Olga
An opera based on the life of Olga Benário Prestes.
Operas
3280 shows
Clear filtersOlimpie
After Alexander the Great’s death, his daughter Olimpie lives disguised as the slave Aménais, while her mother Statira hides as a priestess. Statira accuses Cassandre of murdering Alexander, but Olimpie defends him because he once saved her life. Torn between her love for Cassandre and loyalty to her mother, Olimpie sees Cassandre’s army clash with Antigonus’s. In the revised ending, the mortally wounded Antigonus confesses to Alexander’s murder, freeing Cassandre and Olimpie to marry.
Olivo e Pasquale
Merchant Olivo wants his daughter Isabella to marry the wealthy Le Bross, but she loves her apprentice Camillo. Le Bross helps the young couple, and their supposed suicide threat finally persuades Olivo to accept their marriage; the lovers appear alive, and he blesses their union.
Omar
Born into a scholarly family in West Africa, Omar ibn Said is captured and enslaved, separated from his mother and transported to Charleston. After helping Julie escape an abusive enslaver, he is sold to Johnson, then escapes and is jailed in Fayetteville. James Owen buys him and tries to convert him; Omar studies an Arabic Bible, prays and, urged by Julie and his mother’s spirit, begins writing about his experiences and faith.
Omphale
A prologue and five-act tragédie en musique by André Cardinal Destouches, with a libretto by Antoine Houdar de La Motte.
Omphale
A five-act tragédie en musique using a libretto previously set by André Cardinal Destouches.
On London Fields
In Cromwellian Hackney, mystic Hannah Trapnell leads residents to London Fields and prophesies a new kingdom of heaven. When Puritan soldiers suppress the gathering, Abel is killed; his pregnant widow sings a lullaby to their unborn child.
One
A chamber opera for soprano, video, and soundtrack.
One Night Stand
One-act opera by Finnish composer Olli Kortekangas and librettist Michael Baran. The work was composed in 2009–2010 for the Sibelius Academy; its narrative is not described in the source.
Operation Orfeo
A conceptual visual opera in three movements based on the Orpheus and Eurydice legend. Its tableaux and compositions follow visual and auditory principles rather than a conventional dramatic sequence.
Orango
An unfinished satirical opera planned as a prologue and three acts, centered on Orango, a human-ape hybrid created in a medical experiment. Only about a quarter of the prologue survives; the completed fragment was first performed in an orchestration by Gerard McBurney.
Orazi e Curiazi
A three-act tragedia lirica based on the Roman legend of the Horatii and the Curiatii.
Oreste
Haunted by the Furies after killing his mother, Oreste is shipwrecked in Tauris, where his sister Ifigenia serves as a priestess. She does not initially recognize him and must sacrifice foreigners; his wife Ermione and friend Pilade are also captured. When the king refuses mercy, Ifigenia and Filotete turn against him, ending the sacrifices and reuniting the family.
Oresteia
The opera is based on Aeschylus’ Oresteia trilogy and covers Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides; the source provides no plot narrative beyond the parts and tableau headings.
Orfeo
Venus schemes to separate Orpheus and Eurydice, but Eurydice rejects her efforts to make her love Aristaeus. During a dance, Eurydice is bitten by a snake and dies. Orpheus descends to the underworld, where Juno persuades Proserpina and Pluto to release Eurydice on condition that he not look back before they reach the upper world. He turns and loses her again. Jupiter transforms Orpheus, Eurydice, and the lyre into constellations. The epilogue presents the lyre as a symbol of France and wishes King Louis a long life.
Orfeo
Aristaeus, Orpheus’s brother, also loves Eurydice, making Orpheus jealous. Aristaeus rejects Autonoe, who disguises herself as a gypsy and enlists Achilles and Hercules to help. Orpheus plans Eurydice’s murder, but she dies from a snakebite while trying to flee Aristaeus. Orpheus descends to the underworld and persuades Pluto to release her, provided he does not look back before they reach the living world. Orpheus turns and loses Eurydice again. Aristaeus accepts Autonoe, and they marry.
Orfeo dolente
Domenico Belli’s early Baroque work consists of five interludes associated with the Orpheus myth. They were first performed as intermedi during a production of Tasso’s play Aminta; the available text does not supply a plot summary.
