstaff
Falstaff sends identical letters to Alice Ford and Meg Page, hoping to seduce them for money. The women discover the scheme and plan to humiliate him, while Alice’s husband Ford plots revenge and the women also help Nannetta marry Fenton instead of the husband her father chose. Falstaff is hidden in a laundry basket and thrown into the Thames, then lured to a midnight encounter at Herne’s Oak, where townspeople in fairy disguises torment him. Ford’s plan for Nannetta to marry Dr. Caius is also foiled, and the company ends with Falstaff’s declaration that all the world is folly.
Falstaff, ossia Le tre burle
A two-act Italian dramma giocoso adapting Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. The opera compresses the play, omits the young lovers Fenton and Anne, and adds scenes in which Mistress Ford pretends to be German to charm Falstaff; a fuller plot is not given.
Family Quarrels
Foxglove tries to reconcile the Supplejack and Crabstick families so Charles Supplejack and Caroline Crabstick can marry. Caroline's parents want her to marry Mushroom, while Mrs. Supplejack plans for Charles to marry Lady Selena. The expected happy ending eventually follows.
Fang Zhimin
Meng Weidong’s opera dramatizes the life of communist martyr Fang Zhimin.
Fangcaoxin
Twin sisters Yunyun and Fangfang love engineer Yu Gang. When Yu is blinded in an accident, Yunyun abandons him, and Fangfang takes her place caring for him without revealing her identity. After Yu recovers his sight, Fangfang withdraws and Yunyun returns to marry him. At the wedding, Yunyun’s conscience compels her to confess the truth.
Faniska
Zamoski orders Faniska abducted and imprisoned after she resists his advances. Her husband Rasinski is also captured while attempting to rescue her; the couple escape with help, and Rasinski’s soldiers defeat Zamoski.
Fantasio
To avoid arrest for debt and meet Princess Elsbeth, student Fantasio disguises himself as the dead court jester. He disrupts the planned marriage between Elsbeth and the Prince of Mantua, but is imprisoned. Elsbeth helps him escape; Fantasio then challenges the prince, who abandons the marriage and returns home. Fantasio urges peace, is pardoned, and Elsbeth names him prince.
Fantasio
A German-language fantastic comedy opera based on Alfred de Musset’s play Fantasio.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Mr. Fox steals hens from farmers Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, who conspire to destroy the Fox family. With help from woodland animals, the foxes evade capture; the animals later feast on the farmers’ produce while the farmers wait in the rain.
Faramondo
Faramondo, king of the Franks, and Rosimonda, daughter of the Cimbrian king Gustavo, fall in love despite Gustavo’s oath to avenge his son Sveno, whom Faramondo killed. Faramondo’s sister Clotilde and Gustavo’s son Adolfo also love one another. When Faramondo rescues Rosimonda and stops a coup, Gustavo prepares to sacrifice him, but a dying Teobaldo reveals that Sveno was his own son. Gustavo spares Faramondo, and the couples are united.
Farewell My Concubine
A Chinese-language western-style opera by Xiao Bai and Wang Jian.
Farinelli
At the Prado, chamberlain Gil Polo plots against King Philip V. Farinelli, who loves Gil’s niece Leonora, learns of the conspiracy. His singing revives the melancholic king and spurs him to act. Gil is dismissed and exiled; Farinelli is honored and is able to marry Leonora.
Farmer George
A monodrama depicting George III’s state of mind and background before his illness. It is written for the same instrumentation as Eight Songs for a Mad King and is performed as a companion work before it.
Farnace
After defeat by Rome, Farnace orders his wife Tamiri to kill their son and herself rather than be captured. Berenice conspires with Pompey against him, while Selinda tries to use the rivalry between Aquilio and Gilade to save her brother. The opera ends with the characters spared, but the source does not explain the resolution.
Farnace
Defeated by Pompeo, King Farnace tells his wife Tamiri to kill their son and herself rather than be captured. His sister Selinda is taken by the Roman Atridate, who loves her, as does his captain Gilade. Selinda plays the two men against each other to save Farnace, and everyone is spared.
Fat Pig
Helen, a witty and confident fat woman, falls in love with Tom, a man in a normative body. Their relationship is challenged and ultimately ruined by Tom’s insecurities, amplified by coworkers’ taunts and judgment.
Fatinitza
Russian Lieutenant Wladimir once disguised himself as a woman named Fatinitza, and General Kantschukoff fell in love with that identity. When the disguise is revived during a soldiers’ play, Wladimir and Lydia are captured by a Turkish governor; his wives help them escape. The General promises Lydia to another man, but a mistaken report that Fatinitza has been found and a forged story about her death lead him to give Lydia to Wladimir.
Faust
Faust is torn between his love for Röschen and his desire for Kunigunde, who is betrothed to Count Hugo. Faust makes a pact with Mephistopheles and rescues Kunigunde from the knight Gulf. He gives her a love potion at her wedding celebration; Hugo challenges him to a duel, and Faust kills him and flees. Röschen drowns herself in despair, and Mephistopheles drags Faust to Hell.
