3280 shows
Clear filtersFolco summons his wife Giselda’s former suitor Rinaldo and the necromancer Salomone to interpret a vision of a white hind with Giselda’s face. Salomone says Folco must return to the forest and carry the wounded animal home as if it were Giselda. While Folco searches, Rinaldo declares his love to Giselda. Folco returns unable to see Giselda, seeing the doe in her place; the garden blossoms, and Giselda yields to Rinaldo.
Ali, Prince of Balsora, and Princess Rezia eloped but were separated when pirates captured her. In Cairo, Ali discovers that Rezia is in the Sultan’s harem. His slave Osmin becomes a mendicant dervish under the Qalandar, who recognizes Ali and helps the couple plan an escape. The Sultan returns unexpectedly, and the Qalandar later betrays them for a reward. Ali disguises himself as a French painter but is caught. The Sultan forgives him and Rezia and blesses their union; at their request, he pardons the Qalandar but banishes him from Cairo.
An Italian dramma per musica by Antonio Vivaldi.
Filippo plans to marry his daughter Sandrina to wealthy farmer Nencio, though she loves Nanni. Nanni and his sister Vespina, who herself loves Nencio, plan revenge. Vespina uses four disguises to make Filippo believe Sandrina will marry a marquis, while Nencio thinks she will marry one of the marquis’s servants. Nanni, disguised as a servant, signs the marriage contract; when the ruses are revealed, Sandrina is married to Nanni. Filippo accepts the outcome, and Vespina expects to marry Nencio.
After Isabella rejects Ormondo, he spreads rumors about her and bribes Batone to cast her adrift. A miner, Tarabotto, rescues her and hides her as his niece Nisa. Ten years later, Isabella reveals her identity to Tarabotto just before her husband, Duke Bertrando, visits the mines. Bertrando still loves Isabella but believes the rumors that she was unfaithful. Batone recognizes Isabella and conspires with Ormondo to abduct her, but Tarabotto overhears their plan. The two villains are exposed, and Isabella reveals her duchess’s clothes and a portrait of Bertrando. The couple are reunited.
The one-act festa teatrale features Claudia, a vestal virgin, her sister Flaminia, Roman consul Valerio, and knight Flavio.
An opéra comique about Constanze, her sister Laurette, Droval and Sainville, who are stranded on an island. Constanze believes Droval abandoned them; Laurette struggles to understand her sister’s distrust of men. A ship eventually arrives, enabling a happy reunion.
An opera setting by Giuseppe Scarlatti of Carlo Goldoni’s unrelated libretto, concerning a Chinese woman and Dutch sailors.
The two-act opéra comique features Mathurin, his wife Mathurine, their niece Colette, her lover Cléon, and vine grower Lucas.
During a storm, Alberto and Don Parmenione take shelter at an inn. Alberto is travelling to meet his betrothed, while Parmenione is searching for a friend’s missing sister. After the storm, they accidentally exchange luggage. Finding a portrait among Alberto’s papers, Parmenione decides to pose as Alberto and claim the bride. At Don Eusebio’s house, Berenice also disguises herself as a maid so she can judge her intended husband, while her friend Ernestina pretends to be Berenice. Parmenione courts Ernestina, and the real Alberto falls for Berenice. When both men claim to be Alberto, Berenice’s questioning exposes Parmenione’s deception. Berenice marries Alberto, and Parmenione marries Ernestina, who proves to be the friend’s sister he had sought.
Tyltyl and Mytyl, the children of a poor woodcutter, see a wealthy neighbour preparing for Christmas. Fairy Berylune asks them to find the blue bird to restore her sick child’s happiness. A magic cap makes objects and animals speak. The children visit the Land of Memory, the Palace of the Night, the Garden of Happiness, a cemetery, and the Kingdom of the Future but cannot capture the bird. In the morning, they discover their own turtle dove has turned blue and give it to a neighbour’s sick child. The bird eventually escapes.
A three-act pasticcio based on Apostolo Zeno’s libretto and Francesco Scipione Maffei’s play Merope.
Appio, a tribune in love with magistrate Sallustio’s wife Ottavia, conspires with Pubblio and his son Clodio to dishonour her. Disguised among Ottavia’s attendants, Clodio is exposed and claims she seduced him. Sallustio must put her on trial to uphold Roman law. Despite her protestations of innocence, omens lead to a sentence of burial alive. As Ottavia is taken to the tomb, Vesuvius erupts; Sallustio halts the execution, and Pubblio confesses Appio’s role. Appio and Pubblio are sealed in the tomb instead. Their son Menenio rescues his parents by chariot as the eruption consumes Pompeii.
