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The Opera Portal
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work (called an opera) which combines a text (called a libretto) and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the "elements of spoken theatre," such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra/smaller musical ensemble.
Opera started in Italy at the end of the 16th century (with Jacopo Peri's lost Dafne, produced in Florence around 1597), and was championed by Claudio Monteverdi with works such as L'Orfeo. It soon spread through the rest of Europe: SchĂŒtz in Germany, Lully in France, and Purcell in England all helped to establish their national traditions in the 17th century. However, "in the 18th century," Italian opera continued to dominate most of Europe, except France, attracting foreign composers such as Handel. Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera, until Gluck reacted against its artificiality with his "reform" operas in the 1760s. Today the most renowned figure of late 18th century opera is Mozart, who began with opera seria. But is most famous for his Italian comic operas, especially The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and CosĂŹ fan tutte, as well as The Magic Flute, a landmark in the German tradition.
The first third of the 19th century saw the highpoint of the bel canto style, with Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini all creating works that are still performed today. It also saw the advent of Grand Opera typified by the works of Meyerbeer. The mid to late 19th century is considered by some a golden age of opera, led by Wagner in Germany. And Verdi in Italy. This 'golden age' developed through the verismo era in Italy and contemporary French opera through to Puccini and Strauss in the early 20th century. During the 19th century, parallel operatic traditions emerged in Central and "Eastern Europe," particularly in Russia and Bohemia. The 20th century saw many experiments with modern styles, such as atonality and serialism (Schoenberg and Berg), Neo-Classicism (Stravinsky), and Minimalism (Philip Glass and John Adams). With the rise of recording technology, singers such as Enrico Caruso became known to audiences beyond the circle of opera fans. Operas were also performed on (and written for) radio and television.
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In this month
- 1 July 1995 â Powder Her Face, an opera by Thomas AdĂšs and based on the scandalous life of Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, had its world premiere at the Cheltenham Music Festival.
- 5 July 1953 - Titta Ruffo, considered one of the greatest Italian baritones of his generation, died in Florence at the age of 76.
- 6 July 1845 â Soprano Ăngela Peralta, a leading figure in the operatic life of 19th century Mexico, was born in Mexico City.
- 11 July 1937 - George Gershwin, the composer of Porgy and Bess, died in Los Angeles at the age of 38.
- 13 July 1924 â The Italian tenor Carlo Bergonzi, admired for his warm timbre and elegant phrasing, was born in Vidalenzo, near Parma.
- 17 July 1852 â Salvadore Cammarano, who wrote the libretto for Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, died in his native Naples at the age of 51.
- 22 July 1847 â Verdi's opera I masnadieri had its world premiere at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. The performance was conducted by Verdi himself, with Jenny Lind (pictured) singing the role of Amalia.
- 30 July 1793 â The Teatro Nacional de SĂŁo Carlos in Lisbon, Portugal's leading opera house, was opened by Queen Maria I.
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Callas? She was pure electricity.
â Leonard Bernstein, on Maria Callas
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Selected audio
From Giacomo Puccini's La bohĂšme, sung by Enrico Caruso and Nellie Melba.
Did you know?
- ... that although Antonio Maria Bononcini's (Bononcini pictured) 1718 opera Griselda was successful, his older brother, Giovanni Bononcini, composed a more popular version in 1722?
- ... that the Balık sisters from Turkey are the only identical twins singing opera?
- ... that composer Jonathan Battishill once performed several airs from Samuel Arnold's oratorio The Prodigal Son without the sheet music, and after not hearing the work for more than 20 years?
