Classic FM

Opera

From Baroque masterpieces by Monteverdi and Handel, through to hummable songs by Mozart, Verdi's works of Italian genius, Puccini, Wagner... with over 400 years of history, it's no surprise opera makes up some of the most famous classical music in the world.

What is opera?

Opera, put simply, is a play set to music. Singers, orchestral musicians, actors, costume designers, stage managers, and a whole host of people behind-the-scenes go to create these dramatic stage performances, which are often packed with the highest and lowest emotions. Expect love, tragedy, heartbreak, confusion, humour, and almost everything in-between - and everyone's so overwhelmed with their feelings they simply HAVE to break into song.

Introduction to opera

The 20 best operas of all time, according to Classic FM presenters.

Famous opera plot guides

Giacomo Puccini: Madame Butterfly – short opera summary

Puccini

Bizet composing 'Carmen' at the piano French composer, 1838-1875

Georges Bizet: Carmen – short opera summary

Top opera pieces

Download ''Casta Diva'' on iTunes

'Casta Diva' Vincenzo Bellini Soloists: Jean-Yves Thibaudet Record label: Decca

Download 'Carmen - Habanera' on iTunes

Carmen - Habanera Georges Bizet Conductor: Michel Plasson Ensemble: Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse Soloists: Angela Gheorghiu Record label: EMI

Download 'Carmen - Toreador's Song' on iTunes

Carmen - Toreador's Song Georges Bizet Conductor: Barry Wordsworth Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra Soloists: Bryn Terfel Record label: Deutsche Grammophon

Download 'Pearl Fishers - Duet' on iTunes

Pearl Fishers - Duet Georges Bizet Conductor: Paul Bateman Ensemble: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Soloists: Sol3 Mio Record label: Decca

Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes artwork

Download 'Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes' on iTunes

Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes Benjamin Britten Conductor: Vernon Handley Ensemble: Ulster Orchestra Record label: Chandos Catalogue ID: CHAN 241-2

Download 'Lakmé: The Flower Duet' on iTunes

Lakmé: The Flower Duet Léo Delibes

Download 'Song to the Moon' on iTunes

Song to the Moon Antonin Dvorak Conductor: Gianandrea Noseda Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Soloists: Anna Netrebko Record label: Deutsche Grammophon Catalogue ID: 4742402

Orfeo & Euridice - Che faro Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787 : Germany) Conductor: Roger Norrington Ensemble: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Soloists: Andreas Scholl Record label: Decca Catalogue ID: 4661962

Features

The English National Opera has expanded its ENO Breathe programme to include patients with asthma and other respiratory conditions.

Latest on Classic FM

Pianist and composer Alexis Ffrench joins Classic FM to present new series on classical music in everyday life.

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The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - Season 5

On Air Now

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Discover Music

Introduction to opera

Famous opera plot guides

Top opera pieces

Features

Latest on Classic FM

Best classical music

More Periods and Genres

Opera

Introduction to opera

The 20 greatest operas ever written

25 best opera singers of all time

11 black opera singers you should know about

12 of the best opera venues around the world

Famous opera plot guides

Giacomo Puccini: Madame Butterfly – short opera summary

Georges Bizet: Carmen – short opera summary

Top opera pieces

'Casta Diva' Vincenzo Bellini Soloists: Jean-Yves Thibaudet Record label: Decca

Carmen - Habanera Georges Bizet Conductor: Michel Plasson Ensemble: Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse Soloists: Angela Gheorghiu Record label: EMI

Carmen - Toreador's Song Georges Bizet Conductor: Barry Wordsworth Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra Soloists: Bryn Terfel Record label: Deutsche Grammophon

Pearl Fishers - Duet Georges Bizet Conductor: Paul Bateman Ensemble: City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Soloists: Sol3 Mio Record label: Decca

Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes Benjamin Britten Conductor: Vernon Handley Ensemble: Ulster Orchestra Record label: Chandos Catalogue ID: CHAN 241-2

Lakmé: The Flower Duet Léo Delibes

Song to the Moon Antonin Dvorak Conductor: Gianandrea Noseda Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Soloists: Anna Netrebko Record label: Deutsche Grammophon Catalogue ID: 4742402

Orfeo & Euridice - Che faro Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787 : Germany) Conductor: Roger Norrington Ensemble: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Soloists: Andreas Scholl Record label: Decca Catalogue ID: 4661962

Features

Opera training could help relieve asthma, in new ENO scheme

Sorry, Timothée Chalamet, it seems like the world does love opera and ballet...