In contemporary Boston, Englishman George and American Lyonel pursue sisters Henriette and the widow Mme. Darbel. Their shifting preferences complicate the pairings, and a lightning strike temporarily blinds Lyonel.
A three-act French opéra comique based on George Lillo’s play The London Merchant.
Colin and Chick meet Alise and Chloé amid surreal Parisian scenes, and Colin marries Chloé. After a flower grows in Chloé’s lungs, he struggles to keep flowers around her while working in a strange military factory. Chick dies over his book obsession, Alise sets fire to the bookshops, and Chloé dies; the closing tableau leaves Mouse seeking death.
A two-act French opéra bouffon by André Grétry and Pierre Desforges, revised from the earlier Théodore et Paulin.
King Ouf searches his city in disguise for someone to execute as a birthday celebration. A visiting ambassador and his party are traveling incognito, with Princess Laoula disguised as the ambassador’s wife, and they intend her to marry Ouf. Laoula and the peddler Lazuli fall in love. When Lazuli insults the disguised king, Ouf orders his execution, but the astrologer Siroco warns that their fates are linked. Lazuli escapes harm, and after plans to elope and a failed attempt to flee, Ouf blesses his marriage to Laoula.
Peter the Great, disguised as a carpenter, falls in love with Catherine, who disguises herself as her brother to take his place among drafted recruits. In a military camp, Peter mistakes her disguise for a man and orders her shot; when he realizes his error, she escapes and exposes a plot against the Tsar. Later, Peter restores Catherine’s sanity with her favorite tune and marries her.
The one-act opéra comique centers on Merlin and includes his nieces Argentine and Diamantine, Pierrot, Scapin, and other characters.
Romboïdal blames his wife Théodorine for their daughter Hermosa’s boyish behavior, while Hermosa finds Prince Alexis charming. The young pair fall in love, and Alexis asks Romboïdal to seek the Duke’s consent to their marriage. Théodorine reveals that Hermosa is really a boy, whom she registered as a girl to spare him military service. Romboïdal then reveals that Alexis is really a girl; the Duke and Romboïdal had hidden this to secure a male heir. Hermosa appears dressed as an officer, and Alexis wears a dress. The confused parents confess their deception, and the Duke agrees to the marriage before deciding to marry again and try for a son.
Fleur de Noblesse loves carpentry and young cabinetmaker Ernest. At an archery contest to decide her marriage, she rigs the targets so Ernest will win. When forester Alexandrivoire challenges the result, Fleur deflects his arrow and it pierces her eye. The gendarme imprisons Alexandrivoire, but Dindonette, who loves him, removes the arrow from Fleur’s eye. After mistaken identities and confusion, everything ends happily.
M. Choufleuri’s planned musical evening collapses when its three celebrated Italian singers become ill. His daughter Ernestine and her musician sweetheart Babylas impersonate two singers, while Choufleuri poses as a third, fooling the guests with comic Italianate performances. Choufleuri rewards Babylas by agreeing to his marriage with Ernestine.
A multilingual chamber opera frames the letters between Marina Tsvetaeva and Rainer Maria Rilke with scenes featuring Sappho and Alcaeus, and the Japanese poets Yakamochi and Sakanoue. Tsvetaeva and Rilke never meet; her last letter reaches him after his death.
In 1579, farmer’s daughter Rosette gives Henri of Navarre milk while he hunts nearby. She and her fiancé Vincent fall asleep, and Rosette dreams that Henri brings them to court, makes Vincent a marquis, then sends him away so that he can pursue her. Vincent returns, catches them together and challenges the king. Rosette wakes from the dream on her father’s farm; Henri arrives to bless her marriage to Vincent and gives her a dowry.
After witches prophesy that Macbeth will become king and that Banco’s descendants will rule, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth murder Duncan and seize the throne. Macbeth orders Banco and his family killed, but Banco’s son escapes; haunted by Banco’s ghost and emboldened by further prophecies, Macbeth continues his rule through violence. Malcolm and Macduff lead an assault that fulfills the apparitions’ warnings, and Macbeth is killed. The 1847 version ends with Macbeth’s death aria, while the 1865 revision concludes with a victory chorus.