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Main topics
Opera history: Origins of opera • Italian opera • Opera in German • French opera • Opera in English • Polish opera • Russian opera • Hungarian opera • Armenian opera • Opera in Latin America
Opera genres: Azione teatrale · Ballad opera · ComĂ©die en vaudevilles · ComĂ©die mĂȘlĂ©e d'ariettes · Dramma giocoso · Dramma per musica · Farsa · Festa teatrale · GĂ©nero chico · Grand Opera · Music Drama · OpĂ©ra-ballet · Opera buffa · OpĂ©ra bouffe · OpĂ©ra bouffon · OpĂ©ra comique · OpĂ©ra fĂ©erie · Opera semiseria · Opera seria · Operetta · Pastorale hĂ©roĂŻque · Romantische Oper · Savoy opera · Semi-opera · Singspiel · Spieloper · TragĂ©die en musique · Verismo · Zarzuela · Zeitoper
Opera terms: Aria · Aria di sorbetto · Arioso · Bel canto · Breeches role · Burletta · Cabaletta · Cadenza · Cantabile · Castrato · Cavatina · Chest voice · Claque · Coloratura · Comprimario · Convenienze · Coup de glotte · Da capo aria · Diva · Entr'acte · Fach · Falsetto · Fioritura · Gesamtkunstwerk · Head voice · Intermezzo · KammersĂ€nger · Leitmotif · Legato · Libretto · Literaturoper · Mad scene · Maestro · Melodrama · Melodramma · Monodrama · Messa di voce · Opera house · Passaggio · Portamento · Prima donna · Prompter · Recitative · Regietheater · RĂ©pĂ©titeur · Sitzprobe · Spinto · Sprechgesang · Squillo · Stagione · Surtitles · Tessitura · Timbre · Vibrato
Opera voices: Baritenor · Baritone · Bass · Bass-baritone · Coloratura soprano · Contralto · Countertenor · Dramatic soprano · Haute-contre · Lyric soprano · Mezzo-soprano · Soprano · Soubrette · Spinto soprano · Tenor · Tenore contraltino · Tenore di grazia
Opera lists: Opera topics • List of operas by composer • Important operas • Major opera composers • Opera librettists • Opera houses • Opera companies • Opera festivals • Opera directors • Operetta composers • Orphean operas • Zarzuela composers • Opera genres • Operas set in the Crusades • The Record of Singing • Bayreuth canon
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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Opera}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options. |
Featured articles
- Agrippina (opera)
- L'Ange de Nisida
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- Benjamin Britten
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- Carmen
- English National Opera
- Falstaff (opera)
- Kathleen Ferrier
- Gianni Schicchi
- Handel's lost Hamburg operas
- His Majesty's Theatre, London
- L'incoronazione di Poppea
- Lost operas by Claudio Monteverdi
- Jules Massenet
- Felix Mendelssohn
- André Messager
- Claudio Monteverdi
- Carl Nielsen
- Nixon in China
- Noye's Fludde
- Jacques Offenbach
- L'Orfeo
- Orpheus in the Underworld
- Les pĂȘcheurs de perles
- Maurice Ravel
- Rhinemaidens
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
- Rinaldo (opera)
- Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria
- Gioachino Rossini
- The Royal Opera
- BedĆich Smetana
- Charles Villiers Stanford
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Michael Tippett
- Tosca
- Richard Wagner
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- Marian Anderson
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- The Castafiore Emerald
- SoĆa ÄervenĂĄ
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- Erik Chisholm
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- Ryland Davies
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- Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- The Fairy-Queen
- Fatinitza
- Fire Shut Up in My Bones
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- Grounded (opera)
- Edita GruberovĂĄ
- Robert Hale (bass-baritone)
- Cecelia Hall (mezzo-soprano)
- Julius Harrison
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- Franz Schubert
- Johann Strauss II
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- Giuseppe Verdi
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- Wales Millennium Centre
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Featured pictures
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1899 poster of Mme. M. Sissieretta Jones
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Adolphe-Joseph-Louis Alizard from Le Charivari
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Advertisement for the music score of La BohĂšme, 1895
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Aida poster colors fixed
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Al quartiere latino, bozzetto di Adolf Hohenstein per La BohĂšme (1896) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON000086 - Restoration
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Albert Pierre-René Maignan - Jules Massenet - Ariane
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Albert Reiss LOC ggbain-25651
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Alexandre Charles Lecocq - Giuseppe Verdi - La forza del destino
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Alexandre Fragonard - ScĂšne de L'orage (Barbier de SĂ©ville)
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Alexandre Lacauchie - Gilbert Duprez as Gaston in Verdi's JĂ©rusalem
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Alfredo Edel - Jules Massenet - Le mage
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Alice Neilsen's production of Victor Herbert's The Fortune Teller
