# The TC Top 200 Recommended Operas (2020 Version)



## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

*The TC Top 200 Recommended Operas (2020 version)*
Facilitated by Granate

NOTE: This list was produced in 2020 and is a companion list to twp previous opera lists - 2011 version and 2015 version.

001 - Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen
002 - Wagner - Tristan und Isolde
003 - Wagner - Parsifal
004 - Puccini - Madama Butterfly
005 - Puccini - Tosca
006 - Mozart - Die Zauberflöte
007 - Verdi - Otello
008 - Verdi - Aida
009 - Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro
010 - Mozart - Don Giovanni

011 - Verdi - La traviata
012 - Verdi - Don Carlo(s)
013 - Wagner - Tannhäuser
014 - Wagner - Lohengrin
015 - Debussy - Pélléas et Mélisande
016 - Puccini - Turandot
017 - Puccini - La fanciulla del West
018 - Bellini - Norma
019 - Puccini - La Bohème
020 - Verdi - La Forza del Destino

021 - Mussorgky - Boris Godunov
022 - Wagner - Der Fliegende Holländer
023 - Verdi - Rigoletto
024 - Verdi - Il trovatore
025 - Leoncavallo - Pagliacci
026 - Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia
027 - Verdi - Simon Boccanegra
028 - Verdi - Macbeth
029 - Bizet - Carmen
030 - Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor

031 - Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
032 - Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana
033 - Bartok - Bluebeard's Castle
034 - R. Strauss - Salome
035 - R. Strauss - Elektra
036 - Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin
037 - Beethoven - Fidelio
038 - Bellini - La sonnambula
039 - Puccini - Suor Angelica
040 - Weber - Der Freischütz

041 - Boito - Mefistofele
042 - R. Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier
043 - Offenbach - Les Contes d'Hoffmann
044 - Britten - Peter Grimes
045 - Poulenc - Dialogue des Carmélites
046 - Puccini - Manon Lescaut
047 - Gounod - Faust
048 - Rossini - La Cenerentola
049 - Purcell - Dido and Aeneas
050 - Puccini - Gianni Schicchi

051 - Mascagni - L'amico Fritz
052 - Gounod - Roméo et Juliette
053 - Donizetti - L'elisir d'amore
054 - Verdi - Un Ballo in Maschera
055 - Verdi - Nabucco
056 - Tchaikovsky - Iolanta
057 - Gluck - Orfeo ed Euridice
058 - Tchaikovsky - Pique Dame
059 - Mozart - Così fan tutte
060 - Berg - Wozzeck

061 - Cilea - Adriana Lecouvreur
062 - Puccini - Il tabarro
063 - Dvorák - Rusalka
064 - R. Strauss - Die Frau ohne Schatten
065 - Janacek - Jenufa
066 - Massenet - Thaïs
067 - Berlioz - Les troyens
068 - Donizetti - Maria Stuarda
069 - Shostakovich - Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
070 - Britten - Billy Budd

071 - Giordano - Andrea Chénier
072 - Mussorgsky - Khovanshchina
073 - Saint-Saëns - Samson et Dalila
074 - Janacek - The Cunning Little Vixen
075 - Donizetti - La fille du régiment
076 - Handel - Giulio Cesare
077 - Bellini - I Capuleti e i Montecchi
078 - Verdi - Ernani
079 - Massenet - Werther
080 - Monteverdi - L'Orfeo

081 - Massenet - Manon
082 - Janacek - Katja Kabanova
083 - Donizetti - Anna Bolena
084 - Rossini - Guillaume Tell
085 - Verdi - Falstaff
086 - Giordano - Fedora
087 - Verdi - Attila
088 - Monteverdi - Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria
089 - Tchaikovsky - Mazeppa
090 - Verdi - I Vespri siciliani

091 - Donizetti - Lucrezia Borgia
092 - R. Strauss - Ariadne auf Naxos
093 - Borodin - Prince Igor
094 - Verdi - Stiffelio / Aroldo
095 - Ponchielli - La Gioconda
096 - Delibes - Lakmé
097 - Rimsky-Korsakov - The Tsar's bride
098 - Mozart - Die Entführung aus dem Serail
099 - Britten - Death in Venice
100 - Donizetti - Poliuto

101 - Rossini - La gazza ladra
102 - Meyerbeer - Les Huguenots
103 - Prokofiev - War and Peace
104 - Smetana - The Bartered Bride
105 - Korngold - Die Tote Stadt
106 - Bellini - Beatrice di Tenda
107 - Flotow - Martha
108 - Bellini - I puritani
109 - Magnard - Guercoeur
110 - Rimsky-Korsakov - Sadko