Orfeo ed Euridice
At Euridice’s tomb, Orfeo mourns his wife. Amore lets him travel to the Underworld and bring her back, on condition that he not look at her before they return to earth. Orfeo wins passage through the Furies with his singing and finds Euridice among the blessed spirits. On the way back, Euridice is distressed that Orfeo will not look at or explain himself to her. When she refuses to continue, Orfeo turns to her and she dies again. He grieves and prepares to kill himself, but Amore intervenes, restores Euridice to life, and reunites the couple.
Orimonte
An Italian opera in a prologue and three acts by Francesco Cavalli with a libretto by Niccolò Minato.
Orion
Orion loves Alphisa, a nymph of Diana, and saves her from a monster. Diana falls in love with Orion, while Scythian king Pallantus also seeks Alphisa’s hand. Diana eventually orders Alphisa to marry Pallantus or be sacrificed, but Pallantus gives his life to save her. Moved by his death, Diana reunites Orion and Alphisa, who marry and ascend among the stars.
Oristeo
This three-act dramma per musica features Oristeo, King of Epirus, his son Euralio, and the princesses Diomeda and Corinta, alongside Trasimede, Prince of Archaea.
Orlando
The knight Orlando loves Angelica, who loves Medoro, while the shepherdess Dorinda also loves Medoro. When Orlando discovers the lovers’ relationship, jealousy drives him into madness. The magician Zoroastro protects Angelica and Medoro and restores Orlando’s reason. Orlando accepts their love and wishes them happiness, and Dorinda joins the celebration.
Orlando finto pazzo
Sorceress Ersilla sends her champion Argillano to destroy Orlando, but Orlando defeats him and enters her garden. Ersilla becomes enamored of Brandimarte, who twice helps rescue Orlando; meanwhile Grifone and Origille disguise themselves, and romantic rivalries lead to imprisonment and attempted poisoning. Orlando breaks the spells holding Ersilla’s victims, who awaken and are reunited with their partners.
Orlando furioso
A three-act setting of Orlando furioso attributed to Antonio Vivaldi and surviving incompletely in manuscript.
Orlando furioso
After Medoro survives a shipwreck, he reunites with Angelica, who hides their love from the jealous Orlando. The enchantress Alcina uses magic to make Ruggiero forget Bradamante, but Bradamante breaks the spell. When Orlando discovers Angelica and Medoro’s marriage, he becomes furious and destroys Alcina’s power. He regains his reason and forgives the couple.
Orlando generoso
Set in a quasi-fairy-tale world, Agostino Steffani’s opera focuses on the emotions, relationships, and development of its characters. It adapts Ariosto’s romantic epic Orlando furioso.
Orlando paladino
Orlando pursues Angelica, who loves Medoro, and rages at their relationship. The sorceress Alcina repeatedly protects the lovers and restrains Orlando, while Rodomonte also pursues Angelica. Medoro is wounded and Orlando duels with Rodomonte. Alcina uses the waters of Lethe to cure Orlando’s madness, erasing his love for Angelica and hatred of Medoro. Angelica and Medoro reunite, Eurilla and Orlando’s squire Pasquale marry, and Orlando sets out for new deeds.
Orontea
Philosophy and Love debate their power over humanity. Queen Orontea vows to avoid love, but falls for painter Alidoro when he arrives seeking refuge; the courtesan Silandra also loves him. Giacinta, disguised as a boy, arrives after being sent to kill Alidoro. Orontea grows jealous when he paints Silandra, while Creonte disapproves of her love for a commoner. Later Alidoro is accused of stealing a royal medallion. Aristea explains that it belonged to his family: Alidoro is actually Floridano, the kidnapped son of Phoenicia’s king, and he is free to marry Orontea.
Oronthée
A prologue and five-act tragédie en musique; almost all of the score is lost.
Orpheus
Queen Orasia of Thrace loves Orpheus, but he loves Eurydice. Orasia plots against Eurydice, who dies from a snakebite in Orpheus’s arms. Orpheus descends to the underworld and persuades Pluto to release her, but looks back too soon and loses her. Orasia expects him to love her now, but he rejects her. She urges Bacchus’s followers to kill Orpheus, then sees a vision of Orpheus and Eurydice reunited and kills herself in despair.
Orpheus und Eurydike
Krenek’s opera condenses Oskar Kokoschka’s expressionist, psychological treatment of the Orpheus myth. The source identifies the principal roles but gives no further plot synopsis.
Orphée
A satirical retelling of the Orpheus story as commentary on Louis XIV’s rule. In the prologue, Venus condemns pomp and war during the Nine Years’ War and laments her son; Games and Pleasures, Cupid and the Graces appear.
