# Fello Verdi-ans: Rank all of his operas! (and the Requiem)



## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

All are welcome to comment, no matter how few Verdi operas you have heard, though I'm especially interested in hearing from those who have heard all of his operas. I'm personally going to rank all of his operas but no "revised versions" I'm going with the standard versions of what I've heard. I also have only heard Aroldo and Jerusalem once, favorably, but not enough to really differentiate from Lombardi and Stifellio, so I'll rank those alongside their counterparts. Can't do mine til later, but hoping this if a fun exercise. you can list your reasonings for your rankings and/or favorite recordings but don't have to


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

My list of Verdi's favorites, as of August, 2017:




1. La Traviata
2. Aida
3. Otello
4. Simon Boccanegra
5. Il Trovatore
6. Rigoletto
7. Falstaff
8. Un ballo in maschera
9. Don Carlo
10. I due Foscari
11. Luisa Miller
12. Ernani
13. Nabucco
14. La forza del destino
15. Attila
16. Macbeth
17. I vespri siciliani
18. I Lombardi alla prima crociata
19. Stiffelio
20. Giovanna d'Arco
21. I masnadieri
22. Alzira
23. Il corsaro
24. La batagglia di Legnano
25. Oberto
26. Un giorno di regno


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

I'll try to do a top dozen.

1. Don Carlo
2. Otello
3. Requiem
4. Falstaff
5. Un ballo in maschera
6. La Traviata
7. La forza del destino
8. Rigoletto
9. Il Trovatore
10. Simon Boccanegra
11. Aida
12. Luisa Miller


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

1 Otello, 2 Don Carlos, then all the rest 3rd equal.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

I tend to think of these things in tiers rather than strict rankings. So a bunch of tiers below, but the first two are in a tier of their own for my personal rankings.

1. Otello

2. Rigoletto

3-4. Don Carlo, Aida

5-8. Trovatore, Ballo, Falstaff, Traviata

9-12. Boccanegra, Forza, Macbeth, Requiem

13-15. Luisa Miller, Nabucco, Ernani

16-etc. everything else


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

top 10

1) Attila
2) Nabucco
3) Requiem
4) Rigoletto
5) Otello
6) Macbeth
7) Trovatore
8) Simon Boccanegra
9) Don Carlo
10) Traviata


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

The top 5 I'm pretty certain about
1. Otello
2. Falstaff
3. Don Carlos
4. La Traviata
5. Aida

These I'm trying to order by most likely to give me a good watch/listen
6. Rigoletto
7. Il Trovatore
8. Simon Boccanegra
9. Un Ballo in Maschera
10. Macbeth
11. Nabucco
12. I Vespri Siciliani
13. Luisa Miller
14. Ernani

As for the rest, let's call it a tie.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Disclaimer: I have not heard all of Verdi's operas.

My favorites are

1. Rigoletto
2. Luisa Miller
3. Macbeth
4. La Traviata
5. Don Carlo
6. Otello 
7. Ernani


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## graziesignore (Mar 13, 2015)

Nice to see Un Ballo on some lists... I think it's his most underrated opera.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Middle period Verdi with dazzling cabaletta sections get most of my attention.....

1) Traviata
2) Trovatore
3) MacBeth
4) Rigoletto
5) Un Ballo


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Top 10:
1. Don Carlo
2. Otello
3. Rigoletto
4. Trovatore
5. Traviata
6. Requiem
7. Un Ballo
8. Simon Boccanegra
9. Forza del Destino
10. Macbeth


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I really like the "Tiers" idea set by Howling. And when there are over two dozen works, I think sometimes the degree of difference in enjoyment in between two can be very small. In sections where I list tiers, I have ordered the operas within in relative degrees of preference. This list is accurate For now....with a few exceptions it's not unusual for my favorite Verdi opera to be the one I'm currently listening to!

1) Don Carlos

2) Aida, Rigoletto

3) Simon Boccanegra, Requiem

4) La Traviata, Il Trovatore

4) Un Ballo In Maschera, Un giorno di regno,

5) Falstaff, Forza Del Destino, Stiffelio

6) Nabucco, Attila, Macbeth

7) Otello, Giovanna D'Arco, Atilla, I Due Foscari

8) Luisa Miller, Ernani, I Vespri Siciliani

9) La Battaglia Di Legnano, I Lombardi

10) I Masnadieri (though I have to mention, this one has one of my favorite overtures)

11) Oberto, Il Corsaro, Alzira.