A three-act French opera by Ernest Bloch with a libretto by Edmond Fleg, adapting Shakespeare’s play and compressing its five acts into seven tableaux.
Salvatore Sciarrino’s Macbeth is built from permutations of a few simple recitation figures and unfolds across three acts.
In Nagasaki, the young Cio-Cio-San marries U.S. naval officer B. F. Pinkerton, who regards the marriage as temporary. After Pinkerton leaves, she waits three years and gives birth to their son. Pinkerton returns with his American wife, who plans to raise the child. Cio-Cio-San agrees to give him up, bids farewell to her son, and dies by suicide.
An opera based on Gustave Flaubert’s novel Madame Bovary.
French sailor Pierre arrives in Nagasaki and falls in love with a geisha. Through marriage broker Kangourou, he contracts a temporary Japanese marriage with Chrysanthème. She is affectionate but rebuffs Pierre’s declarations, while their friends celebrate. At a festival, jealousy sparks arguments between Pierre and his friend Yves. The couple reconcile before Pierre and Yves sail for Brittany. At sea, Pierre reads Chrysanthème’s letter: she asks him to remember that Japanese women also love and grieve. He casts the lotus flowers she gave him into the sea and asks to forget the marriage.
Madame Favart escapes from a convent where she was confined after refusing the advances of Marshal de Saxe and reunites with her husband. The couple help their friends Hector and Suzanne marry, using a series of disguises to outwit the Governor. At a military camp, Madame Favart performs before the King and secures the Governor’s resignation, freeing the young couple and helping her husband win an appointment at the Opéra-Comique.
In 1792 Paris, laundress Caterina Hubscher hides wounded Austrian officer Count Neipperg, with help from her fiancé Sergeant Lefebvre. Years later, Lefebvre has become Duke of Danzig and Caterina his duchess, whose frank behavior scandalizes Napoleon’s court. Napoleon orders Lefebvre to divorce her, while Neipperg is suspected of an affair with the Empress. When Neipperg is sentenced to death, Caterina proves his innocence and wins his pardon. Napoleon accompanies her into the salon for a hunt.
An English-language opera based on the Chinese folk tale known as the Legend of the White Snake. No opera-specific plot synopsis is available in the reviewed record.
At an inn near Parma, servants Giletti and Marietta accept money to impersonate a conspiratorial count and countess. The Archduke Ernest falls for Marietta, abdicates in her favor, and is later caught trying to visit her incognito. He recovers his crown, while Giletti and Marietta use their reward to buy the inn.
In 15th-century Venice, Maddalena is married to artist Genaro but has an affair in disguise with his friend Stenio, an alchemist. Stenio tells Genaro about the mysterious woman and then recognizes Maddalena. The men turn on her, but she provokes them to fight. Genaro kills Stenio and is wounded; as he dies, he urges Maddalena to kill herself. She wonders which man she loved, then calls from the window for help and claims a stranger killed her husband.
Paris Opera star Madeleine cannot persuade her admirers or maid to dine with her on New Year’s Day, as each has promised to dine with their mother. Her childhood friend Didier invites her to dinner with his parents, but she refuses and dines alone before a portrait of her mother.
After the 1943 disappearance of the bomber Lady Be Good over Libya, a Major leads a search party to survey the wreck. The dead crew and the Major’s internal relationship reveal their intertwined fate. The opera culminates in a re-enactment of the bomber’s final mission and the Major recovering his suppressed memories of the event.
In 1871, German soldiers occupying a château near Rouen summon women from the nearby town. During dinner and entertainment, Lieutenant von Eyrik, nicknamed “Mademoiselle Fifi,” taunts Rachel and boasts that Germany will conquer France and its women. Rachel sings a patriotic song, stabs him, and escapes; he dies as prayers are said and church bells toll.
An opera based on Alexandre Dumas’s 1839 play. The work has a French libretto by Paul Milliet and an Italian text by Amintore Galli for its Genoa premiere.
An English-language opera by Somtow Sucharitkul based on Thailand’s Mae Nak Phra Khanong ghost story. A plot synopsis is not provided.
On Easter morning in a Sicilian village, Carmela confronts Turiddu, her former lover, who is now involved with Lola. She curses him and tells Lola’s husband Alfio about the affair; Alfio challenges Turiddu to a knife fight and kills him.
Tubercular dyer Vito vows to marry a prostitute if God cures him. He promises Cristina he will rescue her from the brothel, but he continues his affair with Amalia. After seeing them together, Cristina pleads with him to keep his vow; Vito leaves with Amalia, and Cristina returns to the brothel and faints.
