Messaline
In Rome in AD 45, Empress Messaline loves the poet Harès and then his brother Hélion, a gladiator; these attachments have fatal results.
Operas
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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.
Miarka
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.
Midnight Son
A one-act contemporary opera inspired by the true story of the murder of Melbourne woman Maria Korp.
Mignon
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.
Mikrovion
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.
Milton
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.
Mindia
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.
Mináǧi kiŋ dowáŋ: A Zitkála-Šá Opera
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.
Mirandolina
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.
Mireille
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.
Mirette
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.
Miriways
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.
Mirra
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.
Mirthis
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.
Miss Fortune
Judith Weir’s opera reworks a Sicilian folktale as a contemporary parable. The entry does not detail the story.
Miss Havisham’s Fire
The two-act opera loosely adapts Great Expectations and centers on an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Aurelia Havisham’s death.
Miss Helyett
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.
Miss Julie
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.
Miss Julie
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.
Missing
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.
Mitridate
Nicola Antonio Porpora’s opera, written for Farinelli, Senesino, and Francesca Cuzzoni, premiered in Rome in 1730.
Mitridate Eupatore
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.
Mitridate, re di Ponto
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.
Mittwoch aus Licht
The final day of Stockhausen’s Licht cycle stages cooperation and reconciliation among Michael, Eve and Lucifer across four scenes: a world parliament, an orchestra audition, a helicopter-borne string quartet and Michaelion. Its musical theatre combines soloists, choirs, electronics, spatial performance and unconventional staging.
Mlada
Voyslava kills Mlada so she can have Yaromir, Mlada’s former fiancé. Morena helps Voyslava enchant him, but Mlada’s spirit leads Yaromir to the truth. Voyslava confesses and Yaromir kills her; Morena destroys the temple and city, and Yaromir is reunited with Mlada. This plot summary is partly conjectural and draws on later treatments of the libretto.
Mlada
In the ninth or tenth century, Voyslava kills Mlada, bride of Prince Yaromir, with a poisoned ring so she can have Yaromir for herself. Voyslava’s nurse offers her help if she pledges allegiance to Morena, goddess of the underworld. Although Morena bewitches Yaromir, Mlada’s spirit draws him away from Voyslava. He learns that Voyslava murdered Mlada and kills her. Morena destroys the temple and city of Rethra in a storm and earthquake, while Yaromir is united with Mlada in heaven.
Moby-Dick
Ahab leads the Pequod’s crew on a voyage to kill the white whale that took his leg, rejecting Starbuck’s pleas to return home and a request to search for a lost boy. After storms, deaths, and Moby Dick’s attacks sink the ship, Ahab is dragged under; Greenhorn survives on Queequeg’s coffin and identifies himself as Ishmael.
Modehandlerskan
Three-act operetta by Franz Berwald.
Momo and the Time Thieves
Svitlana Azarova’s two-act Danish-language opera adapts Michael Ende’s children’s novel Momo. Its characters include Momo, Beppo, Gigi, Master Hora, and the Grey Gentlemen.
Mona
A three-act English-language opera by Horatio Parker, composed after the work won the Metropolitan Opera’s 1911 composition competition.
Mona Lisa
In a prologue and epilogue set in the present, a lay brother recounts the history of a Florentine palace and its occupants. The two central acts take place in 1492: Mona Lisa, once in love with Giovanni, is married to Francesco, who suspects her feelings and imprisons Giovanni in a sealed pearl shrine. Giovanni suffocates, and Mona Lisa later locks Francesco inside the shrine.
Monkey: Journey to the West
Monkey is born from a stone egg and seeks immortality, but Buddha imprisons him after his rebellion in heaven. Five centuries later he joins Tripitaka’s pilgrimage to India, where the companions face demons and other trials before receiving the scriptures in paradise.
Monna Vanna
A four-act French opera based on Maurice Maeterlinck’s play Monna Vanna.
