swap_horiz Emmeline Alternatives

1

Tristan und Isolde

Richard Wagner’s *Tristan und Isolde* is a profoundly influential German opera composed in 1865. The work explores theme...

German Romantic Tragic Wagner

9.5 Brilliant

2

La traviata

La traviata is an 1853 opera by Giuseppe Verdi, a tragic love story adapted from Alexandre Dumas's novel The Lady of the...

Romantic Italian Tragic Verdi

9.4 Excellent

3

Rigoletto

Rigoletto is an 1851 opera by Giuseppe Verdi, a dark tragedy notable for its dramatic music and the instantly recognizab...

Romantic Italian Tragic Verdi

9.2 Excellent

4

Madama Butterfly

Madama Butterfly is an opera by Giacomo Puccini, premiered in 1904, renowned for its tragic tale of a Japanese geisha an...

Italian Verismo Tragic Puccini

9.2 Excellent

5

Norma

Norma is an 1831 bel canto opera by Vincenzo Bellini, highly regarded for its challenging title role and the exquisite a...

Italian Tragic Bellini Bel Canto

9.1 Excellent

6

Nixon in China

John Adams composed this 1987 minimalist opera, chronicling Richard Nixon's historic 1972 presidential visit to China in...

American Contemporary Political 1987

8.5 Great

7

Médée

Luigi Cherubini's 1797 French opera is a prominent classical treatment of the Greek myth of Medea, famously championed b...

Classical French Tragic Cherubini

8.2 Great

8

Doctor Atomic

John Adams's 2005 opera focuses on the intense moral panic and scientific events leading up to the first atomic bomb tes...

American Contemporary Historical 2005

8.0 Great

9

The Consul

Gian Carlo Menotti's 1950 opera portrays the harrowing struggles of a woman desperately trying to escape a totalitarian...

Modern American Dramatic 1950

7.8 Good

10

Satyagraha

Composed by Philip Glass in 1980, this opera depicts Mahatma Gandhi's early years in South Africa and his non-violent ph...

American Contemporary Minimalist Glass

7.8 Good

11

The Ghosts of Versailles

John Corigliano's 1991 grand opera is a fictional sequel to Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, commissioned by the Metropo...

American Contemporary Comedy 1991

7.8 Good

12

Susannah

Carlisle Floyd's 1955 American opera boldly adapts the biblical story of Susannah to the rigid rural American South of t...

Lyric Modern American 1955

7.7 Good

13

I Capuleti e i Montecchi

I Capuleti e i Montecchi is an 1830 opera by Vincenzo Bellini, offering a distinctly Italian romantic take on the Romeo...

Italian Tragic Bellini Bel Canto

7.6 Good

14

Amahl and the Night Visitors

Gian Carlo Menotti composed this 1951 Christmas opera, notably the first opera specifically commissioned for television...

Modern American Christmas 1951

7.5 Good

15

The Medium

Gian Carlo Menotti's 1946 tragic opera explores the psychological unraveling of a fraudulent psychic during a terrifying...

Modern American Supernatural Menotti

7.5 Good

16

The Death of Klinghoffer

John Adams's 1991 controversial opera dramatizes the real-life 1985 hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro b...

American Contemporary Political 1991

7.5 Good

17

Moby-Dick

Jake Heggie's 2010 American opera is a sweeping, critically acclaimed adaptation of Herman Melville's classic novel abou...

Epic American Contemporary 2010

7.5 Good

18

The Voyage

Philip Glass composed this 1992 science fiction opera, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera to commemorate Christopher...

American Contemporary Minimalist Glass

7.0 Good

19

The Perfect American

Philip Glass's opera (2013) imagining Walt Disney's final days, with a libretto by Christopher Hampton, premiered at the...

American Contemporary Glass Biographical

6.5 Fair

20

An American Tragedy

Tobias Picker's opera (2005) based on Theodore Dreiser's novel, the first opera on that subject to be premiered at the M...

American Contemporary 2005 Tragic

6.3 Fair