# Your Top 10 French Operas



## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I've been neglecting French Operas as of late. List your favorite ten.  They can be original French or an Italian/other language that was adapted to French. Though I am most interested in those with a really authentic French-ness too them!


----------



## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

A list of ten personal favorites, in chronological order:


Hippolyte et Aricie 
Titon et l'Aurore
La Juive
Carmen
Samson et Dalila
Thaïs
Pelléas et Mélisande
Dialogues des Carmélites
Saint François d'Assise
L'amour de loin


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Romeo et Juliette
Dialogues des Carmelites
La Juive
Carmen
Manon
Faust


----------



## angelo (Jun 20, 2017)

Robert le diable (Meyerbeer)
Le prophète (Meyerbeer)

and also:
Les Huguenots (Meyerbeer)
Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saens)
Werther (Massenet)
Carmen
La Juive (Halévy)


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Thais.....Werther, Contes de Hoffman , Carmen, Les Hugenotes, La Juive, Samson and Dalida , Romeo and Julliette.


----------



## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

_What has *got* to be on the list?_

Les Huguenots (Meyerbeer)
Le prophète (Meyerbeer)
La juive (Halévy)
Faust (Gounod)
Don Carlos (Verdi)
Benvenuto Cellini (Berlioz)
Les troyens (Berlioz)
A dozen works by Massenet
Sigurd (Reyer)
Les contes d'Hoffmann (Offenbach)

Mais nous ne voyons pas la Carmencita!

And that's not counting opéras comiques (Boieldieu's _Dame blanche_, Auber's _Fra Diavolo_, Rossini's _Comte Ory_) and the Offenbachiades (especially _Les brigands_ and _La Périchole_)!


----------



## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

So far the two French operas leading the pack are _La juive_ and _Carmen_. Interesting connections: F. Halévy composed the former, his nephew L. Halévy wrote the libretto for the latter. And Halévy was Bizet's father-in-law.


----------



## Jemarchesurtousleschemins (Apr 3, 2017)

Umm... in no order whatsoever
Manon (duh!)
Carmen
Les contes d'Hoffmann
Dialogues des Carmelites
Werther
Thais (no umlauts available)
La voix humaine
Faust
Le comte Ory
Annnnnd... tossup between Lakme and Louise for the last spot... I'd have to say Lakme
Honorable mention: Louise and Les troyens


----------



## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

1. Bizet: Carmen
2. Saint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila
3. Debussy: Pelleas et Melisande
4. Delibes: Lakmé 
5. Berlioz: Les Troyens
6. Gounod: Faust
7. Massenet: Thaïs 
8. Ravel: L'enfant et les sortilèges
9. Bizet: Les pêcheurs de perles
10. Rameau: Les Indes galantes


----------



## ST4 (Oct 27, 2016)

Pelleas. Et. Melisande.


----------



## ma7730 (Jun 8, 2015)

_Pelléas et Melisande_ - Debussy
Incredibly revolutionary and painfully beautiful.
_L'Heure Espagnol_ - Ravel
In my opinion one of the most underrated operas.
_L'enfant et les sortilèges_ - Ravel
Really beautiful music -- perfectly captures the world of a child and its innocence 
_Les Mamelles de Tirésias_ - Poulenc
An unjustly forgotten work, this piece is both funny and profound.
_La Voix Humaine_ - Poulenc
Reminds me of a French _Wozzeck_ or _Erwartung_, albeit slightly more tonal.


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

ST4 said:


> Pelleas. Et. Melisande.


I had you more down as a Romeo and Juliet kind of man.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

French opera has been a difficult area for me to get into. Despite my having eleven French operas on CD, there are only a few I really like so far:

Gounod's Romeo et Juliette

Saint-Saëns' Henry VIII

Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila 

On DVD I also like 

Auber's Haydee, ou Le Secret

Meyerbeer: Dinorah


----------