Monna Vanna
In the surviving first act, Pisa is under siege, and Guido’s father tells him that the enemy will cease fighting if Guido’s wife Monna Vanna visits their camp wearing only a mantle. She agrees to go.
Monsieur Beaucaire
In Bath, the disguised barber Monsieur Beaucaire is actually the Duc d’Orléans, heir to the French throne. He loves Lady Mary, who is courted by the Duke of Winterset. After Beaucaire exposes Winterset as a cheat, the rivals’ conflict escalates into a duel and a later attack that leaves Beaucaire wounded. He and Mary reconcile, and when the French Ambassador recognizes him as the king’s son, Beaucaire reveals his identity and names Mary his future Duchess.
Monsieur et Madame Denis
Gaston abducts Lucile from her boarding school so they can seek her guardians’ blessing to marry. While the guardians are away, Nanette helps the young couple disguise themselves as Monsieur and Madame Denis when guards arrive. The ruse is exposed, but Nanette gets the soldiers drunk, and the lovers tie them up before the real guardians return.
Monster's Paradise
Vampire women Vampi and Bampi travel the world and attempt to stop a destructive King-President, portrayed as a grotesque ruler in an oval office. Gorgonzilla, a sea monster created by a nuclear accident, opposes the ruler but has an ambiguous role. The King-President’s adjutants Mickey and Tuckey are patterned after powerful technology executives. The work satirizes the danger that the ruler could destroy the world and the efforts to prevent it.
Monsters of Grace
A multimedia chamber opera in 13 short acts, the work sets poems by Jalaluddin Rumi to music by Philip Glass and was directed by Robert Wilson. Its original production paired live music with 3D computer-animated film projected above the musicians.
Montag aus Licht
Eve gives birth first to strange children, whom Lucifer rejects, and then to seven boys, one for each weekday. In the final act, a Pied Piper enchants the children and leads them into the sky, as Eve’s statue transforms into a mountain.
Montezuma
The opera concerns Hernán Cortés’s conquest of Mexico and the defeat of the Aztec emperor Montezuma.
Montezuma
The opera depicts the conflict involving Montezuma and Hernán Cortés in the Aztec Empire.
Morgen und Abend
The opera follows fisherman Johannes from birth to death. Before his birth, his father Olai waits and imagines what his wife and child are experiencing. Later, Johannes reflects on his daughter Signe and speaks with his friend Peter and wife Erna, then realizes that they died long ago and that he too must be dead.
Morning Star
The Russian Jewish Felderman family immigrates to Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1910. Their story unfolds against the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, World War I, and the Great Depression.
Moro per amore
Queen Eurinda falls in love with Floridoro, prince of Cyprus, who enters her court disguised as a Moor. Their enemy kingdoms and court rivalries separate them until pirates recognize Floridoro and he returns with an army; the story ends with three couples united.
Moses
Anton Rubinstein’s eight-scene sacred opera follows Moses from his rescue from the Nile by Pharaoh’s daughter through the golden-calf episode. A chorus of night spirits and celestials comments on the events.
Moses
After leading the Israelites through the desert for forty years, Moses faces a revolt by Dathan and Abiram, who threaten to stone him. He is driven from the camp, where the people worship the Golden Calf. In the desert, Azazel and the ghost of Moses' mother urge him to renounce God; a storm sweeps him away. The Israelites fear he is dead and condemn Dathan and Abiram. Joshua prepares to lead them onward, and the opera ends with a call for peace before the people reach the Promised Land.
Moses und Aron
Moses is called to lead the Israelites from Egypt, while his brother Aron translates Moses’ inward conception of God into images the people can understand. During Moses’ absence, Aron permits the people to worship a golden calf; on his return Moses destroys it and despairs that Aron’s images have distorted his teaching. In the uncomposed final scene, Moses releases Aron, who dies, and affirms that the people may still reach unity with God.