Orphée aux enfers
Orphée, a rustic violin teacher, and his wife Eurydice dislike one another. Eurydice loves their neighbour Aristée, who is actually Pluton, god of the Underworld; Orphée and Pluton plot her death, and Pluton takes her below. Public Opinion forces Orphée to attempt a rescue. On Olympus, the gods revolt against Jupiter, who then descends to the Underworld and falls for Eurydice. At a celebration in Hades, Jupiter tries to smuggle her out. Orphée is told not to look back, but Jupiter’s thunderbolt makes him turn; Eurydice disappears, and the gods assign her to Bacchus. The 1874 revision expands the work to four acts and adds ballet, characters, and musical numbers without changing the main narrative.
Orphée, L'Amour, Eurydice
This three-act opera retells the Orpheus myth through two parallel audience experiences. One follows Orphée in live performance and virtual reality; the other follows Eurydice through live performance and headphones. Each character reaches a conclusion about their broken relationship.
Orson Rehearsed
As Orson Welles lies between life and death, three avatars of him move through memories of his artistic career, personal losses and political concerns. The staged opera combines live performance with projected films and electro-acoustic music; Hagen later incorporated the stage production into a distinct film realization.
Oryx and Crake
In a post-apocalyptic future, a boy is the last surviving human. Flashbacks tell how he was subjected to genetic-engineering experiments.
Oscar
Walt Whitman introduces Wilde’s story. In London in 1895, hotel managers refuse Wilde rooms under pressure from the Marquess of Queensberry’s detectives. Ada Leverson and Frank Harris urge him to escape to France, but Wilde decides to stay for the trial. He is convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years’ hard labour. In Reading Gaol, he endures the prison regime, receives kindness from fellow prisoners and warder Martin, and witnesses the execution of another prisoner. Harris’s advocacy improves his conditions; Leverson visits and tells him he will soon be free. Wilde and Bosie part, and Whitman presents him to the Immortals.
Ossian, ou Les bardes
In an imagined third-century Scotland, the Scandinavian ruler Duntalmo invades Caledonia, oppresses its people and plans to marry his son Mornal to Rosmala. She is already betrothed to the bard and warrior Ossian. Caledonians defeat the invaders, allowing Ossian to marry Rosmala.
Otello
In Venice at the end of the 15th century, Otello returns victorious from battle and secretly marries Desdemona, daughter of his enemy Elmiro. She was already promised to Rodrigo, son of the Doge. Iago, who also loves Desdemona and resents Otello, pretends to support Rodrigo and manipulates Otello into believing Desdemona has been unfaithful. Otello stabs Desdemona to death, then kills himself after discovering Iago’s deception and her innocence.
Otello
After Otello returns victorious to Cyprus, Iago schemes against him and engineers Cassio’s dismissal. Iago plants Desdemona’s strawberry-embroidered handkerchief and twists a conversation to convince Otello that she has been unfaithful. Otello kills Desdemona, then learns that Iago stole the handkerchief and fabricated the evidence. Realizing his error, Otello stabs himself and dies beside her.
Otto mesi in due ore ossia Gli esiliati in Siberia
Elisabetta sets out from Siberia for Moscow to seek a pardon for her wrongly exiled parents. On the journey she befriends a Tartar group, survives a flood, and exposes the injustice to the Tsar, who pardons and reunites her family.
Ottone in villa
Roman emperor Ottone loves Cleonilla, who flirts with Ostilio and Caio. Ostilio is actually Tullia, a woman in love with Caio, and she considers killing Cleonilla out of jealousy. When Caio mistakes their meeting for a romance, Ottone orders him to kill Ostilio; Tullia’s identity is revealed, and Cleonilla reconciles with Ottone. The opera ends with Tullia and Caio’s marriage.
Ottone, re di Germania
Gismonda and her son Adelberto plot to take Italy from Ottone, who is on his way to marry Theofane. Adelberto impersonates Ottone to win Theofane, but is defeated and imprisoned. He escapes with Matilda’s help and abducts Theofane. After renewed conflict, she and Ottone reunite; Emireno is revealed as Theofane’s brother, and Ottone forgives Gismonda and Adelberto. Matilda and Adelberto are also united.