111 - Verdi - Luisa Miller
112 - Chausson - Le roi Arthus
113 - Donizetti - Roberto Devereux
114 - Saariaho - L'Amour de loin
115 - Handel - Ariodante
116 - Cherubini - Medea / Medée
117 - Rossini - Semiramide
118 - Pergolesi - La serva padrona
119 - Rossini - L'italiana in Algeri
120 - Janacek - From the House of the Dead

121 - Mozart - La clemenza di Tito
122 - Rossini - Il turco in Italia
123 - Bellini - Il pirata
124 - Wagner - Rienzi
125 - Monteverdi - L'incoronazione di Poppea
126 - Boughton - The immortal hour
127 - Cavalli - La Calisto
128 - d'Albert - Tiefland
129 - Lehar - Land des Lächelns
130 - Enescu - Oedipe

131 - Vivaldi - La fida ninfa
132 - Cilea - L'Arlesiana
133 - Rimsky-Korsakov - The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh
134 - Mascagni - Iris
135 - Rossini - La donna del lago
136 - Cavalli - Eliogabalo
137 - Paisiello - Nina, o sia La pazza per amore
138 - Chabrier - Le roi malgré lui
139 - Prokofiev - The Love for Three Oranges
140 - Boito - Nerone

141 - Zandonai - Francesca da Rimini
142 - Alwyn - Miss Julie
143 - Lachenmann - Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern
144 - Janacek - Vek Makropulos
145 - Marschner - Der vampyr
146 - Donizetti - Don Pasquale
147 - Berlioz - La Damnation de Faust
148 - Smyth - The wrecker
149 - Puccini - La Rondine
150 - Stockhausen - Licht

151 - Vivaldi - Bajazed
152 - Handel - Alcina
153 - Mozart - Idomeneo
154 - Glinka - Ruslan and Lyudmila
155 - Saint-Saëns - Henry VIII
156 - Massenet - La Navarraise
157 - Charpentier - Louise
158 - Britten - A Midsummer Night's Dream
159 - Massenet - Hérodiade
160 - Montemezzi - L'amore dei tre re

161 - Schmidt - Notre Dame
162 - Menotti - Help, Help, the Globolinks!
163 - Glass - Satyagraha
164 - Gluck - Iphigénie en Tauride
165 - Balfe - Bohemian girl
166 - Sallinen - The red line
167 - Telemann - Germanicus
168 - Strauss II - Die Fledermaus
169 - Martinu - Julietta
170 - Rossini - Otello

171 - Nielsen - Maskarade
172 - Rachmaninoff - The miserly knight
173 - Pfitzner - Palestrina
174 - Handel - Rinaldo
175 - Cimarosa - Il matrimonio segreto
176 - Meyerbeer - Le prophète
177 - Catalani - La Wally
178 - Nielsen - Saul & David
179 - Vivaldi - Teuzzone
180 - Ravel - L'heure Espagnole

181 - Novak - The Lantern
182 - Cavalli - Giasone
183 - Vinci - Partenope
184 - Nystroem - Herr Arnes Penningar
185 - Penderecki - The Devils of Loudun
186 - Vivaldi - Ercole
187 - Pergolesi - L'Olimpiade
188 - Humperdinck - Hänsel und Gretel
189 - Barber - Vanessa
190 - Haydn - Orlando paladino

191 - Halévy - La juive
192 - Dvorak - Dimitrij
193 - Rachmaninoff - Aleko
194 - R. Strauss - Arabella
195 - Britten - Albert Herring
196 - Stravinsky - The Rake's progress
197 - Weinberg - The Passenger
198 - Prokofiev - Betrothal in a Monastery
199 - Britten - The Turn of the Screw
200 - Purcell - The fairy-queen (16p)

201 - Puccini - Le Villi (16p)
202 - Kálmán - Gräfin Mariza (16p)
203 - Prokofiev - The fiery angel (16p)

Mentioned Operas outside possible Top 200 (Points in last round)

015 - Rossini - Matilde di Shabran
015 - Bizet - Les pechêurs de perles
015 - Strauss II - Der Zigeunerbaron
015 - Massenet - Don Quichotte
015 - Partch - Delusion of the Fury
014 - Rossini - Zelmira
014 - Lehar - Paganini
013 - Moniuszko - Straszny dwór

013 - Nono - Prometeo
012 - Cherubini - Lodoiska
012 - Mascagni - Gugliemo Ratcliff
012 - R. Strauss - Daphne
011 - Glinka - A life for the Tsar
011 - Donizetti - La favourite
011 - R. Strauss - Capriccio
010 - Busoni - Doktor Faust
010 - Stravinsky - Oedipus Rex
010 - Adès - The tempest

009 - Cavalli - Artemisia
009 - Mascagni - Zanetto
009 - Gershwin - Porgy & Bess
009 - Glass - Einstein on the Beach
008 - Donizetti - Adelia
007 - Cavalli - Il rapimento d'Helena
007 - Donizetti - Elvida
007 - Meyerbeer - L'africaine
006 - Vinci - Artaserse
006 - Handel - Serse

*From position 124, ties are ordered by Premiere date.

