Beginner-friendly
An accessible choice for listeners who are new to opera or to the composer's work.
An editorial grouping — a way in, not an objective classification.
28 operas
- Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782) — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Le nozze di Figaro (1786) — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Don Giovanni (1787) — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti (1790) — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- The Magic Flute (1791) — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Fidelio (1805) — Ludwig van Beethoven
- Il barbiere di Siviglia (1816) — Gioachino Rossini
- L'elisir d'amore (1832) — Gaetano Donizetti
- Lucia di Lammermoor (1835) — Gaetano Donizetti
- Rigoletto (1851) — Giuseppe Verdi
- Il trovatore (1853) — Giuseppe Verdi
- La traviata (1853) — Giuseppe Verdi
- Faust (1859) — Charles Gounod
- Roméo et Juliette (1867) — Charles Gounod
- Aida (1871) — Giuseppe Verdi
- Carmen (1875) — Georges Bizet
- Samson et Dalila (1877) — Camille Saint-Saëns
- Eugene Onegin (1879) — Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Otello (1887) — Giuseppe Verdi
- Cavalleria rusticana (1890) — Pietro Mascagni
- Pagliacci (1892) — Ruggero Leoncavallo
- Iolanta (1892) — Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Falstaff (1893) — Giuseppe Verdi
- La bohème (1896) — Giacomo Puccini
- Tosca (1900) — Giacomo Puccini
- Jenůfa (1904) — Leoš Janáček
- Madama Butterfly (1904) — Giacomo Puccini
- Turandot (1926) — Giacomo Puccini