Our American Cousin
The opera moves from backstage preparations at Ford’s Theatre to a performance of Tom Taylor’s comedy before Lincoln, then to the assassination and its aftermath. Actors embody both the play’s characters and the historical events: Booth shoots Lincoln, the company tries to continue, Laura Keene cradles the dying president, and the actors face arrest and loss.
Our Man in Havana
Malcolm Williamson’s first full-scale opera adapts Graham Greene’s 1958 novel Our Man in Havana. Sidney Gilliat wrote the libretto for this three-act English-language work.
Our Town
Ned Rorem and J. D. McClatchy’s three-act opera adapts Thornton Wilder’s play and follows a community through birth, maturity, and death.
Owen Wingrave
A pacifist young man rejects his family’s military tradition and is challenged to spend a night in a haunted room. He dies there, leaving his family to confront the cruelty that drove him to prove his courage.
PUSH
After an attack on the twentieth convoy carrying prisoners to Auschwitz, the prisoners are emboldened to attempt escape. Eleven-year-old Simon Gronowski is pushed from the train carriage and escapes.
Paavo the Great. Great Race. Great Dream.
The opera deals with runner Paavo Nurmi’s life and ambition to win the marathon at the planned 1940 Helsinki Olympics, cancelled because of World War II. Its four main characters are Nurmi, his spouse Sylvi, future president Urho Kekkonen, and the Dark Lady.
Padmâvatî
Alaouddin, sultan of the Khilji dynasty, besieges Chittor and asks its ruler, Ratan-Sen, for peace. After seeing the city, he demands Ratan-Sen’s wife Padmâvatî, famed for her beauty. The Khilji army attacks, and the wounded Ratan-Sen tells Padmâvatî that surrendering herself is the only way to save the people. Ratan-Sen is stoned to death, and Padmâvatî joins him on his funeral pyre.
Paganini
Set in Lucca, the operetta follows violinist Niccolò Paganini’s love affair with Princess Elisa Bonaparte, Napoleon’s sister, who loves the arts and theatre. The work was written as a vehicle for tenor Richard Tauber, who later starred in the successful Berlin production.
Pagliacci
A commedia dell’arte troupe arrives in a Calabrian village. Canio, who plays Pagliaccio, warns the villagers that he will not tolerate anyone courting his wife Nedda. Nedda’s lover Silvio asks her to elope, but Canio catches them and cannot identify the man. During the performance, Nedda repeats the words she had said to Silvio. Canio abandons the play and demands her lover’s name. When she refuses, he stabs her; Silvio rushes to the stage and is also killed. Canio—or Tonio, in the original manuscript—announces that the comedy is finished.
Palatsi
In a palace, courtiers worry that the King has not left his chamber for three days. He later appears but speaks only through Queen Constance. Valmonte rises in the court and invites Constance to flee with him; Kitty plans their escape during a feast. The King overhears, disguises himself as a beggar at the feast, and is ordered arrested by Ossip, who does not recognize him. Constance and Kitty escape; Valmonte emerges bearing the autocrat’s insignia.
Palestrina
Palestrina is pressured to compose a new mass that could preserve polyphonic music in church services. After a vision inspires him to write it, political conflict at the Council of Trent threatens the effort; his son delivers the completed mass, and the Pope restores Palestrina to favor.
Palmira, regina di Persia
In ancient Persia, three kings arrive on different mounts and compete to kill a monster and win the hand of Princess Palmira.
Pan Voyevoda
In 16th- and 17th-century Poland, the Voyevode abducts Maria, an orphan promised to Czapliński, and forces her to marry him. His jealous former lover Jadwiga plots to poison Maria, but shifting affections and a mistaken poisoned toast kill the Voyevode instead; Maria frees Czapliński.
Pandore
A projected five-act tragédie en musique combining the stories of Adam and Eve with the myths of Prometheus and Pandora.
Pandore
A setting of Voltaire’s five-act tragedy combining Adam and Eve with the Prometheus and Pandora myths.
Paradise Lost
Set in heaven, hell, and on earth at the dawn of creation, this sacred representation draws on John Milton’s epic poem and includes roles for Adam, Eve, Satan, Death, Sin, angels, and the Messias.
Paria
Three-act opera based on Delavigne’s play Le paria. The listed characters include Idamor, a warrior-caste leader, and Dżares, the pariah who is Idamor’s father; no plot summary is provided.
Paride ed Elena
Paris seeks Helen’s love after choosing Aphrodite in the Judgment of Paris. Helen rejects him at first, but eventually yields after the disguised Cupid, Erasto, intervenes. Pallas Athene warns the couple of sorrow to come as they prepare to sail for Troy.
