21 Best opera songs for you to listen to today | opera arias

What is your favorite opera song? Here are 21 of the best opera songs of all time. This wonderful art continues to enchant and move audiences in the most diverse opera houses around the world. After all, this important musical genre had a great influence on other musical styles such as Rock and also on other forms of art such as painting, literature and cinema.

 

Furthermore, listening to these incredible opera classics is a great source of inspiration for singers, actors, musicians, writers and all those who seek to appreciate and understand the magic that exists in musical theater. I hope you enjoy this moment listening to these famous opera songs and their beautiful and famous arias.

 

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However, if you are already a listener accustomed to classical music and would like to know a little more about this fantastic world. Then you are my guest to enjoy this list of some of the most popular opera songs.

 

 

Listen here to the best and most famous opera arias in history, with great singers from the past and present. Take advantage of our suggestion of famous operas to inspire your week.

If you’re too busy to enjoy these beautiful songs, try listening to one a day or a week! Here, I just want to pay tribute to the great geniuses of opera and to these incredible artists (sopranos, tenors, contracts, basses, baritones) who enchant us with the perfect mastery of their voices.

 

Most famous opera songs:

Listen and see our list of 21 popular opera songs. La Bohème. Carmen. Turandot. Nessun Dorma. The best opera songs of all time and their wonderful classical singers. Even today it is possible to watch these performances in the best opera houses and theaters around the world.

 

1. Habanera – Carmen

This magnificent composition has one of the most popular opera songs in the history of music. Its melody is very captivating and its plot is different from all operas created in its time.

Carmen’s debut at the Opéra Comique in 1875 was a disaster. Many of the critics defined the composition as “French music wanting to pass as Spanish music”.

Just a few months after the opera opened, Bizet died on his sixth wedding anniversary, at the height of his 36th birthday. The official cause of death was a heart attack. He was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery, Paris, France.

The composer did not witness the extraordinary repercussion that his opera would gain soon after. Praise came from illustrious composers such as Camille Saint-Saëns, Piotr Tchaikovsky and Claude Debussy, who undoubtedly recognized the greatness of this revolutionary musician and were prophetic in believing that Carmen would become one of the best opera songs of all time.

 

 

2. Nessun Dorma- Turandot

Giacomo Puccini’s last opera, “Turandot” was unfinished due to the composer’s death, Debuted at the Teatro Scala in Milan on April 25, 1926, under the baton of the famous conductor Arturo Toscanini.

This famous opera song tells the story of a Chinese princess named Turandot, who is forced by her father to marry against her will, to follow the dynasty and traditions of the country.

One of the most beautiful arias composed for an opera, Nessun Dorma, which means “let no one sleep” here is magnificently played by big names in lyrical music like Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, I hope you like it!

 

 

3. O Mio Babbino Caro – Gianni Schicchi

The Opera Gianni Schicchi has a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano and is the only comic opera written by Puccini, inspired by an excerpt from Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy”.

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4. La donne e mobile – Rigoletto – Giuseppe Verdi

This opera was composed and premiered in 1851 on 11 March in Venice. It is an opera in three acts with libretto by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play by Vitor Hugo “Le Roi s ́amuse”.

Of all the arias, it is not difficult to choose the one that will probably be the best known … You can hear “La Donna è Mobile”, with the great Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

 

 

5. Quando m’en vo – La Bohème

Puccini’s fourth opera, La Bohème, debuted at the Teatro Regio in Turin in 1896, and is one of the most famous operas. It is a portrait of an intense humanity, made of romanticism and bohemia in an almost unforgettable Paris.

 

 

6. Voi che sapete – Marriage of Figaro

A masterpiece of lyric theatre of all time, The Marriage of Figaro premiered in 1786 in Vienna under the direction of Mozart himself. Set on the outskirts of Seville, it depicts the romance between Figaro and Susana, servants of the Count and countess Almaviva.

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Voi Che sapete is one of the most beautiful arias ever written; Mozart, through the character Cherubino, declares his love for all women. Listen carefully to this which is certainly one of the best opera songs ever written.

 

 

7. Libiamo ne’ lieti calici – La Traviata

This opera by Verdi in three acts dispenses with any performance. It is simply the most often performed opera in the world and certainly one of the most passionate arouses.

This opera was inspired by the story of Alexander Dumas (Son) – The Lady of the Camellias and tells the story of a courtesan and a young aristocrat who eventually fall in love but who the father separates to avoid the scandal and harm the marriage of the young nobleman’s sister.

Among the many famous arias that this opera contains we will have to highlight in the first act Libiamo ne’ lieti calici (a fantastic duet)

 

 

8. Queen of the Night’s Aria – The Magic Flute

The Magic Flute is an operetta in two acts composed by Mozart in 1791 and premiered on September 30, 1791 in Vienna and is currently one of the most often interpreted pieces of this genre in the world, a success that has been declared since its debut.

The libretto written by Emanuel Schikaneder (1751–1812) is inspired by Christoph Martin Wieland’s poem Oberon (1733-1813) and tells us a story of strong Masonic influence that can be described as the search for knowledge and light.

