Category Archives: Opera of the Week

Opera: Carmen Composer: Bizet Other popular works by this composer: Les pecheurs de perles First performed: 1875 Language: French Accessibility Level: Beginner Explorer Aficionado Setting: Seville, Spain in the early 1800s Plot: A soldier ditches his chaste lover for a flirtatious and fickle … Continue reading →

Opera: The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia) Composer: Rossini Other popular works by this composer: The Thieving Magpie (la gazza ladra), The Italian Girl in Algiers (L’Italiana in Algeri), Cinderella (La Cenerentola), William Tell First performed: 1816 Language: Italian … Continue reading →

  Opera: Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades) Composer: Tchaikovsky Other popular works by this composer: Eugene Onegin First performed: 1890 Language: Russian Accessibility Level: Beginner Explorer Aficionado Setting: Late 1700s, Russia Plot: A man dually obsessed with gambling and another man’s … Continue reading →

    Opera: Rigoletto Composer: Verdi Other popular works by this composer: Aida, Otello, Macbeth, Il trovatore, La traviata First performed: 1851 Language: Italian Accessibility Level: Beginner Explorer Aficionado Setting: Mantua, Italy; 16th century Plot: A hunchback jester who is overprotective of … Continue reading →

Opera: Fidelio Composer: Beethoven Other popular works by this composer: (none in this genre) First performed: 1814 Language: German Accessibility Level: Beginner Explorer Aficionado Setting: Late 18th century Seville Plot: The wife of a man unjustly imprisoned and condemned to death … Continue reading →

Opera: Les Contes d’Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) Composer: Jacques Offenbach Other popular works by this composer: Orphee aux enfers, La belle Helene, La Perichole First performed: 1881 Language: French Accessibility Level: Beginner Explorer Aficionado Setting: Bavaria, Germany Plot: A tortured … Continue reading →