Parisina
Duke Azzo suspects his wife Parisina is unfaithful, and she urges her lover Ugo to flee. When Parisina confesses her love, Azzo prepares to execute Ugo, but Ernesto reveals that Ugo is Azzo’s son by his first marriage. Azzo later shows Parisina Ugo’s corpse, and she dies in grief.
Parisina
In the three-act version, Ugo d’Este and his stepmother Parisina become lovers. When Marquis Nicolò d’Este discovers them, he condemns both to be beheaded.
Parnasso in festa, per li sponsali di Teti e Peleo
On Mount Parnassus, Apollo and the Muses gather to celebrate the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, joined by Orpheus. Clio recalls Apollo’s pursuit of Daphne, who escaped him by becoming a laurel tree. The Muses praise Orpheus, who mourns losing Eurydice for a second time after looking back while leading her from the underworld. Apollo and the Muses console him and celebrate the royal couple, whose marriage they say will bless the earth. Tritons sound their conches to begin the wedding festivities; the gods, Muses, nymphs and shepherds celebrate the newlyweds and prophesy a line of heroes.
Parsifal
Parsifal, a youth ignorant of his past, enters the realm of the Grail knights after killing a swan. He witnesses the suffering of their king Amfortas, whose wound came from the stolen Holy Spear. In Klingsor’s enchanted garden, Kundry’s kiss awakens Parsifal’s understanding of Amfortas’s pain; he resists her seduction, retrieves the Spear and returns years later. Parsifal heals Amfortas, becomes the Grail king and redeems Kundry.
Partenope
A Spanish-language three-act opera adapted by Manuel de Zumaya from Silvio Stampiglia’s libretto about Partenope, queen of Naples. The score is lost.
Partenope
Queen Partenope receives several suitors, including Arsace and the shy Armindo. Arsace's former fiancée, Princess Rosmira, arrives disguised as Prince Eurimene and tests his fidelity. Partenope rejects the invading Prince Emilio, and Armindo saves her in battle. Rosmira's identity is revealed in a duel, after which she marries Arsace. Partenope chooses Armindo, and Emilio returns to Cumae.
Partenope
The opera draws on the legend of the siren Parthenope. After failing to lure Odysseus, she drowns herself; her body washes ashore in southern Italy, where Greek colonists found a city in her honor that eventually becomes Naples. The entry does not detail the opera’s staging of the myth.
Paso del Norte
The opera draws on a 1980s incident in which migrants were abandoned in a broken-down train car; all but one suffocated. The survivor becomes the narrator. The work also reflects on the families and communities left behind by migration.
Passionnément!
American businessman Stevenson tries to buy Frenchman Robert’s oil-rich Colorado land cheaply, disguising his wife Ketty as an old woman. Ketty meets Robert while disguised as Stevenson’s niece, and they fall in love; after Stevenson’s new fondness for champagne softens him, the lovers persuade him to divorce Ketty and reveal the land’s value.
Patience
At Castle Bunthorne, maidens adore the aesthetic poet Bunthorne, though he loves the dairy maid Patience, who has never been in love. Their former suitors, officers of the Dragoons, return and are rejected. Patience resolves to love Bunthorne selflessly, but when the poet Archibald Grosvenor arrives, the maidens transfer their devotion to him. Grosvenor agrees to become commonplace to escape their attention; the maidens then return to their former fiancés, Patience agrees to marry Grosvenor, and Lady Jane pairs with the Duke of Dunstable, leaving Bunthorne alone.
Patience and Sarah
Patience, an educated and prosperous woman, and Sarah, a farmer’s daughter, fall in love and dream of pioneering together. Their families try to separate them, and Sarah disguises herself as a boy while traveling with Parson Peel, who falls in love with her before learning her identity. The women reunite and leave to build a life together.
Patrie!
Set in 16th-century Brussels, the opera dramatizes a revolt of Flemish nobles. It adapts Victorien Sardou’s play of the same title.
Pauline
Pauline is a four-act opera with music by Frederic H. Cowen and a libretto by Henry Hersee, adapted from Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1838 play The Lady of Lyons.
Pauline
Set in Vancouver in March 1913, this two-act chamber opera concerns the final days of Canadian writer and performer Pauline Johnson.