Mosè in Egitto
In Egypt, Pharaoh initially agrees to release the Hebrews after Moses’s prayer ends the darkness, but reverses his decision. Pharaoh’s son Osiride loves the Hebrew Elcia and tries to prevent her departure. Though Pharaoh plans for Osiride to marry an Assyrian princess, Osiride refuses and orders Moses killed; he is struck by lightning. At the Red Sea, Moses parts the waters to lead the Hebrews across, and the pursuing Egyptians drown when the waters close.
Motezuma
The opera presents a highly fictionalized account of an episode in the life of the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II and has a happy ending, unlike the historical ruler’s death during the Spanish conquest.
Motezuma
Set in early sixteenth-century Mexico, the opera concerns Moctezuma II and the Spanish conquest.
Mother
In a poor part of Moravia, farmer Křen lives with his large family. After his first wife dies from hard work, he marries again. His second wife, Maruša, is dissatisfied with his lack of passion. Through maternal love, she softens his defiant nature, bears and raises children according to her understanding of God’s will, and becomes an observer of life’s continual renewal.
Mourning Becomes Electra
An English-language three-act opera by Marvin David Levy, with libretto by Henry W. Butler after Eugene O’Neill’s play Mourning Becomes Electra. The principal characters include Christine, Lavinia and Orin Mannon, and Captain Adam Brant.
Mozart and Salieri
Salieri, who has devoted himself to music, privately resents Mozart’s effortless talent and believes Mozart’s work is superior. He invites Mozart to dinner and poisons his drink. Mozart speaks of the Requiem commissioned by a mysterious stranger and asks whether genius can coexist with crime. As Mozart plays, Salieri weeps and urges him to continue. Mozart feels ill and leaves; Salieri remains troubled by Mozart’s belief that a genius could not be a murderer.
Moïse et Pharaon
Rossini’s four-act French-language revision expands Mosè in Egitto with additional music and a substantial ballet.
Mr Emmet Takes a Walk
In the final seconds before Mr Emmet dies by suicide on a railway line, thoughts, memories, ideas, and musical fragments pass through his mind over the work’s fifty-minute span.
Mr Kotsky
A house cat is abandoned for being old and unable to catch mice. It meets Fox and gives an impressive name, leading Fox to believe it is fierce. Fox marries the cat and feeds it well. Forest animals want to meet the feared Mr. Kotsky, but when they peek in at the couple, the cat wakes suddenly and seems to confirm its fearsome reputation. At a dinner party, the animals hide while Fox and the cat eat. Hearing the cat meow for more soup, the animals are amazed at its appetite. When the cat mistakes the boar’s tail for a mouse and bites it, the boar overturns the table, startling Bear into a chain of mishaps that sends all the animals fleeing.
Mr. Jericho
Earl Michael de Vere has lost his fortune, and his son Horace works undercover as an omnibus driver while longing for Winifred. Jam manufacturer Mr. Jericho arranges a customer testimonial from the Earl and offers Horace a partnership; Lady Bushey’s objection to the match is overcome, and the couple can marry.
Mrika
An Albanian-language opera by Prenkë Jakova to a libretto by Llazar Siliqi, based on their earlier musical action Dritë mbi Shqipëri.
Much Ado About Nothing
A four-act operatic setting of William Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing.
Muirgheis
An opera originally written in Irish and mainly staged in English at the time.
Mutio Scevola
An Italian opera based on the story of the Roman hero Gaius Mucius Scaevola.
Muzio Scevola
As Tarquinio and Porsena attack Rome, Horatio defends the bridge and saves the city. Roman soldier Muzio tries to assassinate Porsena, fails, then earns the king’s respect by holding his hand in fire. Clelia escapes captivity, Tarquinio is defeated, and Porsena makes peace, allowing Muzio and Clelia and Horatio and Irene to marry.
Mystery on the Docks
A one-act children’s opera based on a book by Thacher Hurd, with roles for a cook, a criminal rat, an opera star, and a rat gang.