Arturo secretly marries Malvina, who has borne his two children, despite his betrothal to Princess Morna. King Malcolm imprisons Malvina but later accepts her and the children. The rejected Wortimer murders the children and poisons Malvina; she dies, and Arturo kills Wortimer.
At a convent, organist Célestin secretly composes operettas as Floridor. Denise, a convent boarder promised to Fernand, discovers Célestin’s secret and learns his score. In Paris, she takes the stage as Mam’zelle Nitouche when the star refuses to perform. At the barracks, she disguises herself as a dragoon while escaping with Célestin. Fernand realizes he loves Denise, and the pair marry after she reveals her identity.
Twelve-year-old Michael meets aging Dada artist Kurt Schwitters while collecting bus tickets. Schwitters, a refugee facing deportation, befriends Michael and gradually earns his mother’s trust. He hopes the mother will marry him so he can become a naturalized citizen, though she has no romantic interest. When Schwitters gives Michael an unrideable Dada bicycle instead of the bicycle he wanted, the boy explains that he values its uniqueness. Schwitters, believing he is too eccentric for the family, decides to leave, but Michael asks him to stay.
The opera follows the Apollo 11 preparations, journey, and Moon landing, alongside Buzz Aldrin’s marital breakup and the brief duration of public fame.
A Persian-language children’s opera written in 1979.
Palestinian poet Leila lives in London with her Jewish composer lover Daniel, but joins a suicide-bomb cell in Palestine. Both she and Mohammed, another member, renounce violence before their planned attacks. Leila travels to Afghanistan, while Mohammed is captured and then betrays her location to American forces, hoping to save her from a suicide mission. Leila is imprisoned at Camp X-Ray, where she dies by suicide. Mohammed retrieves her manuscript and brings it to Daniel in London; the two men are united by their grief, and Daniel begins setting Leila’s poetry to music.
Palestinian poet Leila leaves her Jewish composer partner Daniel and joins a militant cell, but comes to reject violence. Mohammed, who loves her, tries to protect her by turning her over to American forces; she is imprisoned at Guantanamo and dies before he can reconcile with her. Mohammed brings Leila’s libretto to Daniel, whose sight returns, and the goddess Theia joins them in an unresolved mission of artistic healing.
Nico Dostal’s German-language operetta has a topical plot about the movies. The available text does not provide further plot details.
On her way to a convent, Manon meets the Chevalier des Grieux and elopes with him to Paris. After his father has des Grieux abducted, Manon leaves with the wealthy de Brétigny. Later she learns des Grieux has become an abbé and persuades him to return to her. They reunite and gamble together, but Guillot accuses des Grieux of cheating; he is arrested, while Manon is condemned to deportation. Des Grieux is released and tries to rescue her, but she is too ill to escape. In his arms, Manon recalls their past happiness and dies.
Auber’s opera reworks Prévost’s story of Manon Lescaut, Des Grieux, and Manon’s wealthy suitors. The adaptation introduces the Marquis d’Hérigny as a figure representing several suitors from the novel and changes Lescaut from her brother to her cousin. Manon dies near the end of the opera.
In Amiens, student des Grieux falls in love with Manon Lescaut, who is meant to enter a convent. He helps her escape with him to Paris, where they live in poverty. Manon later becomes the mistress of Geronte, a wealthy treasurer, but remains unhappy and reunites with des Grieux. When they try to flee, Geronte has her arrested and deported to Louisiana. Des Grieux follows her overseas. Crossing a desert after fleeing New Orleans, Manon grows exhausted and dies in his arms.
A three-act opera based on Józef Ignacy Kraszewski’s novel A Hut Behind the Village.
A prologue and five-act tragédie en musique by Jean-Baptiste Stuck, with a libretto by Mennesson.
An unfinished opera based on Pedro Antonio de Alarcón’s El niño de la bola; only its first act was completed.
During the siege of Mecca, its sheriff Zopiro refuses to surrender to Maometto’s forces. Zopiro’s children, Palmira and Seide, unknowingly kill their father; Maometto is victorious, and Seide and Zopiro die.