Pecan Summer
An English- and Yorta Yorta-language opera based on the 1939 Cummeragunja walk-off, in which the composer’s grandparents were involved. Its timeline moves between Dreamtime, the Murray and Yarra riverbanks, Shepparton, and the site of the 2008 national apology.
Pedro de Zalamea
A four-act grand opera adapted from Calderón’s The Mayor of Zalamea. The entry does not describe the plot.
Peer Gynt
Werner Egk’s German-language operatic adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt.
Pelagio
Set in Gijón and Asturias in the eighth century, the opera centers on Asturian king Pelagio and his daughter Bianca, who was raised by Giralda after her father was believed dead. Bianca loves Abdel-Aor, Moorish governor of Gijón, and Pelagio curses her. Abdel-Aor ultimately kills Bianca after believing she is betraying him to help her father.
Pelléas et Mélisande
Prince Golaud finds Mélisande lost in a forest, marries her, and brings her to his grandfather’s castle. Mélisande grows close to Golaud’s younger half-brother Pelléas, provoking Golaud’s jealousy. Golaud forces his son Yniold to spy on them and later catches the pair confessing their love. He kills Pelléas with his sword. Mélisande gives birth to a daughter but dies soon after, while Golaud begs her to explain what happened.
Penthesilea
After Achilles defeats the Amazon queen Penthesilea, he pretends she defeated him so that Amazon law will allow their relationship. When she discovers the truth, her love turns to hatred. Achilles offers another duel unarmed, hoping she will win, but Penthesilea kills him in her fury.
Pepita Jiménez
Widowed Pepita, now wealthy, loves Don Luis, a young theological student and son of the respected Don Pedro. Pepita’s maid Antoñona tells Don Pedro about their love; he puts aside his own feelings for Pepita and tries to help them. Don Luis resolves to resist love and leave, but Antoñona makes him promise to see Pepita once more. He challenges Count Genazahar to a duel after the Count insults her. When the wounded Count is defeated, Pepita fears Luis’s religious calling will separate them and locks herself in her room. Luis breaks in, and they embrace.
Perelà, uomo di fumo
Perelà is a man made of smoke who forms over thirty-three years in the fireplace tended by three women. When he finds the hearth abandoned, he names himself from their names, puts on boots to anchor himself, and travels to a nearby city. At court, people admire his lightness and ask him to devise a new legal code; Marchesa Olivia falls in love with him. After Alloro sets himself on fire hoping to emulate Perelà, Alloro’s daughter accuses Perelà of murder. He is imprisoned, but removes his boots and escapes through the cell chimney, floating into the sky.
Perfect Lives
Narrator R follows lounge singer Raoul, pianist Buddy, and Isolde as they plan a bank robbery intended as a philosophical gesture. The seven episodes circle the plan, a missing bank deposit, and an eloping couple who carry money to Indiana for a wedding, while the work interweaves Midwestern scenes, evangelical imagery, and nonlinear reflections on identity.
Persée
Persée loves Andromède, who is betrothed to her uncle Phinée. He sets out to defeat Medusa, using gifts from the gods to kill her without looking directly at her. When Juno and Neptune threaten Andromède with a sea monster, Persée saves her. At their wedding, Mérope warns Persée of Phinée’s plot but is killed; Persée turns Phinée to stone, and Venus restores peace.
Persée
A three-act tragédie lyrique reworking Quinault’s libretto for Lully, with mythological characters including Perseus, Andromeda, Medusa, Cepheus and Cassiopeia.
Persée et Andromède
Jacques Ibert’s two-act French-language opera takes Perseus and Andromeda as its subject. The available text does not provide the plot.
Peter Grimes
In a Suffolk coastal village around 1830, fisherman Peter Grimes is questioned after his apprentice dies at sea. The inquest rules the death accidental, but the townspeople remain suspicious. Grimes takes another apprentice, John, and hopes to marry schoolmistress Ellen Orford if he can gain the Borough’s respect. When Ellen finds a bruise on John, Grimes strikes her and takes the boy away. John dies after falling from a cliff as they hurry to their boat. The villagers later search for Grimes; Captain Balstrode tells him to sail out and sink his boat. The next morning, the town resumes its routine and dismisses a coastguard report of a sinking boat.
Peter Ibbetson
Peter Ibbetson and Mary, childhood friends, recognize one another again as adults and share a gift for “dreaming true,” meeting in dreams across place and time. Peter accidentally kills the Colonel after learning he is his father, and is sentenced to prison; Mary secures a commutation, allowing them to meet in dreams until her death and Peter’s.