These are the Poll threads to check both the rules and the voters and results in points

Top 01-20
Top 21-40
Top 41-60
Top 61-80
Top 81-100+


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Thanks Granate. What an amazing job (and fascinating results).

N.


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## visionquest1972 (Mar 20, 2019)

I'm really surprised that there are operas on here that I have never heard of.


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

I suggest one odd opera which is lots of fun: Massenet's Esclarmonde and the Decca recording with Sutherland in the mid 70's is magnificent. Sutherland sounds like a Turandot with coloratura with very passionate singing. Sorry, I could not resist.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

visionquest1972 said:


> I'm really surprised that there are operas on here that I have never heard of.


Time to explore them!


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## Don Fatale2 (Mar 27, 2020)

Well done. A more mainstream and consensus list than the previous ones.

Just for fun, a quick opinion of 101 to 200 from me.
102 - Meyerbeer - Les Huguenots. Poor Meyerbeer, not even in the top 100, but this has some banging tunes in it.
108 - Bellini - I Puritani. The biggest surprise to not be top 100. It's a beautiful work.
146 - Donizetti - Don Pasquale, obviously not as popular as some opera companies think. I'm not a fan either.
147 - Berlioz - La Damnation de Faust. Surprise at the low ranking for this, an opera with many famous moments.
Plenty of other nice works of course, but it would be hard to make a case that they are top 100.

I've seen all of the top 50 live. L'Amico Fritz broke my run!


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Don Fatale2 said:


> Well done. A more mainstream and consensus list than the previous ones.
> 
> Just for fun, a quick opinion of 101 to 200 from me.
> 102 - Meyerbeer - Les Huguenots. Poor Meyerbeer, not even in the top 100, but this has some banging tunes in it.
> ...


*I Puritani* may not be my favourite Bellini, but I think it would still make it into my top 50.

*La Damnation de Faust* would probably be in my top ten, but it isn't really an opera (though it's often staged these days) so that might be the reason it ranks so low.

I have a problem with *Don Pasquale* in that I don't think it's particularly funny. It has some great music, but it would still rank quite low in my own personal estimation.

None of Meyerbeer's operas grab my goat.

I haven't tried to compile a list of my own personal favourites. It would give me too much of a headache! :lol:


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> *I Puritani* may not be my favourite Bellini, but I think it would still make it into my top 50.
> 
> *La Damnation de Faust* would probably be in my top ten, but it isn't really an opera (though it's often staged these days) so that might be the reason it ranks so low.
> 
> ...


Puritani was in my top 50 (I think). It's interesting how operatic taste divides. Verdi and Puccini seem pretty popular. Whereas bel canto is not anywhere near so on these boards (and in the UK and the US). I wonder if we had more bel canto fans if there were more Italian and German members here. Then Wagner is different yet again. Whilst there are quite a few opera fans that don't like Wagner, those who do, adore his works. (There's a similar feeling about Mozart.) The overall general trend is for Italian and German operas from the time of Mozart to Strauss to dominate at the expense of early and Baroque opera or modern/contemporary ones.

N.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I have a problem with *Don Pasquale* in that *I don't think it's particularly funny*. It has some great music, but it would still rank quite low in my own personal estimation.


Right! The whole opera, IMO, glorifies laziness and deceit. And then the culprits get rewarded at the end! Terrible trash. But the music is wonderful. I liked the Ciofi DVD because Don gets a lady in the end, one of the maids. The Director's add but a nice touch because Don found a much better wife than Norina.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Now that I'm looking through the whole list, there are quite a few surprising ratings, for instance Monteverdi's *Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria* coming so much higher than *L'Incoronazione di Poppea*. I'd have thought the reverse would have been likely. Very surprised to see that one of Verdi's most regularly performed operas, *Un Ballo in Maschera*, only made it in at 54. And the lower you go down, the more strange the rankings become. *Don Pasquale*, probably Donizetti's most regularly performed comic opera, isn't even in the top hundred. It comes in at 146, _below_ such rarities as Marschner's *Der Vampyr*, Lachenmann's *Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern* and Cavalli's *Eligabalo*, neither of which I'd even heard of.

I suppose this is a reflection of the fact that so few people voted.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Now that I'm looking through the whole list, there are quite a few surprising ratings, for instance Monteverdi's *Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria* coming so much higher than *L'Incoronazione di Poppea*. I'd have thought the reverse would have been likely. Very surprised to see that one of Verdi's most regularly performed operas, *Un Ballo in Maschera*, only made it in at 54. And the lower you go down, the more strange the rankings become. *Don Pasquale*, probably Donizetti's most regularly performed comic opera, isn't even in the top hundred. It comes in at 146, _below_ such rarities as Marschner's *Der Vampyr*, Lachenmann's *Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern* and Cavalli's *Eligabalo*, neither of which I'd even heard of.
> 
> I suppose this is a reflection of the fact that so few people voted.


