While it may not seem like it, opera does still have a dedicated fan base. In light of Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet’s recent comment, “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera where it’s like, ‘Hey! Keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore,’” it may be time for a reminder. Allow me to introduce you to four popular classic operas, ranging from absurd comedies to devastating tragedies. If the Italian language barrier is a concern, worry not, many listeners don’t know Italian at all. Some are written in English, with a decent amount in German or French, but still, the immediate beauty of opera is that you don’t always have to listen to the lyrics to understand the story. For the songs selected, you can just listen to feel. May it be an evil monologue or confidence in one’s own intelligence, opera can elicit powerful emotions wonderfully. Take this as a taster for those who might want to get into a genre (and maybe save 14 cents of viewership).
“I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” from “The Pirates of Penzance”
“I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” from “The Pirates of Penzance” is about as entry friendly as it gets for opera, or rather operetta (comic opera). Though the operetta was first staged in 1879, it has been on Broadway as recently as 2025. It is fully in English and just plain old funny. This song is my personal favorite, highlighting pseudo-intellectualism that comes with being a (at the time) “modern” major general. The song is upbeat, undeniably catchy and tells a concise story about a now outdated issue that you can laugh at.
“Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” from “La Traviata”
“La Traviata” is an opera about a young, dying Parisian woman, Violetta, who finds herself in a star-crossed lovers plot. She leaves him, only to reunite when she is on her deathbed. This is one of the more famous songs from Act I, “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici,” (also called “Brindisi”) which roughly translates to “Let’s drink and celebrate!” The song is about exactly what you’d think, Violetta and her lover go to a bar to drink and be merry. It’s another wonderfully upbeat song that can put a pep in your step, even if you cannot speak Italian.
“La donna è mobile” from “Rigoletto”
Upon first listen, you may think that this is just the Groupon jingle—the beauty of public domain music—but it is worth giving the whole opera a listen. The titular character, Rigoletto, is a jester who serves the insidious Duke of Mantua. The pair is cursed after the Duke seduces a young noblewoman, and Rigoletto can do nothing but watch as his daughter falls victim to the Duke’s proclivatives. It is a heartwrenching and a keystone tragic opera. “La donna è mobile” roughly translates to “The Woman is Fickle.” The Duke of Mantua plots to sleep with a beautiful girl, Gilda, he’s seen in church, all while having an affair with another woman. In the song, his courtiers kidnap Gilda, and he rapes her. The audience knows that Gilda is Rigoletto’s daughter, but the Duke does not. You can only listen in horror as the curse comes to fruition and an innocent woman is harmed.
“Queen of the Night’s Aria” from “The Magic Flute”
In a change of pace, “The Magic Flute” is a German piece. “The Magic Flute” follows Prince Tamino and the bird-catcher Papageno as they try to rescue Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night from Sarastro. They eventually discover that Sarastro was good all along and help Pamina be free. “Queen of the Night’s Aria” is a fairly famous piece, with a portion of the aria where the Queen quickly navigates high notes making the rounds on Tik Tok every few months.
The song sees the Queen reveal her true nature and turn against her daughter, a suspenseful plot that can, on some levels, transcend language barriers. If any of this sounds appealing, there are movie adaptations galore for this opera. The best one is generally agreed to be “The Magic Flute” (1975), so I would start there.
“Largo al factotum della città” from “The Barber of Seville”
“The Barber of Seville” is another comedic opera for the ages, all in classic Italian fashion. Count Almaviva wants to woo Rosina, but must first get through her guardian, Dr. Bartolo, who wants to use her marriage as a pawn for money. The Count and barber Figaro plot to break into Rosina’s prison of a home, eventually setting her free and allowing for her marriage to the Count. “Largo al factotum della città” opens the opera and serves as Figaro’s introduction. He sings of his great prowess as a barber and how busy he is because the people of Seville need him desperately. It’s a fun song that opens the opera with a bang and encourages you to keep the album going. “The Barber of Seville” also inspired “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” which was a 2007 film and frequent feature on Broadway. If you want a truly absurd story, and love musical theater, this is the opera for you.
A few more songs to add a little more culture into your life: “Che gelida manina” from “La Bohème” which inspired “Rent”; “O mio babbino caro” from “Gianni Schicchi”; “Un bel dì vedremo” from “Madama Butterfly”; “Dôme épais le jasmin” from “Lakmé.”