Mârouf, savetier du Caire
The henpecked cobbler Mârouf joins sailors to travel to Khaïtân, where he pretends to be a rich merchant expecting a caravan. The sultan offers him his daughter Saamcheddine, who falls in love with him. When the deception is uncovered, Mârouf flees with the princess. They find a ring that gives him power over a magician, who makes the promised caravan real. The sultan pardons Mârouf and allows the couple to marry.
Männerlist größer als Frauenlist
Jeweller Julius Wander poses as an aristocrat and is tricked into promising to marry Aurora, daughter of Baron von Abendthau. He recognizes the bear-keeper Gregor as his father, and discovers that the dancing bear is his brother Richard in a bearskin. After Wander reveals his parentage, the baron rejects him, freeing him to marry Leontine.
Médus, roi des Mèdes
A prologue and five-act tragédie en musique.
Méduse
Medusa competes with Minerva for the title of most beautiful and grows jealous when Prince Persée loves Princess Ismenie. Medusa and Neptune capture the couple, but Persée remains devoted to Ismenie. Jupiter transforms Medusa into a monster; she turns Ismenie to stone, and Minerva later reverses the transformation and celebrates the lovers’ marriage.
Médée
In Corinth, Jason abandons Médée to marry Créuse, and King Créon orders Médée into exile. She conspires with Oronte, then uses magic to kill Créuse with a poisoned robe and drive Créon mad. After Créuse dies, Médée announces she has killed her own children and escapes in a dragon-drawn chariot as Corinth burns.
Médée
At Corinth, Dircé prepares to marry Jason, who had taken the Golden Fleece with Médée’s help before abandoning her. Médée returns and demands that Jason return to her; he refuses, and she vows vengeance. Ordered to leave Corinth, she asks for one more day with her children and sends wedding gifts to Dircé. One gift poisons Dircé. Médée, Néris and the children take refuge in a temple; Médée emerges with a bloodied knife after killing her children, curses Jason and disappears as the temple burns.
Médée et Jason
An adaptation of the Medea myth that emphasizes its dark and violent elements, in a prologue and five acts.
Mélidore et Phrosine
Mélidore and Phrosine plan to elope, but her brothers oppose their marriage. After Mélidore appears to kill Aimar, he disguises himself as a dead hermit and secretly guides Phrosine to him with a nightly beacon. A storm extinguishes the light; Jule mistakes his torch for it and leaves Phrosine to drown, but Mélidore rescues her, and the brothers finally consent to the marriage.
Méléagre
A tragédie en musique based on the Greek legend of Meleager.
Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen
A one-act expressionist opera based on Oskar Kokoschka’s play of the same name and described as a mythic expression of a violent struggle between the sexes.
MĀRA: A Chamber Opera on Good and Evil
In Act I, Gotama leaves his privileged life to seek awakening and resists Māra and his daughter Taṇhā’s efforts to distract him. Act II follows the Buddha’s later life: a disciple rejects his teaching, he becomes ill, receives a final meal from Cunda the Smith, and dies in the company of Ānanda and the monastic community.
Na Starém bělidle
A four-scene Czech-language opera based on Božena Němcová’s novel The Grandmother. The entry does not describe the operatic plot.
Nabucco
In Jerusalem, Nabucco’s daughter Fenena is held hostage and falls in love with Ismaele. Nabucco conquers the city, while his other daughter Abigaille discovers she is the child of slaves and seizes the Babylonian throne. When Nabucco claims to be a god, a thunderbolt strikes him and he loses his senses. Abigaille orders the execution of the Israelites, including Fenena, but Nabucco regains his reason and faith in the God of the Hebrews. He frees the captives and orders the destruction of Baal’s idol. Abigaille takes poison, begs forgiveness, and dies.
Nana
Manfred Gurlitt’s German-language opera adapts Émile Zola’s novel Nana.