During the Turkish siege of Negroponte, Venetian commander Erisso and the noble Calbo urge the city to resist. Erisso’s daughter Anna reveals that she fell in love with a man called Uberto, who turns out to be Maometto, the sultan leading the siege. Maometto releases Erisso and Calbo after Anna threatens suicide, then takes her to his tent and urges her to become his queen. Anna refuses, gives him back his seal of authority and asks her father to marry her to Calbo. After the Venetians defeat Maometto, he returns seeking the seal. Anna says she has married Calbo and stabs herself at her mother’s tomb.
A love story ends in renunciation under the pressure of class barriers.
The opera interweaves Marco Polo’s physical journey from Italy toward China with a spiritual journey through seasons and encounters with historical figures. The strands converge at the Great Wall, where Marco and Polo merge at a symbolic threshold.
In Lombardy in 1329, Marco falls in love with Bice, whose mother he once courted, but Bice loves Marco’s younger cousin Ottorino. Marco challenges Ottorino to a duel, and Bice sacrifices herself to keep the two men from killing one another. Marco and Ottorino forgive each other as Bice dies in Ottorino’s arms.
Unemployed philosopher Vinerblut arrives on a Mediterranean island to seek a miraculous fishing machine owned by the local landowner Pigliatutto. Mistaken for an expected visitor, he poses as a clairvoyant and predicts disaster while offering an antidote. As islanders plot to take the machine and Candeggina hopes to escape with Vinerblut, he steals it and prepares to leave. The machine breaks apart in a struggle. Pigliatutto’s real visitor, investor Ivenmor, arrives with plans for a resort and proposes employing the would-be conspirators as entertainers.
A new master takes control of the Kentucky plantation where Margaret Garner is enslaved. He brings Margaret to work in the house while her husband Robert is rented elsewhere; the master’s daughter Caroline becomes attached to Margaret. Robert returns to help Margaret and their children escape, but the overseer discovers them. Robert kills him during the struggle, and the family flees. A posse finds them: Robert is captured and lynched, while Margaret kills her children to prevent their return to slavery. At trial, Caroline unsuccessfully urges her father to treat Margaret’s act as murder rather than destruction of property. Margaret is sentenced to death and steps voluntarily from the gallows.
Margarita, a nun who serves as gatekeeper at her convent, runs away with the adventurer Don Juan Alarcon. After discovering that he has seduced many women, she returns to find that the Virgin Mary’s statue miraculously took her place during her absence. As Margarita prays for forgiveness, Don Juan is struck down by heavenly lightning.
An Italian opera by Jacopo Foroni.
After the defeat of her forces in the Wars of the Roses, Queen Margherita retreats to Scotland with her remaining supporters. The Duke of Lavarenne, who loves her, has left his wife Isaura, who follows him in disguise. When Gloucester captures Margherita’s son, Lavarenne and the physician Gamautte rescue them; Gloucester is defeated, and Lavarenne returns to his forgiving wife.
Set in Paris and Seville, the story involves a love triangle between José Manuel, a young Spaniard; Margot, a Parisian courtesan with whom he has an affair; and Amparo, his sweetheart in Andalusia.
A Polish-language opera based on Antoni Malczewski’s epic poem and set in seventeenth-century Ukraine.
A through-composed opera centered on a romantic encounter between Donato, a blind recluse, and Maria Golovin, a married woman living in a European country a few years after a war.
Maria secretly marries Don Pedro of Castile, but his court considers a political marriage to Bianca of Bourbon to prevent civil war. Maria’s father, believing she is only Pedro’s mistress, challenges him and refuses to hear her explanation. Pedro finally proclaims Maria queen, and she dies of joy; the original ending had her seize Bianca’s crown and kill herself.
Queen Elizabeth considers a French marriage proposal and whether to pardon her imprisoned cousin, Mary Stuart. Leicester, who loves Mary, gives Elizabeth a letter asking for a meeting and pleads for Mary’s life. At Fotheringhay, Mary hopes Leicester can secure her freedom. Elizabeth arrives, and the queens confront each other. Elizabeth accuses Mary of treason and other crimes; Mary answers with an insult that prompts Elizabeth to order her execution. Elizabeth signs the death warrant despite Leicester’s plea for mercy. Before her execution, Mary comforts her companions, prays with them, pardons Elizabeth, and bids farewell to Leicester.
The opera is based on Victor Hugo's play Marie Tudor, which centers on the rise, fall, and execution of Fabiano Fabiani, a fictional favorite of Mary I of England.
Maria flees with Corrado against her father’s wishes, but Corrado later suspects her of infidelity and abandons her for her cousin Matilde. When Maria returns, Corrado wounds her and believes her dead. At his wedding to Matilde, Maria reappears, exposes his secret, kills Matilde, and takes her own life.