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Amilcare Ponchielli (before 1886) - Archivio Storico Ricordi FOTO000794 - Restoration
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Amédée Forestier - Illustrated London News - Gilbert and Sullivan - Ruddygore (Ruddigore)
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Anna Fernqvist, rollportrÀtt - SMV - H1 122 - Restoration
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Atelier Nadar - Fly scene from Offenbach's Orphée aux enfers with Jeanne Granier as Eurydice and EugÚne Vauthier as Jupiter, 1887 revival, wide-angle shot
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Atelier Nadar - Galli-Marié in Bizet's Carmen
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Atelier Nadar - Jacques Isnardon, Vaudeville
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Auguste François-Marie Gorguet - poster for the premiĂšre performance of Ădouard Lalo's Le roi d'Ys (1888)
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Barbier, Jules, Nadar, Gallica
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Boris Kustodiev - Portrait of Fyodor Chaliapin - Google Art Project
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Carl Nielsen c. 1908 - Restoration
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Carloz Schwabe - Vincent d'Indy's Fervaal
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Cavalleria Rusticana - Alfio and Turiddu embrace
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Cavalleria Rusticana - Santuzza and Turiddu outside the church
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Charles Gounod (1890) by Nadar
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Charles Motte - Rossini et Georges IV - la soirée de Brighton
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Charles-Antoine Cambon - La Esmeralda, Act 3, Scene 2 set
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Charles-Antoine Cambon - La Esmeralda, Act III, Scene 1 set design (Version 2)
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Charles-Antoine Cambon - Set design for Act V, Scene 2 of Fromental Halévy's La reine de Chypre
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Charles-Antoine Cambon - Set design for the premiĂšre of Rossini's Robert Bruce, Act III, Scene 3
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Cherubini, Luigi - Medea - Restoration
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Christine Nilsson Nadar
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Colette and Maurice Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilĂšges, 1st scene
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Colette and Maurice Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilĂšges, 2nd scene
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Collina presso Nagasaki, bozzetto di Alexandre Bailly, Marcel Jambon per Madama Butterfly (1906) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON000079 - Restoration
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Composer Rossini G 1865 by Carjat - Restoration
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CĂ©lestin Nanteuil - Jules Massenet - Don CĂ©sar de Bazan
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Dudley Hardy - Poster for His Majesty
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Edmond Cavé 1844 Ingres - NY Met Museum of Art
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Elliott & Fry - photograph W. S. Gilbert
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Ethel Smyth
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EugĂšne Du Faget - Costume designs for Guillaume Tell - 1-3. Laure Cinti-Damoreau as Mathilde, Adolphe Nourrit as Arnold Melchtal, and Nicolas Levasseur as Walter Furst
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EugÚne Du Faget - Costume designs for Les Huguenots - 2. Julie Dorus-Gras as Marguerite, Adolphe Nourrit as Raoul, and Cornélie Falcon as Valentine
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EugĂšne Grasset - Jules Massenet - Werther
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Falka - Weir Collection
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Falstaff 3
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Fausta Labia, portrÀtt - SMV - H5 028 - Restoration
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François-Joseph Bélanger - Set design for Gluck's Alceste
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Fromental HalĂ©vy, L'Ăclair score cover - Restoration
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Georges Rochegrosse - Henry FĂ©vrier - Henri Cain and Louis Payen after Victorien Sardou - Gismonda
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Georges Rochegrosse - Jules Massenet - Roma
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Georges Rochegrosse - Poster for Gabriel Fauré's Pénélope (1913)
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Georges Rochegrosse - Poster for the prÚmiere of Claude Debussy and Maurice Maeterlinck's Pelléas et Mélisande
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Georges Rochegrosse's poster for Jules Massenet's Don Quichotte
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Geraldine Ulmar in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado - photograph only
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Giacomo Puccini (1924) - Archivio Storico Ricordi FOTO003293 - Restoration