Napoli milionaria
Nino Rota’s three-act Italian opera adapts Eduardo De Filippo’s 1945 play Napoli milionaria!. The available text does not provide the plot.
Nargiz
An Azerbaijani opera about peasants’ struggle for Soviet power, incorporating Azerbaijani folk songs.
Natalka Poltavka
Natalka waits for her fiancé Petro, who is away working, while the landowner Vozniy seeks to marry her. With help from Viborniy, Natalka’s mother is persuaded to favor Vozniy, and preparations begin despite Natalka’s distress. Petro returns and learns of the engagement. Natalka declares her love for him, but her mother objects. Petro offers to leave to prevent conflict; moved by this, Vozniy withdraws, and Natalka and Petro are united.
Natoma
A serious grand opera set in Santa Barbara during the Spanish period around 1820, with Spanish and Native American themes.
Nausicaa
Nausicaa shelters the shipwrecked Aethon, a Cretan nobleman who is a reimagining of Odysseus. When suitors plot against her father, Nausicaa arranges to marry Aethon, who defeats them and spares the singer Phemius at her request. She asks Phemius to sing her own version of Penelope’s story.
Naïs
Neptune disguises himself as a mortal to win the nymph Naïs at the Isthmian Games. Her other suitors, Télénus and Astérion, misread a prophecy and plan to sacrifice their rival, but Neptune overwhelms them with waves. He reveals his identity, takes Naïs to his underwater palace, and transforms her into a goddess.
Naïs Micoulin
Alfred Bruneau’s drame lyrique adapts Émile Zola’s work Naïs Micoulin.
Ne touchez pas à la reine
A three-act French opéra comique by Xavier Boisselot with a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Gustave Vaëz.
Neither
A setting of a 16-line poem by Samuel Beckett for soprano soloist and orchestra.
Nell Gwynne
This three-act comic opera by Robert Planquette is based on William Thomas Moncrieff's play Rochester and features Nell Gwynne, King Charles II, the Duke of Buckingham, and the Earl of Rochester.
Nelson
In Naples in 1798, fortune-teller Mme. Serafina tells Nelson he will have to choose between love and duty. He meets Emma Hamilton and they realize they love each other. In London in 1800, Nelson’s wife rebukes him over the affair, while Emma declares her love. In 1805, Lord Minto and Captain Hardy urge Nelson to end the affair, but he and Emma reaffirm their attachment before he is summoned to command the fleet. They say farewell at Portsmouth. During the Battle of Trafalgar, the dying Nelson thinks of Emma. Hardy later brings Emma the news of Nelson’s death, recalling Serafina’s prophecy.
Nephté
Queen Nephté mourns her husband Séthos and suspects that his brother Pharès murdered him. Pharès commands the army, seeks the throne and threatens Nephté’s son; the high priest Amédès helps protect the child. Nephté finally agrees to marry Pharès, but poisons their wedding cup. Both die, allowing her son to succeed as king of Egypt.
Neprigozhaya
Near Novgorod in the early 16th century, boyar's daughter Salomonida is made to believe she is ugly by her father, who also perpetuates slander about her mother. The disguised Tsar Vasili encounters Salomonida and falls in love with her. He uses a mirror to disprove the lie about her appearance, demands her hand from her father, and clears her mother's name. The story ends happily.
Nerone
Set in Imperial Rome during Nero’s reign, the opera explores tensions between the Imperial religion and Christianity and concludes with the Great Fire of Rome.
Nerone
A three-act opera depicting Nero and figures of ancient Rome; the plot is not detailed.
Nerone fatto Cesare
A lost Italian dramma per musica by Antonio Vivaldi; the libretto and plot are unavailable in the source.
Neues vom Tage
A comic opera satirizing modern life, celebrity, and marriage through parodies of opera and Berlin cabaret.