Maria secretly married Chevreuse but continues to love Chalais, who agrees to help secure her husband’s pardon. Chalais and Maria confess their love while Chevreuse is away at a duel; when a letter and portrait reveal their relationship, Chevreuse confronts them. Chalais returns through a secret passage and leaves to duel Chevreuse, who returns claiming Chalais has killed himself.
Mary, a prostitute, feels an overwhelming desire to travel to Jerusalem. There she repents her sins, and an angel instructs her to go to the desert and live in prayer. She remains there until old age. Saint Zosimas finds her as she is dying and, with a lion’s help, digs her grave.
Mary I is infatuated with Riccardo Fenimoore, who has seduced Clotilde, the lost heir to the Talbot title and fiancée of Ernesto Malcolm. Chancellor Churchill reveals Fenimoore’s duplicity and Clotilde’s identity. Mary sentences Fenimoore to death, then repents and asks Clotilde to help release him, but Churchill ensures the execution is carried out.
Niedermeyer’s five-act grand opera follows Mary Stuart across France, Scotland and England from 1561 to 1587. Its principal roles include Mary, Bothwell, Moray, Elizabeth I, Darnley and Ruthven.
During the French Revolution, Marie de Lanjallay and her husband Maurice are separated when he flees to Brittany. Imprisoned with Clorivière, who loves her, Marie is spared after Robespierre’s fall. Years later she lives in poverty with Clorivière and a child; Maurice returns, and the truth about Marie’s assault and Clorivière’s guilt emerges in court, where Clorivière takes his own life.
Twelve scenes interweave Marilyn Monroe’s personal life and decline with American political and civic events. Scenes include her childhood memories, General MacArthur in Korea, House Un-American Activities Committee interrogations, the prosecution of Wilhelm Reich, Beat poets discussing Marilyn’s death, a supper with Yves Montand, Timothy Leary’s drug lecture, and Monroe’s death under alcohol and barbiturates as the crowd celebrates the American way of life.
After Steno insults his wife Elena and the arsenal chief Israele, Doge Marino Faliero joins a conspiracy against Venice’s ruling council. Elena’s lover Fernando is killed in a duel, and the conspiracy is betrayed. Condemned to death, Faliero learns of Elena’s affair, forgives her, and is led to execution.
Gypsy singer Maritana catches the attention of King Charles II, while devious minister Don José hopes to use her to advance his position. José arranges for the condemned Don César to marry a veiled Maritana before his execution, misleading her into believing she will marry the King; César survives and escapes. After the two find each other at court, César exposes José as a traitor and the grateful King gives Maritana to him, appointing him Governor of Valencia.
At Marseille’s Old Port, Marius works in his father’s bar but dreams of becoming a sailor. When Fanny, his childhood sweetheart, becomes pregnant, their families urge them to marry; she encourages Marius to go to sea, and he leaves. Fanny marries the older Honoré Panisse, who raises her son as his own. Marius returns and tries to win Fanny back, but she remains Panisse’s wife.
A one-act opera based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s story Markheim, featuring the title character, Josiah Creach, Tess and the Stranger.
Opera by Nico Muhly based on Winston Graham’s novel Marnie.
Lady Harriet and her companion Nancy disguise themselves as servant girls at a Richmond hiring fair and are taken into the household of farmers Lyonel and Plunkett. The women flee, leaving Lyonel heartbroken; later, when he recognizes Harriet at a royal hunt, she falsely dismisses him as mad and he is imprisoned. A ring reveals Lyonel’s noble birth and restores his estate, but he rejects Harriet until she returns to the fair in disguise, prompting the couples to reunite.
A tragédie en musique about Marthesia, identified in the title as the first queen of the Amazons.
In a medieval German orphanage, twelve-year-old Martin longs for a father. He hides an escaped heretic and grows attached to him, then lies to the pursuing sheriff to protect him. Under threat, Martin is frightened to death without betraying the stranger.
An Italian farsa with five named roles: Isabella, Lucindo, Agrippa, Martino, and Tognino.
After returning to Scotland in 1561, Mary is drawn into conflicts with her half-brother Moray, her husband Lord Darnley, and the Earl of Bothwell. Following Riccio’s murder, Darnley’s death, and a rebellion that turns the people against her, Mary flees to England alone in 1568, while her son is proclaimed king.