Peter Schmoll und seine Nachbarn
An early German opera by Carl Maria von Weber, based on a novel by Carl Gottlob Cramer. Its libretto has not survived, and the plot is not documented here.
Peter und Ännchen
One-act German Singspiel adapted from Annette et Lubin. The underlying story concerns two orphaned cousins who fall in love and seek permission to marry; this entry does not describe how the opera handles that story.
Phaedra
Phaedra falls in love with her stepson Hippolytus, but after he rejects her she joins Aphrodite in seeking revenge and falsely accuses him to Theseus. Hippolytus dies, and Artemis resurrects him at Nemi under the name Virbius, where he struggles with a fragmented sense of identity before becoming King of the Woods.
Phaëton
Ambitious Phaëton abandons his lover Theona in pursuit of Libya, daughter of the Egyptian king. When Epaphus challenges his claim to be the Sun’s son, Phaëton persuades his father to let him drive the sun chariot. He loses control of the horses and threatens the earth with fire, so Jupiter strikes down the chariot and Phaëton falls to his death.
Phi-Phi
Sculptor Phidias selects Aspasie as a model for Virtue, while his wife becomes involved with Prince Ardimédon. After mistaken pairings, gambling losses, and shifting sculpture models, the characters reconcile and complete a group celebrating domestic happiness.
Philemon und Baucis, oder Jupiters Reise auf die Erde
In Phrygia, Philemon and Baucis prepare their son Aret and Narcissa’s wedding while Mercury watches the village’s increasingly depraved behavior. The gods send a storm that kills the young couple. Later, Jupiter and Mercury arrive disguised as wanderers, and the old couple welcome them; moved by their hospitality and grief, the gods revive Aret and Narcissa and turn the hut into a temple.
Philomèle
A tragédie en musique based on the story of Philomela as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
Philémon et Baucis
Jupiter visits the poor but contented couple Philémon and Baucis during a storm he has caused. Pleased by their kindness and angered by the impious people nearby, he spares them and destroys the others. He grants the couple youth again, then pursues Baucis, who remains faithful despite being tempted by his attention. Philémon curses the gift and leaves. Baucis begs Jupiter to punish her instead, and asks to grow old again with her husband. Philémon joins her plea, and Jupiter blesses their marriage and promises not to disturb their happiness.
Phou-oibi, the Rice Goddess
This Meitei-language ballad opera draws on Meitei mythology and folklore. It presents divine narratives of goddesses associated with fish, land, metal, water, wealth, and rice, sent to earth to help human civilization. Rice goddess Phouoibi meets Akongjamba in the ancient kingdom of Moirang, and they fall in love.
Phèdre
A three-act opera based on Phaedra’s obsessive love for her stepson Hippolytus in Greek mythology.
Pia de' Tolomei
Ghino desires Pia, the wife of his cousin Nello, and uses a discovered message to accuse her of infidelity. He finds her helping her brother Rodrigo escape, and Nello imprisons her; Ghino later learns the truth and confesses, but Nello’s order to poison Pia has already been carried out. As she dies, Pia forgives Nello and reconciles him with Rodrigo.
Pickwick
Mrs Bardell loves Pickwick, while Baker competes for her affection. Pickwick’s suggestion that he employ a manservant is mistaken for a marriage proposal, leading to a sequence of misunderstandings and a confrontation with Baker.
Pierre le Grand
Tsar Peter disguises himself as a carpenter to work in a Russian shipyard, where he falls in love with and marries the peasant Catherine, later Empress Catherine I. The opera presents the royal couple as ideal rulers concerned with ordinary people, reflecting hopes during the French Revolution that Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette would follow their example.
Pierrette et Jacquot
Button merchant Cyrille Durand has taken in Jacquot and helped Pierrette, unaware that Jacquot arranged for Pierrette to come to Paris so they could marry. They dress as Savoyards to win Durand’s consent, but he plans to marry Pierrette himself. A false report of a drowning sends Durand rushing out; after he returns soaked, Madame Patacha persuades him to approve the young couple’s marriage and marry her himself.
Pigmalion
The sculptor Pigmalion falls in love with the statue he has made and asks Venus to bring it to life, spurning his girlfriend Céphise. The statue animates, sings, and dances; Cupid praises Pigmalion’s artistry and finds another lover for Céphise. The work ends with celebrations of love.