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Gilbert Duprez & Rosine Stoltz in Donizetti's La Favorite
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Giuseppe Barberis - Carlo Cornaglia - Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlo at La Scala
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Giuseppe Verdi, Giovanna d'Arco, Vocal Score - Restoration
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Giuseppe Verdi, La traviata title page - Restoration
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Giuseppe Verdi, Lombardi alla prima crociata. Libretto, 1843 - Restoration
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Giuseppe Verdi, Rigoletto, Vocal score illustration by Roberto Focosi - Restoration
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Giuseppe Verdi, Simon Boccanegra first edition libretto for the 1881 revision of the opera - Restoration
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Giuseppe Verdi, Un Ballo in maschera, Vocal score frontispiece - restoration
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H. M. Brock - Gilbert and Sullivan - D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Ruddigore revival 1921
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H. M. Brock - Poster for Iolanthe
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H.J. Whitlock - Photograph of Arthur Sullivan
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Haydée, ou Le secret Act II - Philippe Chaperon
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Hector Berlioz, Béatrice et Bénédict score title page - Restoration
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Hector Berlioz, La Prise de Troie score cover - Restoration
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Hector Berlioz, Les Troyens vocal score cover - Restoration
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Hector Berlioz, Les Troyens Ă Carthage vocal score cover - Restoration
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Henri C. R. Presseq - Camille Erlanger - Le juif polonais
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Henry Atwell Thomas - Franz von Suppé - Fatinitza
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Il signor Tambourossini - Delaroche
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Il trovatore by Luigi Morgari
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Illustrated London News - Giuseppe Verdi's Attila at Her Majesty's Theatre, London
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Iolanthe piano transcriptions by Ernst Perabo
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Ivor Novello
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Jacques Offenbach - A. Jannin - Robinson Crusoé
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Jacques Offenbach by Nadar
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Jean de Paleologu - Jules Massenet - Sapho
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Jeremiah Gurney - Photograph of Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa
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Johann Strauss II by Fritz Luckhardt
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John Phillip Sousa - De Wolf Hopper - El Capitan1
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Joseph Albert - Ludwig und Malwine Schnorr von Carolsfeld - Tristan und Isolde, 1865f
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Jules Massenet - Le Cid 2e Acte, 3e Tableau - L'Illustration
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Jules Massenet - Le Cid 3e Acte, 6e Tableau - L'Illustration
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Jules Massenet by EugĂšne Pirou
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La Juive Act 1 set 1835 - Restoration
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Le comte Ory - Dubois & chez Martinet - Final scene
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Lilly Walleni in Daria at Kungliga Operan 1907 - SMV - NV059
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Louis Guéymard as Robert le Diable by Gustave Courbet - The Metropolitan Museum of Art 436015 (cropped)
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Lucy Arbell as Queen Amahelli in Massenet's Bacchus, wide view
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Lucy Arbell in Massenet's ThérÚse
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Lucy Arbell photographed by Paul Nadar
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Luigi Verardi after Dominico Ferri - Gaetano Donizetti - Carrefour de St Jean et Paul. Dans l'Opéra Marino Faliero
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Luigi Verardi after Dominico Ferri - Vincenzo Bellini - Théatre Royal Italien. Salle d'armes dans l'Opéra I Puritani
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M. Browne - Herbert Railton - Sydney Grundy - Arthur Sullivan - Haddon Hall
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Mademoiselle Maupin de l'Opéra (Julie d'Aubigny)
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Mademoiselle Priola de l'Opéra Comique, rÎle de Javotte dans "Le Roi l'a dit" de Delibes
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Magna Lykseth in Tristan och Isolde at Kungliga Operan 1909 - SMV - GL164
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Marcel Jambon - Giuseppe Verdi - Otello Act I set design model