María, born in a poor suburb of Buenos Aires, is drawn to the city center by tango music and becomes a sex worker. Thieves and brothel keepers gather at a black mass and resolve her death. Afterward, her Shadow walks through the city, which becomes her hell. She returns to virginity, is impregnated by the word of the goblin poet, and gives birth to a Child María, who may be herself.
Peasant farmer Pencho returns from Algeria, where he fled after wounding wealthy Javier in a dispute over water rights. María, who loves Pencho, nursed Javier and agreed to marry him to save Pencho from prosecution. Pencho and Javier agree to duel during a village fiesta. As the duel is about to begin, Javier’s father fails to persuade Pencho to give up María. The doctor reveals Javier is dying of tuberculosis; Javier abandons the duel, reconciles with the couple, and helps them escape.
Leander and Leonora meet at a masquerade ball, fall in love, and exchange rings. The next day Leander tells his valet Henrik about his new love, then learns that his parents have arranged for him to marry Leonora, the daughter of Leonard from Slagelse. Leonard complains to Leander’s father that his daughter is in love with someone she met at the masquerade. At a second masquerade, the young lovers’ identities and the arranged match are revealed, resolving the misunderstandings.
Artist Armando Cellini falls in love with Evelyne Valera, the masked woman who inspired his painting, but a rival steals her ring and makes Cellini believe she has rejected him. Their friends try to reunite them, and after Cellini confronts the rival at Evelyne’s ranch, the pair become engaged.
A German-language opera based on Honoré de Balzac’s story Massimilla Doni.
In nineteenth-century Corsica, Fortunato is alone outside his family home when wounded smuggler Sanpiero asks him for refuge from the police. Fortunato hides him in exchange for money, but later reveals his hiding place after Sergeant Gamba offers him an enamel watch. When Mateo and Giuseppa return and learn of their son’s betrayal, Mateo takes Fortunato away, prays with him, and kills him to preserve the family’s honor.
During the German Peasants’ War, painter Mathis aids peasants and challenges Cardinal Albrecht over the suppression of their revolt. After the peasants are defeated, Mathis has a vision in which he is tempted as Saint Anthony. Albrecht calls him to go forth and paint; Mathis declines a comfortable position and chooses a life of artistic solitude.
Queen Matilda’s husband, King Ladislaus, is missing after battle, and she flees a court faction with Count Magnus, who proposes marriage and is rejected. Mountaineer Podiebrad, who resembles the king and has saved Matilda, agrees to impersonate Ladislaus. The people welcome him; Matilda realizes the deception but goes along with it. Podiebrad leads the army to victory. After Magnus’s assassination and exposure schemes fail, Podiebrad admits his identity to the senate, which hails him as king. Matilda crowns him, and Magnus is sentenced to death.
Corradino, a feared lord who hates women, is entrusted with Matilde after her father’s death. She wins his affection, but jealousy and a plot by the Countess lead him to believe Matilde betrayed him, and he orders her death. Matilde survives, Corradino despairs and prepares to die, but she returns with Edoardo; she reconciles Corradino with Raimondo, and the lovers are reunited.
Parasha and her neighbor Vassili, a young hussar, struggle to meet. When her mother needs a new maid, Parasha disguises Vassili as Mavra and brings him into the house. The disguise works until Vassili shaves; the returning women discover him, and he escapes through a window.
Levko and Hanna are in love, but the Mayor also pursues Hanna. Levko tells Hanna the story of Pannochka, a drowned maiden who leads the rusalki and seeks the witch who became her stepmother. Levko rallies the village lads to mock the Mayor, whose household is thrown into confusion by their tricks. At the pond, Pannochka asks Levko to identify the witch among the rusalki. He recognizes her, and the rusalki drag her into the water. Pannochka gives Levko a letter instructing the Mayor to allow his marriage to Hanna, and the villagers celebrate.
In 18th-century Ukraine, Mariya leaves her parents to marry her godfather Mazeppa, while Andrei loves her in secret. Mariya’s father Kochubey and his ally Iskra attempt to warn Peter the Great of Mazeppa’s plan to side with Sweden and establish an independent Ukraine. Mazeppa has Kochubey tortured and executed. After the Battle of Poltava, Andrei seeks revenge but is shot; Mariya, driven mad by events, fails to recognize either him or Mazeppa.
Gounod’s unfinished opera project about Pierre Abélard and Héloïse. The surviving description says Abélard is murdered at the end of Act 4 and his ghost visits Héloïse in the final act.