Faust
An aging scholar, Faust despairs of the life he has spent in study and considers suicide. Méphistophélès appears and offers him youth and worldly pleasures in exchange for his soul. Faust accepts and falls in love with Marguerite, whom he seduces and abandons. Her brother Valentin confronts Faust and is killed. Marguerite gives birth to Faust’s child, then kills the child and is imprisoned. Faust enters the prison with Méphistophélès and urges her to escape, but she entrusts herself to God and dies. Her soul rises to heaven, while an archangel bars Méphistophélès.
Faust and Marguerite
A three-act romantic opera by Meyer Lutz and Henri Drayton based on Goethe’s Faust legend.
Fausta
Empress Fausta falls in love with her stepson Crispo, who loves the captive Beroe. After Fausta’s advances are exposed, Crispo is condemned for treason through the schemes of her father Massimiano. Fausta tries to save him with poison, but the execution has already occurred. Constantine receives proof of Crispo’s innocence too late; Fausta dies, and Massimiano is exposed.
Fausto
Bored with life, Fausto is about to drink poison when church bells revive his faith. He meets Margarita and falls in love; after she leaves, he summons Mefistofele, who promises to make him young and win her for him. Rejuvenated, Fausto courts Margarita, who comes to return his feelings and secretly invites him to her room. The entry does not summarize the final two acts.
Faustus, the Last Night
As Faustus faces the end of his bargain, he and Mephistopheles appear as an intertwined pair. Their exchanges explore humanity’s obsession with power; Sly, a jester drawn from Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, introduces a contrasting voice.
Fedora
Princess Fedora vows to avenge the death of her fiancé Vladimir. She follows the suspected killer, Loris, to Paris, where he explains that he shot Vladimir after finding him with his wife. Fedora falls in love with Loris, but her accusation has led to the deaths of his mother and brother. She confesses and takes poison, dying in his arms.
Fedra
A two-act opera based on Jean Racine's play Phèdre.
Fedra
Fedra falls in love with her stepson Ippolito, who rejects her. In anger she accuses him of rape; Teseo invokes Poseidon against his son, who dies in an accident, and when Teseo learns the truth he condemns Fedra.
Fellow Travelers
During the Lavender Scare in 1950s Washington, State Department official Hawkins Fuller begins a relationship with Timothy Laughlin, a recent graduate working for a senator. Government investigations and Fuller’s unwillingness to commit strain their bond. Tim leaves for army service and later works as a reporter; years later, he and the married Hawk reunite, but Tim leaves after accepting they cannot build a life together.
Fennimore und Gerda
In Denmark around 1860, cousins Niels Lyhne and Erik Refstrup both love Fennimore, who marries Erik. His drinking strains the marriage, and Fennimore begins an affair with Niels. After Erik dies in an accident, Fennimore ends the affair, while Niels travels for years before settling down and marrying his neighbor’s daughter Gerda.
Feramors
Princess Lalla is engaged to marry the King of Bokhara but falls in love with the minstrel Feramors, who is revealed to be the king in disguise.
Fernand Cortez
Cortez persuades his mutinous troops to stay in Mexico, where his brother Alvaro is held by the Aztecs and he loves the princess Amazily. When the Aztecs threaten Amazily and Alvaro, she offers herself in sacrifice. The priests prepare to kill her, but the Spaniards arrive in time to save her; Cortez and Amazily marry.
Fervaal
Saracen bandits attack the Gauls Fervaal and Arfagard. Guilhen, daughter of the Saracen emir, saves Fervaal and falls in love with him. Bound by an oath to defend his Celtic homeland and renounce love, he leaves her; she sends an invasion against Cravann. Fervaal becomes its commander but loses the battle. When Guilhen returns, he kills Arfagard, then climbs a mountain carrying Guilhen, who dies in his arms. A wordless chorus signals the coming of a new faith.
Festen
At a wealthy Danish family’s gathering for Helge’s 60th birthday in 1989, his eldest son Christian accuses him of sexually abusing Christian and his late twin sister Linda, whose trauma led to her suicide. Helge’s guilt is exposed when Linda’s note is read, and he eventually admits the abuse. The next morning, Michael beats Helge while the party continues, then tells his father to leave.
Feuersnot
During Munich’s Midsummer festival, the sorcerer Kunrad offers his house for the bonfire and kisses the mayor’s daughter Diemut, who rejects him and traps him in a basket. He extinguishes every festival fire and says they can be restored only by a virgin’s body. The people persuade Diemut to yield to him; after their encounter, the fires return and the two emerge singing together.
Fevey
An allegorical fairy-tale opera written as instruction for Catherine II’s heir.
