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Clear filtersIn 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.
In Rome in AD 45, Empress Messaline loves the poet Harès and then his brother Hélion, a gladiator; these attachments have fatal results.
In Ariège, the greedy peasant Gaspard has seized a gold-bearing stream that once supported the community. His daughter Hélène falls in love with Guillaume, whose mother Véronique accuses Gaspard of murdering her husband. Gaspard’s mining venture fails, and his cousin Mathias is revealed as the true murderer.
The four-act opera with prologue tells of Miarka, a Romani girl whom tarot cards foretell will become a queen. The entry does not provide further plot details.
A one-act contemporary opera inspired by the true story of the murder of Melbourne woman Maria Korp.
In Germany, the wandering minstrel Lothario and student Wilhelm Meister rescue Mignon from a gypsy who threatens her. Wilhelm buys her freedom, and Mignon travels with him while falling in love. At a castle, she becomes jealous when Wilhelm favors the actress Philine, and Lothario sets fire to the conservatory after Mignon wishes it would burn. Wilhelm rescues her. In Italy, the castle’s history helps Mignon recover her memory: she realizes that Lothario is her father, and the three are reunited.
The work examines HIV and AIDS through cultural, political, scientific, moral and psychological perspectives, including the microscopic world of the virus and ideas about the body and illness.
The blind poet Milton and his daughter Emma seek refuge from political persecution by Charles II with the Quaker Godwin. Godwin’s niece Charlotte loves Milton’s secretary Arthur, who is actually William Davenant in disguise and loves Emma. Davenant reveals his identity and brings a royal promise that Milton will not be punished, allowing Davenant and Emma to marry.
After eating a snake to escape captivity, Mindia gains the power to understand nature and returns to his mountain village. He refuses his father’s demand for blood revenge, leads the villagers against invaders, then kills his brother’s murderer in self-defense; remorse and the loss of his powers lead him to take his own life.
A 30-minute operatic film in Dakota and English that follows pivotal moments in the life and work of Yankton Dakota author and activist Zitkála-Šá, portrayed at four ages. The entry does not detail the events shown.
Innkeeper Mirandolina attracts several noble suitors, including the sardonic misogynist Ripafratta, whom she sets out to seduce. When he becomes seriously attached and reacts angrily to her rejection, Mirandolina turns instead to her faithful waiter Fabrizio, whom she marries after testing his loyalty.
In Provence, Mireille and Vincent fall in love despite their families’ opposition. After jealous Ourrias wounds Vincent and is lost in the Rhône, Mireille crosses the Crau to reach him; she collapses at the chapel of Saintes-Maries, where her father forgives her before she dies.
The foundling Mirette, raised among gypsies, falls for Gerard, nephew of the Marquise de Montigny, while Picorin loves her. After Mirette and Picorin enter the Marquise’s household, Mirette helps Gerard and Bianca reconcile and recognizes her own love for Picorin. The revised version also pairs the Marquise with the Baron and shifts the ending toward comedy.
A three-act opera set in Persia and built around an account of Pashtun emir Mirwais Hotak, whose son’s achievements were partly attributed to him in the source account.
The opera draws on Ovid’s story of Myrrha and her father Cinyras, mediated through a play by Vittorio Alfieri. The entry gives no specific plot events.
Athlete Nélée, preparing to celebrate victory at the Argive Games, says he is tired of the poet Myrthis’s indifference and claims to love Corinne. Myrthis reveals her jealousy, but when asked to choose a prize, Nélée names her, explaining he only pretended to love Corinne to punish her pride. The work ends with a celebration.
Judith Weir’s opera reworks a Sicilian folktale as a contemporary parable. The entry does not detail the story.
The two-act opera loosely adapts Great Expectations and centers on an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Aurelia Havisham’s death.
At a Pyrenees hotel, prudish American Helyett believes she must marry the unknown man who rescued her after a fall exposed her legs. Her father encourages James to falsely claim the rescue, but James confesses. Helyett then accepts bullfighter Puycardas after he says he rescued someone, while Paul, the true rescuer, realizes he loves her. Helyett discovers Paul’s sketch of her and recognizes him as her rescuer; they agree to marry.
During a Midsummer Eve celebration at a Swedish country estate, Miss Julie’s engagement to Niels ends after she orders him to kiss her boot. She flirts with the valet John, who admits his long-standing love and plans to escape with her. Julie steals money, but John kills her canary when she insists on bringing it. As John leaves to answer the Count’s summons, Julie goes into the garden and follows his suggestion to kill herself.
On Midsummer Eve, the Count’s daughter Julie becomes entangled with Jean, her father’s servant, while Kristin and gamekeeper Ulrik witness the consequences. At dawn Jean urges Julie to flee with him and steal money for his hotel plan; after the dog is shot and the Count returns, Julie walks out into the park carrying Jean’s razor.
The opera’s dual narrative centers on Ava, a young white woman thrown into a tree in a car crash who sees the body of an Indigenous woman known as Native Girl. The encounter makes a deep impression on Ava; she adopts elements of Gitxsan culture and later dreams of Native Girl’s murder. A second narrative follows the grief of Native Girl’s brother and mother.
Nicola Antonio Porpora’s opera, written for Farinelli, Senesino, and Francesca Cuzzoni, premiered in Rome in 1730.
Farnace usurps the throne of Pontus, kills the king, and marries his widow, Stratonica. The king’s daughter Laodice is married to Nicomede, while her brother Mitridate has taken refuge in Egypt. Mitridate and his wife Issicratea return disguised as Egyptian ambassadors. After revealing his identity to Laodice, Mitridate and Issicratea kill Farnace and Stratonica, and Nicomede announces the rightful king’s return.
After a defeat, Mitridate is presumed dead, and his sons Farnace and Sifare both desire Aspasia. When he returns with Princess Ismene, he learns Farnace is pursuing Aspasia and plotting with the Romans. Mitridate arrests Farnace and discovers Sifare’s love for Aspasia. As Rome attacks, Sifare joins his father in battle. Defeated, Mitridate takes his own life after blessing Sifare and Aspasia and forgiving Farnace, who agrees to marry Ismene.
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