The first Romantic opera, and the foundation of the 19th century French school.
171. Lodoïska (Cherubini)
Category: 18th century opera
170. Grétry and the French Revolution: Pierre le Grand & Guillaume Tell
How did Grétry respond to the turmoil of the Terror?
169. Così fan tutte (Mozart)
A shrewd old philosopher sets up a School for Lovers to teach them wisdom. The four young people in this opera badly need it.
168. Raoul Barbe-Bleue (Grétry)
Q: Sister Anne, Sister Anne, what do you see? A: I see that horrid M. Grétry! He wants to make our flesh creep.
167. Démophoon (Cherubini)
Beethoven thought Cherubini was the greatest composer of the time. We look at his first French opera.
166. Don Giovanni (Mozart)
Don Giovanni needs little introduction. It’s one of the 10 most performed operas in the world; and it’s easily Mozart’s best opera.
165. Tarare (Salieri)
Tarare is a revolution in five acts. Despots dethroned; popular uprisings; anti-clericalism; and cries for liberty, equality, and an end to absolute monarchy … two years before the Assemblée nationale and the storming of the Bastille. Music by Salieri, libretto by Beaumarchais (yes, that Beaumarchais).