Pimmalione
The sculptor Pygmalion falls in love with his statue Galatea. Venus and Cupid bring the statue to life; Galatea returns his love and they celebrate their wedding.
Pimpinone
The chambermaid Vespetta wheedles her way into marrying her employer, the elderly Pimpinone. After the marriage, she reveals a sharp temper and completely dominates him.
Pinocchio
Philippe Boesmans’s French-language opera adapts Carlo Collodi’s novel The Adventures of Pinocchio. The available text does not provide further plot details.
Pinotta
Baldo, a worker, and Pinotta, a hand-spinner in Andrea’s workshop, fall in love and marry.
Pique Dame
Impoverished composer Emil loves Hedwig, daughter of a wealthy widow. Hedwig is also pursued by her guardian Fabian Muker, who wants her fortune. With help from Judith, a fortune-teller and Emil’s foster mother, Emil and Hedwig marry, and Fabian is revealed to be Emil’s uncle.
Pirame et Thisbé
A prologue and five-act tragédie en musique based on the story of Pyramus and Thisbe in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
Piramo e Tisbe
Based on the Pyramus and Thisbe story, this opera presents their love as a sentimental tragedy. After Tisbe’s father forbids their relationship, both lovers kill themselves. The father, blaming himself for their deaths, also takes his own life.
Pirithoüs
A prologue and five-act tragédie en musique named for Pirithous, king in Greek mythology.
Pizarre, ou La conquête de Pérou
On her wedding day to Zamore, Alzire has an ominous dream before Spanish ships arrive. Pizarro’s forces defeat the Peruvians and destroy their temple. Pizarro, who loves Alzire, offers her father Atabaliba restoration as king in exchange for her hand and threatens captive Zamore. Atabaliba and Zamore plot revolt. In the final confrontation, Alzire protects Pizarro and threatens suicide; Pizarro grants her to Zamore, and the opera ends in reconciliation and celebration.
Plameny
In a surreal sequence of scenes, Don Juan seeks to seduce women while longing for Death, personified as La Morte. He kills the Commendatore and loses Donna Anna, then embraces La Morte, who finally passes his test but curses him to eternal life. Don Juan shoots himself, transforms into a young man, and returns to the opening scene to repeat his cycle.
Platée
To cure Juno’s jealousy, the gods arrange for Jupiter to pretend to love Platée, an ugly marsh nymph who believes everyone is attracted to her. Jupiter disguises himself as animals before appearing as a god, and a mock wedding is arranged. Juno discovers the ruse and realizes her jealousy was misplaced; the gods return to heaven and the humiliated Platée dives back into her pond.
Plutus
In ancient Greece, Xinthias loves Myrrha, but her father intends her to marry the wealthy older Xénon. Following an oracle’s advice, Xinthias shelters Plutus, god of wealth, who makes him rich by diverting a gold-bearing river through his house and village. The new wealth corrupts the villagers and leads Xinthias’s father to forbid his son’s marriage. Plutus ultimately restores the lovers and their neighbors to poverty and happiness.
Poet Li Bai
A Chinese-language chamber opera on the subject of poet Li Bai, with fragmentary allusions to his poetry.
Polifemo
Polifemo desires Galatea, who loves the mortal Aci. He kills Aci, but the gods restore him as a river deity. Meanwhile, Calipso helps Ulisse escape Polifemo’s control; Ulisse blinds the sleeping cyclops. Polifemo wanders in rage while Aci, Galatea, and Ulisse celebrate.
Poliuto
In Roman-ruled Melitene around 259 CE, magistrate Poliuto joins the Christians and is baptized. His wife Paolina, who had been told her former lover Severo died in battle, learns that Severo has returned. Poliuto suspects an affair but turns from revenge when his fellow Christian Nearco is arrested. At the Temple of Jupiter, Poliuto reveals his faith and smashes the pagan altar. Facing execution, he and Paolina reconcile; she converts and asks to die with him. They go with the condemned Christians to the arena.
Polixène
After the Trojan War, Pyrrhus, son of Achilles, wants to marry the Trojan princess Polyxena. Juno and Polyxena’s mother, Hecuba, oppose the match, and Hecuba urges Pyrrhus’s rival Telephus to kill him. Telephus refuses, so Hecuba has him killed instead. She is eventually reconciled to Pyrrhus and consents to the marriage.
Showing 2,233–2,352 of 3,280 shows
Load more shows