Opera

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.

The 20 greatest operas ever written

The greatest opera singers of all time

25 best opera singers of all time

Incredible black opera singers

11 black opera singers you should know about

Greatest opera venues in the world

12 of the best opera venues around the world

Famous opera plot guides

MADAME BUTTERFLY Poster for Puccini's opera

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

Vincenzo Bellini Soloists: Jean-Yves Thibaudet Record label: Decca

Download 'Carmen - Habanera' on iTunes

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

Georges Bizet Conductor: Barry Wordsworth Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra Soloists: Bryn Terfel Record label: Deutsche Grammophon

Pearl Fishers - Duet artwork
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

Léo Delibes

Song to the Moon artwork
Download 'Song to the Moon' on iTunes

Song to the Moon Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904 : Czechoslovakia) 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

Julie D'Aubigny

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

Jamie Barton, John Holiday and Adrian Angelico: just three of the incredible performers who also happen to be lighting up opera stages around the world with rainbow colours.

20 brilliant LGBTQ+ opera stars you should know

Austrian artist JJ won the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest with his song, "Wasted Love."

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

The fascinating history of the opera glove – which originated in the 16th century

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

11 greatest uses of opera in Hollywood films

11 most memorable uses of opera in films

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

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

Lesley Garrett

Latest on Classic FM

A boy plays the trumpet at a No Kings protest in San Diego

‘Goosebumps’ as young boy plays Star-Spangled Banner on his trumpet at San Diego protest

Donald Trump says he could have been a ‘brilliant musician’ after receiving flute lessons as a boy.

Donald Trump’s flute-playing career cut short: ‘I didn’t particularly like it, wasn’t for me’
LA Philharmonic cancels concerts as city curfew enforced after protests

LA Philharmonic cancels concerts as city curfew enforced after protests

LA Phil

Composer proposes to his partner with live 78-piece orchestra at Abbey Road studios

Composer proposes to his partner with live 78-piece orchestra at Abbey Road studios

Videos

Inventor creates piano doorbell

Inventor replaces his ‘boring’ doorbell with a miniature piano

Pak chois grow better with classical music

Bach-choi? Researchers find plants grow leafier when played Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos

Win tickets to see Ludovico Einaudi at the Royal Albert Hall with a Marriott hotel stay

Win tickets to see Ludovico Einaudi at the Royal Albert Hall with a hotel stay

Win

The Vienna Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Johann Strauss II’s ‘The Beautiful Blue Danube’ was broadcast into space, in partnership with the European Space Agency.

Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube’ waltz has been sent to space... and The Simpsons already predicted it
Physicists create ‘the world’s smallest violin’ using nanotechnology

Physicists create ‘the world’s smallest violin’ using nanotechnology

11 of the best LGBTQ+ community classical music ensembles around the world

15 of the best LGBTQ+ classical music ensembles around the world

Best classical music

See more Best classical music

The 15 most famous tunes in classical music

The 15 most famous tunes in classical music

Best symphonies: Ludwig van Beethoven, Antonin Dvorak and Florence Price

The 15 greatest symphonies of all time

4 eras of classical music

The 4 eras of classical music: a quick guide

A young Marin Alsop, Sir Simon Rattle, and Seiji Ozawa conduct their respective orchestras.

The 25 greatest conductors of all time

Hildegard von Bingen, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Edward Elgar among the greatest composers in classical music history.

The 30 greatest classical music composers of all time

More Periods and Genres

See more More Periods and Genres

Baroque

Classical

Romantic

Film & TV

Opera

Video Games