La Cenerentola (Cinderella) was Gioacchino Rossini’s nineteenth opera and, although supposedly composed in only 24 days, it is full of wit, charm and brilliance. There are dozens of variations of the Cinderella story going back to the seventh century BC Rhodopis. The best known are the French Cendrillon, by Charles Perralt written in 1697 (which introduced [...]

Aida is one of the most beloved operas of all time; the “A” in that ABC list recommended for newcomers to opera, the others being La Bohème and Carmen. The twenty-fourth opera by the giant of nineteenth century opera, Giuseppe Verdi, it demonstrates his mastery of musical and theatrical drama. Although often treated as a [...]

Die Fledermaus, with its intoxicating and effervescent music, has been part of the standard operatic repertory since its premiere in 1874. Based on a vaudeville play, Le réveillon, by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, Die Fledermaus is the story of revenge, seduction and mistaken identities. A comic masterpiece, its elegant frivolities and confusions of all [...]

Rigoletto is based on a play Le roi s’amuse (the King Amuses Himself) by French playwright Victor Hugo, who also wrote Les Miserables. Written in 1832, the play ostensibly depicts the escapades of Francis I of France. However, censors of the time believed it contained insulting references to King Louis-Philippe and banned it after one performance. Verdi [...]

Lucia di Lammermoor, with the most famous mad scene in all of opera, has been a favorite of audiences and coloratura sopranos since being composed in 1835, when Donizetti was the ”sole reigning genius of Italian opera.” The opera is only loosely based on the novel The Bride of Lammermoor written in 1800 by Sir [...]

At three o’clock in the afternoon, the commedia troupe enters the village to the villager’s cheer. Canio describes the night’s performance. He says the play will begin at “ventitreore.” This is an agricultural method of time-keeping, and means the play will begin an hour before sunset. As Nedda steps down from the cart, Tonio offers [...]

In the countryside, Adina, the wealthy owner of a local farm and vineyard, her friend Giannetta, and a group of peasants are resting beneath a shade tree. At a distance, Nemorino, a young villager, laments he has nothing to offer Adina but love. The peasants ask their mistress to read them the story of how [...]

The libretto places the action of Tosca in June 1800. Victorien Sardou, on whose play the opera is based, dates it more precisely; La Tosca takes place in the afternoon, evening, and early morning of 17 and 18 June 1800. Italy had long been divided into a number of kingdom-states, with the Pope in Rome ruling the Papal States in central [...]