Fidelio
Leonore disguises herself as a young prison guard named Fidelio to find her husband Florestan, whom Governor Pizarro has secretly imprisoned. She gains the trust of the jailer Rocco and learns that Pizarro plans to murder Florestan before an investigating minister arrives. Leonore accompanies Rocco to Florestan’s dungeon and steps between Pizarro and her husband, threatening Pizarro with a pistol. The minister arrives, Pizarro is taken away, and Florestan is freed.
Fierrabras
King Karl’s daughter Emma loves knight Eginhard, while captured Moorish prince Fierrabras, who once loved Emma, agrees to help the couple. During peace talks, Boland imprisons Karl’s knights, but his daughter Florinda frees them as she loves Roland. Karl and Fierrabras arrive in time to prevent the knights’ execution; the Franks and Moors make peace, and both couples marry.
Fiesque
In Genoa in 1547, Leonore believes her marriage to Fiesque is failing, while Fiesque declares his love for Julie Doria. The Dorias’ assassin Hassan fails to kill him and is sent to learn what the townspeople think. Hassan later reveals that Julie has hired him to poison Leonore. Fiesque reassures Leonore, and his ally Verrina tests whether he remains committed to rebellion. Fiesque’s response restores Verrina’s confidence, and the conspirators prepare a revolt. Julie confesses her love for Fiesque, but he declares his fidelity to Leonore and has Julie captured. The Fieschi overthrow the Dorias and Fiesque becomes ruler. Verrina urges him to abandon regal ambition for a republic; when Fiesque dismisses his concerns, Verrina kills him.
Figaro Gets a Divorce
Fleeing a revolution, the Count’s household is captured at a border by the Major, who seeks power over them. The Major reveals Angelika is the Count’s child and that Serafin is the child of the Countess and Cherubino. Figaro and Susanna quarrel over whether to have a child; Susanna encounters Cherubino, now a bar proprietor, who employs her as a chanteuse. The Countess rejects the Major’s blackmail and tells the Count Serafin’s parentage; Susanna reveals she is pregnant by Cherubino. Figaro helps the family escape, shooting Cherubino. The Major’s plan to trap them at the castle fails: Figaro, Susanna, Angelika and Serafin escape through a secret passage while the Count and Countess remain.
Figaro läßt sich scheiden
A two-act sequel to Beaumarchais’s Figaro plays, following some of their characters during the French Revolution.
Fin de partie
In a house by the sea, Hamm, his servant Clov and Hamm’s parents Nagg and Nell endure an enclosed, repetitive existence. Their conversations revisit old memories and grievances; Nell dies unnoticed, while Hamm and Clov confront their dependence on one another. Clov appears ready to leave, but remains still, and Hamm recognizes that he has been left alone to continue the “endgame.”
Fiorella
In Napoleonic Rome, Fiorella’s affections are divided between Rodolphe, a French officer and spy, and his friend Albert. Fiorella secretly helps Rodolphe evade the authorities, and the two friends shelter in a monastery during a storm, where Rodolphe vows not to marry her. Fiorella arrives in disguise and reunites with him; the police mistakenly arrest Albert, and papers that could convict Rodolphe are burned. Rodolphe and Fiorella are united, while Albert is consoled by Fiorella’s maid Zerbine.
Fire Shut Up in My Bones
At age 20, Charles returns to his childhood home and revisits memories of poverty and abuse by his cousin. As a teenager and young adult, he struggles with the effects of the trauma and loneliness. When he returns home with a gun, the voices of Destiny and his younger self pull him between revenge and letting go; he ultimately chooses not to retaliate.
Fiskeren
A through-composed Wagnerian opera concerning forced marriage, a pact with the devil, punishment and forgiveness. The entry does not describe the plot.
Five
Earlier, shorter version of The Central Park Five about the Central Park jogger case. The entry does not provide a separate plot synopsis for this version.
Flammen
At a castle after the First Crusade, Irmgard is torn between her returning husband and feelings aroused by a minstrel. To save the prince from a death curse tied to her welcome kiss, she drinks poison and dies, revealing her distress and love for the minstrel.
Flammen
In this German-language version of Schulhoff’s surrealist Don Juan opera, Don Juan’s pursuit of women and longing for Death unfold across loosely connected scenes. After Donna Anna dies and Don Juan seeks to join La Morte, a curse condemns him to live forever; he shoots himself but becomes young again and repeats the cycle.
Flavio
King Flavio is attracted to Teodata, who secretly loves his courtier Vitige. Flavio changes his appointment of Lotario to Ugone in hopes of gaining access to Teodata, angering Lotario. After Lotario slaps Ugone, Ugone’s son Guido is obliged to challenge Lotario, who is Emilia’s father. Guido kills Lotario in a duel, and Emilia vows revenge. Flavio claims Guido has been executed, but reunites him with Emilia when she awakens from a swoon. Flavio also orders Vitige to marry Teodata and remains faithful to his own wife.
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