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Maria Carrara Verdi, Barberina Strepponi, Giuseppe Verdi, Giuditta Ricordi, Teresa Stolz, Umberto Campanari, Giulio Ricordi, Leopoldo Metlicovitz (1900) - Archivio storico Ricordi FOTO003107 - Restoration
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Marian Anderson
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Maritana - Nov 22 1845 Illustrated London News
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Max BrĂŒckner - Otto Henning - Richard Wagner - Final scene of GötterdĂ€mmerung
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Meyerbeer - Les Huguenots - DĂ©cor Acte II
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Michael William Balfe - Atelier Nadar
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Napoli, strada Acquaquilia, bozzetto di Riccardo Salvadori per A Basso Porto (1894) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON002556
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Nelly Martyl by Jean Reutlinger (Image 10715)
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Paul Maurou - Poster for Edmond Audran's Gillette de Narbonne
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Percy Anderson - Poster for The Duchess of Dantzic
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Philippe Chaperon - Meyerbeer - Les Huguenots Act I (1896)
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Philippe Chaperon - Rigoletto
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Philippe Chaperon by Atelier Nadar
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Pierre Gaveaux by Edmé Quenedey (1821)
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Pierre-Auguste Lamy (?) - Les contes d'Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, Giulietta act
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Pierre-Auguste Lamy (?) - Les contes d'Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, Olympia act
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Pierre-Auguste Lamy (?) - Les contes d'Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, prologue
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Pierre-Luc-Charles Cicéri - EugÚne Cicéri - Philippe Benoist - Adolphe Jean Baptiste Bayot - Décorations de théùtre, Robert le diable, 3e act
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PikiWiki Israel 13773 AIDA AT MASADA 2011
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Portrait of Madame Dugazon (Louise Rosalie LefĂšvre), in the title rĂŽle of Nina (Scene V)
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Poster for Burnand and Sullivan's Cox and Box - Royal Gallery of Illustration
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Poster for Gilbert and Clay's Ages Ago at the Royal Gallery of Illustration
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Poster for Jules Massenet's La Navarraise with Emma Calvé in the rÎle of Anita
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Poster for Le pardon de Ploërmel 1859
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Prokofieff (i.e. Prokofiev) LCCN2014708419 Crop 2
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Prudent-Louis Leray - Poster for the premiĂšre of Georges Bizet's Carmen
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Robert Jacob Hamerton - Poster for A Sensation Novel
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Robert Jacob Hamerton - Poster for F. C. Burnand and Arthur Sullivan's The Contrabandista
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Rosa Raisa (1917) - Archivio Storico Ricordi FOTO002701 - Restoration
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Set design by Philippe Chaperon for Act1 sc2 of Aida by Verdi 1871 Cairo - Gallica - Restored
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Set design by Philippe Chaperon for Act4 sc2 of Aida by Verdi 1880 Paris
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Strauss, Richard - Ariadne auf Naxos - Restoration
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Tavola 5, bozzetto di GebrĂŒder BrĂŒckner per TannhĂ€user (s.d.) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON011721 - Restoration, crop
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Teatro Municipal de SĂŁo Paulo 8
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The Mikado Chappell Vocal Score cover (c.1895)
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Thespis - Illustrated London News Jan 6 1872
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Trial by Jury - Chaos in the Courtroom
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Utopia Limited Poster
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Vasta spianata presso Courtray, bozzetto di Giuseppe Palanti per Edgar (s.d.) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON000128 B
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Verdi conducting Aida in Paris 1880 - Gallica - Restoration
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Wally (soprano), figurino di Adolf Hohenstein per La Wally (1892) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON004639 - Restoration
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Wilhelm - Costume design for Arac, Gunon, and Scynthius (Princess Ida, 1884)
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Ădouard de Reszke by Nadar (BPL Hale Coll)
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Ămile Bertrand - Jules Massenet - Cendrillon poster
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