 

 

9. Flower Duet – Lakme

Delibes (1836-1891) is a French composer who has essentially distinguished himself in works for ballet or opera. Lakmé was composed between 1881 and 1882

The opera has since its debut been a huge success for Delibes having achieved more than 1000 interpretations before the start of World War II. Listen to this remarkable rendition of Netbreko and Garanca.

 

 

10. Largo al factotum – Il barbiere di Siviglia – Rossini

This opera was composed in 1815 and premiered on February 20, 1816 at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. The story goes that the opera was not very well received at its premiere. It is considered by many to be the best example of comic opera, effectively being one of the most performed works in the world. Here we will hear one of the best known operatic arias from this incredible opera and probably one of the best known in the entire repertoire.

 

 

11. Vissi d’arte – Tosca

Here we have one more of the famous opera songs by the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. Tosca portrays a story of love, revenge, cruelty and death that took place in Rome in June 1800, against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars and the revolutionary atmosphere of the time.

 

 

12. Non mi dir – Don Giovanni – Mozart

This opera was commissioned for the city of Prague as a result of the huge success of the Marriage of Figaro. It is an opera that is based on the story of Don Juan being the libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. He debuted in Prague at the National Theatre on 29 October 1787.

To solve this opera in two acts we chose an aria from the second act “Non mi dir”.

 

 

13. Un bel di vedremo – Madame Butterfly

Madame Butterfly is an amazing opera on love and devotion, which also addresses the deep social problems brought by World War II.

This opera is one of the most impressive pieces of the operating repertoire. A work that surprises its spectators with a fabulous story and beautiful musicality.

Here is one of the most beloved operas of the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. “Un Beli Di Vedremo” is its most famous aria, check out this beautiful and imposing performance below.

 

 

14. Ombra Mai Fu – Xerxes

Divided into three acts, “Xerxes” or “Serse” is considered one of the most famous opera songs by the German baroque composer Georg Friedrich Handel. We can hear here one of his best known arias, “Ombra mai fú”, being played by the famous Italian mezzo-soprano Cécilia Bartoli.

 

 

15. Je veux vivre – Romeo and Juliet – Gounod

Here we see the magnificent interpretation of the soprano Anna Netrebko in her performance of the most famous aria of Gounod’s opera.

 

 

16. L’ORFEO – Savall – Monteverdi

This is considered the first major opera in history. Monteverdi was the forerunner of this musical genre. The opera originates in Greek mythology in the ancient Hellenic myth of Orpheus, who tries to rescue his beloved Eurydice in Tartarus, where He ruled Hades.

The “Spirit of Music” explains the power of music, and specifically the power of Orpheus, whose music is so powerful that it is able to change the attitude of the gods themselves.

 

 

17. Ride of the Valkyries – DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN

This is one of those great works, truly an absolutely romantic work of art in its wonderful complexity. Wagner composed this cycle between 1848 and 1874 with the first performance as a cycle that took place only in 1876 at the Bayreuth festival.

Wagner’s own Libretto is based on a 12th-century epic poem of Germanic or Nordic origin For those who know the Lord of the Rings in particular its rationale can be said with some poetic freedom that the origin is roughly the same – the Nordic legends.

 

 

18. DIDO AND AENEAS – When I am laid in earth – Purcell

This opera is based on the epic poem by Virgil (Aeneid) which tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan saved by the Greeks and who after his travels across the Mediterranean, founds the city of Rome. Dito e Aeneas is considered a small opera compared to other Italian works of the same period with an approximate duration of 50 minutes is perfect to introduce the audience less accustomed to this language.

 

 

19. LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR

The famous opera Lucia di Lammermoor, first presented on September 26, 1835, shows us different operatic format for its time, presenting renovations in both music and libretto by Salvadore Cammarano. The plot is based on the title The Bride of Lammermoor by Walter Scott. The Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti managed to create one of the most sublime moments of originality and musical genius, a true gift for lovers of lyric singing, a memorable masterpiece that occupies a place of importance among the best operas ever created.

This is a romantic opera that surprised all lovers of this incredible musical form. Donizetti impresses everyone with his Lucia, his great protagonist played by talented sopranos with simple voices and brilliant and very beautiful sounding voices.

Opera was until this time considered very undramatic and only known for the vocal excesses of the opera singers of the time. However, in the first half of the 20th century, the remarkable Italian soprano Maria Callas appeared and began a new way of singing and interpreting Lucia, increasing its dramatic charge.

 

 

20. Casta Diva – NORMA

“Norma”, by Bellini, has one of the roles recognized as one of the most difficult for a soprano. Certainly the main aria of this opera is one of the best known in the entire operatic musical repertoire. The iconic “Casta Diva” has already been recorded by great singers such as Anna Netrebko, Maria Callas, among many others.

 

 

21. The Fortune – Carmina Burana

The German composer Carl Orff composed this scenic cantata from a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.

Four choirs together playing carmina burana. “The Fortune” was used on the soundtrack of the 1981 film “Excalibur”, which tells the legend of King Arthur and his enchanted sword, Excalibur.

 

Conclusion about the most famous opera songs and arias

That was our list of the 21 best opera songs and most famous arias. We’d love to hear if you know any of these opera songs.

 

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