Nevěsta messinská
Princess Isabella makes peace between her feuding sons, Manuel and César, and reveals their sister Beatrice, hidden away since childhood. When Manuel falls in love with Beatrice without knowing their kinship, César kills him in jealousy; learning the truth, César kills himself.
New Year
Jo Ann, a child psychologist, is too afraid to leave home to help young victims of violence in Terror Town. Visitors from the future arrive by spaceship, bringing Jo Ann together with the pilot Pelegrin. After she saves her foster brother Donny from a violent New Year’s crowd, Jo Ann overcomes her fear and returns to the outside world.
New York Stories
In Broken Pieces, a Manhattan woman and an Italian immigrant repairing her bathroom share their stories and a romantic moment. In Just for the Night, a woman turns away her brother, who is living in a shelter. In Cradle Song, a composer couple return from a night out and struggle to put their child to bed.
Nigredo Hotel
In Room 7 of a run-down hotel called Nigredo, the woman who runs the hotel encounters Raymond, a brain surgeon who has taken refuge there after crashing his car.
Nikola Šubić Zrinjski
A Croatian-language opera by Ivan Zajc retelling the 1566 Battle of Szigetvár, where Croatian and Hungarian forces under Nikola IV Zrinski made a last stand against Ottoman armies led by Suleiman the Magnificent.
Nina
Nina loves Germeuil, but her father, Count Lindoro, favors another suitor. After Germeuil fights a duel with his rival, Nina believes he has been killed and loses her reason. She recovers when Germeuil returns unharmed and her father allows them to marry.
Nina, o sia La pazza per amore
Nina has lost her reason after her father broke his promise that she could marry Lindoro. When a richer suitor arrived on their wedding day, Lindoro challenged him to a duel and was presumed killed. Nina waits at a crossroads for her lover, while the remorseful Count is tormented by his decision. The Count’s valet later reports that Lindoro is alive and at the castle. Lindoro explains he was wounded and nursed back to health. He and Nina are reunited, and she regains her sanity.
Nine Rivers from Jordan
British soldier Don Hanwell’s indifference allows German prisoner Otto Suder to escape and later become a concentration camp guard. Years afterward, an allegorical trial condemns humanity and directs Don to kill Suder; Suder ultimately dies by grenade, forcing Don to confront his own responsibility and the distinction between guilt and damnation.
Ninette
In 1640 Paris, Cyrano de Bergerac and Ninon de Lenclos love each other, while Gontran and Diane are also a couple. After Cyrano wounds Gontran in a quarrel, he and Diane mistake each other’s jealousy for love and agree to marry if they can keep a 30-day pact. Ninon secures Gontran’s release, and the couples rediscover their love. Cyrano deliberately breaks the pact by duelling, freeing them to marry their true loves.
Niobe, regina di Tebe
A three-act tragedy about the Greek mythological queen Niobe, punished by the gods for her pride, with a libretto by Luigi Orlandi after Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
Nitocri
A two-act serious opera offering a fictionalized account of Egyptian queen Nitocris. The principal characters include Nitocri, her sister Emirena, general Mirteo, and Prince Feraspe.
Nitétis
A tragédie en musique with a prologue, based on the mythological history of Ancient Egypt.
Nixon in China
During Richard Nixon’s 1972 visit to China, Nixon, Pat Nixon, Henry Kissinger, Mao Zedong, Jiang Qing, and Zhou Enlai encounter one another in public ceremonies and private conversations. Nixon and Chou Enlai exchange toasts; Pat tours Beijing and watches a revolutionary ballet, which Jiang Qing interrupts to assert her role in the Cultural Revolution. In the final act, the principals reflect on their histories and choices, while Chou Enlai questions what their actions have accomplished.