In Madrid, Manoëla is meant to marry the elderly Don Guardona, but a dimly lit ceremony mistakenly marries her to music teacher Alvarès as well. Manoëla and Alvarès flee, are caught and brought to court; a substituted name in the marriage contract makes Léona the bride of Don Guardona, leaving Alvarès as Manoëla’s sole husband.
An American opera based on Frank Norris’s novel, featuring McTeague, an unlicensed dentist in San Francisco, his friend Marcus Schouler, and Trina Sieppe, who becomes McTeague’s wife.
A one-act German melodrama in five scenes based on the Medea myth, with speaking roles for Medea, Jason, their son, Creusa, a housekeeper, and a follower.
Jason plans to leave Medea and marry Glauca, daughter of King Creon. In revenge, Medea kills their two children and then takes her own life.
Reimann’s opera follows Franz Grillparzer’s play Medea, in which the title character is portrayed as a foreigner without protection who becomes the victim of powerful men and is expelled from society.
Jason rejects Medea, his former wife, for Creusa, daughter of King Creon, who banishes Medea. King Aegeus of Athens arrives, having also been promised Creusa as a bride. He and Medea form an alliance and attack Creusa and Jason at their wedding, but are defeated. Imprisoned, Medea summons demons, kills Creusa with a poisoned robe and stabs her own children, then escapes in a chariot drawn by flying dragons. Jason attempts suicide in despair.
A three-act opera seria by Giuseppe Sarti based on Giovanni de Gamerra’s libretto for an earlier setting of the same title.
Mefistofele wagers that he can win Faust’s soul. Faust accepts a pact that grants him worldly pleasure in exchange for his soul at death. Restored to youth, Faust seduces Margherita, who is later imprisoned and condemned after poisoning her mother and drowning their child. She rejects Mefistofele and is redeemed. Faust then travels to ancient Greece and loves Helen of Troy, but finally seeks God’s forgiveness and dies redeemed.
Set in France before World War I, the opera reimagines the water spirit Melusine in modern life. Married to a real estate agent, she tries to protect a park she believes is filled with nature spirits, but a castle is built there and she dies after losing her virginity.
A Basque-language opera by José María Usandizaga.
The elderly Claire Clairmont recalls her love for Percy Shelley and rivalry with Mary. During a storm at Villa Diodati, Mary’s nightmare brings Frankenstein’s creation into their lives: the Monster kills Mary’s child and begs Shelley for acceptance and a companion, but is rejected. Claire is left to return to England pregnant and unsupported, while Byron and Polidori shape a version of events that obscures Byron’s role in her life.
A German-language Arthurian opera by Karl Goldmark and Siegfried Lipiner.
A three-act English-language opera, loosely based on Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur and intended as the first of an Arthurian trilogy. The story retells Arthurian legend, with Ector de Maris replacing Sir Ector as Arthur’s guardian and Kay’s father.
At Windsor during the May Day festival, Jill-All-Alone and Long Tom become entangled in court rivalries. Raleigh and Bessie Throckmorton love each other secretly, but their lost letter reaches Queen Elizabeth, who imprisons Bessie and banishes Raleigh. Jill helps Bessie escape, and the Queen ultimately lets them reunite, choosing Essex for herself.
In a Puritan settlement, minister Wrestling Bradford becomes obsessed with Cavalier Lady Marigold while engaged to Plentiful Tewke. When the Puritans disrupt the Cavaliers’ May Day celebration and kill Marigold’s beloved Sir Gower Lackland, Bradford dreams of surrendering to the Devil and Marigold. He wakes with Plentiful beside him, but the village is attacked and destroyed. Bradford reveals his apostasy and carries Marigold into the flames as the surviving Puritans pray.
At a Paris market, several women pursue kitchen boy Croûte-au-pot, who loves fruit seller Ciboulette. After he escapes from jail, the pair reveal that they love each other; Ciboulette’s sealed letter resolves the mystery of her parentage, and her parents consent to the marriage.
On Easter Sunday, Carmela visits a Naples orphanage with a cake for the son she left there. She tells her childhood friend Suor Pazienza and the Mother Superior that she was seduced and abandoned, then had to leave her child at the orphanage after marrying a man who rejected him. While Carmela prays in the chapel, the nuns report that her son died the night before. The Mother Superior tells Carmela that the boy is at choir practice, and Carmela leaves in tears.
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