I think so, but there was quite a bit of controversy around this poll. I too am surprised by the rating for Ritorno d'Ulisse. However, I'm not surprised by most of the others. (I am not a fan of Ballo, I much prefer Forza, despite it being an inferior opera from a strictly academic point of view. Its weak points (sprawling and incredible plot) are the exact reason I am so fond of it!

I would have thought that Elisir is more often performed than Pasquale and I seem to remember that I was nominating Pasquale, but not many others were. I prefer Elisir (and think it a better opera all round than Pasquale, so I am not that surprised).

N.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> I think so, but there was quite a bit of controversy around this poll. I too am surprised by the rating for Ritorno d'Ulisse. However, I'm not surprised by most of the others. (I am not a fan of Ballo, I much prefer Forza, despite it being an inferior opera from a strictly academic point of view. Its weak points (sprawling and incredible plot) are the exact reason I am so fond of it!
> 
> I would have thought that Elisir is more often performed than Pasquale and I seem to remember that I was nominating Pasquale, but not many others were. I prefer Elisir (and think it a better opera all round than Pasquale, so I am not that surprised).
> 
> N.


I do too, but i'm still surpised that *Don Pasquale* polled so low, below quite a few operas I've either never heard or, in some cases, not even heard of. These days Elisir is probably performed more often but Pasquale, though not a favourite of mine, is at least in the repertoire. Some of these others (Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern?) are not.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

It was probably stated somewhere, but I wondered if there already is a thread displaying the results of the voting so far?


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

We never did get a final list of recommended recordings after all the votes were in. What happened?


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Just out of my own interest I've compiled a list of recommended recordings, so far only of the first ten, as voted for by forum members. I don't wish to step on any toes, but I wondered if I should post it and then continue.

Any thoughts?


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Just out of my own interest I've compiled a list of recommended recordings, so far only of the first ten, as voted for by forum members. I don't wish to step on any toes, but I wondered if I should post it and then continue.
> 
> Any thoughts?


I would be happy with this. However, there may have been some people voting by PM. Perhaps someone should message Granate to ask and then go ahead if there is no response.

N.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> I would be happy with this. However, there may have been some people voting by PM. Perhaps someone should message Granate to ask and then go ahead if there is no response.
> 
> N.


I hadn't thought of that. I could message him, but he's notable by his absence recently.


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## Esclarmonde (May 10, 2021)

VitellioScarpia said:


> I suggest one odd opera which is lots of fun: Massenet's Esclarmonde and the Decca recording with Sutherland in the mid 70's is magnificent. Sutherland sounds like a Turandot with coloratura with very passionate singing. Sorry, I could not resist.


I have just joined the forum - and this result stupefies me...

Perhaps I should adjust my online handle


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I know very few ended up voting, but it's rather a shame the results were never published.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I only very rarely come to this (opera) part of the forum although I listen to quite a lot of opera. It seems that modern (Britten!!) and contemporary operas are rarely addressed or given the credit they are due. And even Classical (Mozart!!) and Baroque operas get far less attention than Romantic operas. I do see some here who have an interest in these neglected areas when they post in other part of the forum but not here. Is there a reason for this neglect? I suppose I could post to redress the balance a little but it would feel that I was posting in the wrong place and for an audience with no interest.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Enthusiast said:


> I only very rarely come to this (opera) part of the forum although I listen to quite a lot of opera. It seems that modern (Britten!!) and contemporary operas are rarely addressed or given the credit they are due. And even Classical (Mozart!!) and Baroque operas get far less attention than Romantic operas. I do see some here who have an interest in these neglected areas when they post in other part of the forum but not here. Is there a reason for this neglect? I suppose I could post to redress the balance a little but it would feel that I was posting in the wrong place and for an audience with no interest.


I'll bet that "neglect" is just a random reflection on the preferred listening of the people on this forum. If more people prefer Romantic era Opera, you'll see more posts that reflect that preference.

Feel free to post about Baroque and Classical operas.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

I think it also has to do with the general preference for singing here. There are (vigorous and valued!) disssenters, but a substantial faction strongly prefers singing from the first six to seven decades of the 20th century, when Baroque and early Classical operas were unfortunately out of fashion. I myself am a big fan of Gluck and Purcell, but it's hard for me to find recordings I like and so I tend to listen to and discuss Romantic opera more. Mozart has many great recordings, and comes up more. My favorite non-operatic composer is Bach. I think posts on earlier operas would be welcome and draw engagement.


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