Audience boos as Royal Opera head of music valiantly steps in for sick tenor

Washington National Opera ends 55‑year residency at the Trump Kennedy Center, citing financial issues

Opera star Sir Bryn Terfel joins Classic FM to host new series

More than 2,000 children come together to stage Rotherham’s first ever opera

Protestors storm Carmen stage, bringing Met Opera production to a halt

Sandra Oh makes show-stopping opera debut at the New York Met

Opera director Katie Mitchell takes final bow, citing persistent industry misogyny

A floating opera house is being built in Hanoi

Ranking the world’s 10 most breathtakingly beautiful opera houses

Royal Ballet and Opera cancels ‘Tosca’ production in Israel after staff backlash

Republicans move to rename Kennedy Center’s iconic opera house after Melania Trump

On-stage tussle as cast member displays Palestinian flag at Royal Opera House

What are the lyrics and translation of ‘O mio babbino caro’?

La Scala bans flip-flops and shorts in beachwear crackdown at top opera house

Child star Aled Jones sings with late tenor in poignant ‘Panis Angelicus’ duet

Welsh tenor stuns stag-do party with extraordinary performance of ‘Nessun dorma’

Meet the sword-fighting opera singer who burnt down a convent to rescue her gay lover

20 brilliant LGBTQ+ opera stars you should know

Austrian Eurovision winner JJ is a countertenor who sang with the Vienna Opera

Opera gloves: what’s the history of the fashion items that originated in the 16th century?

11 most memorable uses of opera in films

Soprano Lesley Garrett sings Bizet’s ‘Habanera’ in dramatic shopping centre flashmob

Ralph Fiennes to direct his first opera in Paris’ magnificent Palais Garnier

When a tiny penguin sang Puccini’s impassioned ‘E lucevan le stelle’ in Happy Feet Two

Edward Gardner apologises for making ‘Mafia’ comment about Naples opera house chorus

First ever opera about Margaret Thatcher’s time as prime minister hits the stage

Who is Christopher Macchio, the operatic tenor singing the national anthem at the US inauguration?

Bill Skarsgård worked with an opera singer to produce terrifying ‘vampire voice’ for Nosferatu

Angelina Jolie says ‘everyone should learn to sing’ after playing Maria Callas

Maria Callas biopic starring Angelina Jolie: cast, plot, music and trailers revealed

Operatic dog sings a perfect duet of ‘Nessun dorma’ with Luciano Pavarotti

Conductor dad sits his son on the podium, who reveals his incredible baton skills

The opera that killed its star – the eerie story of how baritone Leonard Warren died on stage

The tragic tale of a top violinist who vanished mid-performance at New York’s Met Opera House

Who was Maria Callas, and what made her the world’s greatest opera diva?

Does Angelina Jolie sing in the Maria Callas biopic? Actress reveals her operatic training

Who is Jakub Józef Orliński? The breakdancing countertenor who sang at the Olympics

Who is Angel Blue? All about the Grammy-winning American soprano with a heavenly voice

Star soprano sings spectacular surprise concert 1,300 metres up in a hot air balloon

Classical music world mourns coloratura soprano star Jodie Devos, who has died aged 35

Innocent Masuku’s ‘unstoppable’ Nessun dorma leaves Britain’s Got Talent judge in tears

10 greatest pieces of music by Verdi, ranked

Mozart’s fiendish Queen of the Night aria – how on earth do you sing it? This soprano explains...

Meet the cimbasso, the epic brass contraption heard in ‘Inception’ and ‘Call of Duty’

Freddie De Tommaso breaks down what exactly makes ‘Nessun dorma’ the greatest aria of all

Operatic mezzo stuns with impromptu Bizet ‘Habanera’ in busy London restaurant

In historic first, a Lord of the Rings opera has been approved by the Tolkien Estate

Pavarotti kept a secret pasta stash at the Met Opera for snacking between arias

When Pavarotti and Tracy Chapman stunned the world in a soulful operatic duet

‘Smoke inhalation and lots of vodka’ – soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa on working with Leonard Bernstein

What are the lyrics to ‘La donna è mobile’ and what do they mean?

The 10 most romantic opera duets of all time

Bryn Terfel: who is the Welsh bass-baritone? Age, family, songs and height revealed

The 15 greatest pieces of classical music by Mozart

Amanda Seyfried stars as director tackling gory Strauss opera ‘Salome’ in new film

Star tenor sings thundering ‘Nessun dorma’ in viral bookshop flashmob

World’s first major opera about a transgender historical character is premiered

English National Opera to move north, relocating to new Manchester home by 2029

Who is Jonas Kaufmann, the German opera singer often called ‘the world’s greatest tenor’?

Ludwig Göransson dedicates third Oscar win to his dad after scooping Best OriginalLudwig Göransson dedicates third Oscar win to his dad after scooping Best Original Score for ‘Sinners’