I do want to share more on what elements of some of the operas really led to their rankings. But I'll have to save that for another night. Even though the ranking is fun, it also can be a little misleading.... at least ten of his operas are absolutely indispensible to me and most among my favorite in all of opera. I find listening value in each work


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

graziesignore said:


> Nice to see Un Ballo on some lists... I think it's his most underrated opera.


Yes! Un Ballo has really grown on me. The overture is great, and I love the choruses of the conspirators. I really enjoy the personality of Riccardo, essentially laughing in the face of death. A bit foolishly, but it's part of the opera's personality.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

La Traviata.
Don Carlo
Nabucco.
Macbeth 
Otello.
Un Ballo.
Rigoletto
Ernani.
Luisa Miller.
one this moment, apart from the first two , they standing firm.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

An impossible task and it was cruel to suggest it.

of those I have seen. (Reserve the right to revise at any time.)

1. Otello
2. La Traviata
3. Don Carlos
4. Rigoletto
5. Falstaff
6. Simon Boccanegra
7. Aida
8. Un ballo in maschera
9. La forza del destino
10. I vespri siciliani
11. Requiem
12. Macbeth
13. Nabucco
14. Il Trovatore
15. Luisa Miller
16. Giovanna d'Arco
17. Un giorno di regno

Note: if this was just about listening to the music No 14 would be MUCH higher. But in the Opera house the plot hurts my head and the version I enjoyed most was before surtitles became common. I seriously doubt I could sit through it again.


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## Jemarchesurtousleschemins (Apr 3, 2017)

graziesignore said:


> Nice to see Un Ballo on some lists... I think it's his most underrated opera.


SOMEONE ELSE AGREES WITH ME????
You are now my new favorite person.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Jemarchesurtousleschemins said:


> SOMEONE ELSE AGREES WITH ME????
> You are now my new favorite person.


_Ballo_ is underrated? I always thought it was one of Verdi's masterpieces - witty, elegant, clever blending of opéra comique/Offenbach/Mozart with Verdian melodrama, tightly plotted, believable characters and situations.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Oh, and for what it's worth...

This is purely performative.

Mature Verdi

1.	Aida
2.	Otello
3.	Don Carlos (could be higher?)
4.	Un ballo in maschera
5.	Rigoletto
6.	Les vêpres siciliennes
7.	La forza del destino
8.	Il trovatore
9.	Simon Boccanegra
10.	Falstaff

I'm ranking the early Verdis separately; I don't think it's really fair to compare, say, _I masnadieri_ to _Don Carlos_.

1.	Macbeth
2.	I due Foscari
3.	Stiffelio
4.	Luisa Miller
5.	Nabucco
6.	Ernani
7.	I masnadieri
8.	Giovanna d'Arco
9.	I Lombardi alla prima crociata 
10.	Il corsaro
11.	Un giorno di regno
12.	Attila

I don't know Oberto, Alzira, La battaglia di Legnano, or La traviata well enough to comment.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> _Ballo_ is underrated? I always thought it was one of Verdi's masterpieces - witty, elegant, clever blending of opéra comique/Offenbach/Mozart with Verdian melodrama, tightly plotted, believable characters and situations.


Precisely, watch the DVD with Domingo and Barstow and you be sold.


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## Jemarchesurtousleschemins (Apr 3, 2017)

SimonTemplar said:


> _Ballo_ is underrated? I always thought it was one of Verdi's masterpieces - witty, elegant, clever blending of opéra comique/Offenbach/Mozart with Verdian melodrama, tightly plotted, believable characters and situations.


Underrated, not overrated. I LOVE _Ballo_.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Rigeletto will always be special to me as it's the first opera I ever got acquainted with - it was on 2 LPs at the time and I could just afford it with some saving. It was the Solti set with Merrill and Moffo superb although Solti rushes things a bit too much. The mature Verdi's way with human emotions is unsurpassed except by Mozart. I can't really put them in any order but my favourites:
Falstaff
Otello
Aida
Don Carlo
Rigoletto
Trovatore
I must confess I never got on with Traviata until I recently acquired Kleiber's knife-edged set. Now it is certainly on the list.
Ballo
Macbeth
Nabucco

I have yet to investigate Forza and Simon Bocconegra although they await in the wings


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

1. Aida, 2.Trovatore,3. Traviata,4. Requiem,5. Un Ballo, 6. Macbeth, 7. Stiffelio


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

I will list what are, in my opinion, his best works, rather than my favourites. 

1. Otello
2. Requiem
3. Don Carlo
4. Falstaff
5. La Traviata
6. Aida
7. Rigoletto
8. Un Ballo in Maschera
9. Il Trovatore
10. La Forza del Destino


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