Nizami
In Ganja, poet Nizami and Rena declare their love, angering Azra, who also loves Nizami, and the ruler who desires Azra. The ruler orders Rena sent to Baghdad. At a palace feast, Nizami refuses to praise the ruler and rejects Azra; the ruler retaliates by ordering Rena branded. Nizami later leaves Gizil Arslan’s court after witnessing the ruler’s cruelty to his son. Azra and the ruler plot to kill Rena, while the ruler tries to draw Nizami to his side with gifts and threats. When Gizil Arslan’s troops surround Ganja, the ruler orders the city burned and Nizami refuses to mediate. The people gather around the poet, convinced that justice will prevail.
No Exit
A one-act chamber opera based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s play No Exit.
No Song, No Supper
Shipwrecked Frederick and Robin reach farmer George Crop’s home. Frederick had pretended to be poor and was rejected by Crop’s daughter Louisa; he later disguises himself to convince her he died at sea, then reveals himself. Robin loves Margaretta, while Mr. Endless schemes to dispossess Crop and take his wife Dorothy. Robin’s keg from the ship reveals gold, and Margaretta exposes Endless hiding in a sack. Crop and Dorothy reconcile, and Frederick and Louisa reunite.
Nocturne
A one-act Ukrainian opera with a modern setting, contrasting a folk song and a romantic salon song as representations of the past and present.
Noises, Sounds & Sweet Airs
A setting of an abridged selection of text from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, arranged in seventeen sections. The first version was an opera-ballet titled La Princesse de Milan, with dancers portraying characters; later opera-only version includes more of Shakespeare’s text.
Noli Me Tangere
Juan Crisostomo Ibarra returns to San Diego after seven years in Europe and learns that his father’s death remains mysterious. He plans a schoolhouse in his father’s memory and reunites with Maria Clara. At the cemetery, he learns that a priest ordered his father’s remains exhumed and thrown into the river; Ibarra’s anger leads to his excommunication. Meanwhile, Basilio escapes after being punished with his brother Crispin, and their mother Sisa is abused by the Guardia Civils. Ibarra later saves Elias from a crocodile and is warned that he has powerful enemies. Padre Damaso mocks Ibarra’s school project, and Maria Clara prevents Ibarra from attacking him. In the final act, Maria Clara is ordered to marry Alfonso Linares. Ibarra clears his name and reunites with her, but is arrested for rebellion. He and Elias escape and say goodbye to Maria Clara before gunshots are heard. Sisa, now insane and searching for her children, finds Basilio and dies; the mortally wounded Elias tells Basilio to build a pyre for them and use buried treasure to fund education.
Nora at the Altar-Rail
A one-act piano-accompanied opera based on Genesis and inspired by Thomas Hardy’s poem At the Altar-Rail.
Nordisa
Nordisa, believed to be a peasant girl, falls in love with Count Oscar, who is due to marry Minna to honor a promise to his dying father. After Nordisa saves Oscar in an avalanche, they survive together beneath the snow and later appear at Minna’s wedding. A confession reveals that the girls’ identities were exchanged at birth, allowing the romantic pairings to change.
Norma
Norma, a Druid high priestess in Roman-occupied Gaul, has secretly borne two children by Pollione, the Roman proconsul. She discovers that he has fallen in love with the young priestess Adalgisa. Norma tries to persuade him to return, but later confesses her own broken vows and is condemned to die at the stake. Moved by her sacrifice, Pollione joins her on the pyre.
Not Love Alone
Shchedrin’s first opera, with Varvara among its roles and a humorous quadrille in Act 2.
Nothing
Pierre leaves class for a plum tree and declares that nothing matters. His classmates first give up possessions to a bonfire, then demand increasingly extreme sacrifices from one another to prove that life has meaning. Pierre finally declares that life is beautiful because it means nothing; the children attack him. Years later, the former classmates gather by the tree as adults and hang purple baubles in his memory.
Notorious
During the Second World War, Alicia Hauser, the daughter of a Nazi, is recruited by U.S. intelligence to infiltrate a group of German émigré scientists in Brazil developing a destructive weapon. She is attracted to her recruiter, Devlin, but marries scientist Alex Sebastian as part of the mission.
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