Kalmus Opera Library

Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) is an 1859 three act opera by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) with a libretto by Antonio Somma. Initially based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five...

Finished in 1848 and premiered in 1850 in Weimar, Germany, Richard Wagner's (1813-1883) LOHENGRIN tells a story of a tragic medieval German romance in the Knight of the Swan tradition. Elsa, a princes...

DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER (THE FLYING DUTCHMAN), WWV 63, had two sources of inspiration for Richard Wagner (1813-1883). The first was a short story by Heinrich Heine, based on the folk legend of a sea-c...

DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER (THE FLYING DUTCHMAN), WWV 63, had two sources of inspiration for Richard Wagner (1813-1883). The first was a short story by Heinrich Heine, based on the folk legend of a sea-c...

DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER (THE FLYING DUTCHMAN), WWV 63, had two sources of inspiration for Richard Wagner (1813-1883). The first was a short story by Heinrich Heine, based on the folk legend of a sea-c...

While it scandalized Parisian audiences at its premiere by the Opéra-Comique in Paris on March 3rd, 1875, Georges Bizet's (1838-1875) Carmen became, a mere decade later, one of the most popular and fr...

While it scandalized Parisian audiences at its premiere by the Opéra-Comique in Paris on March 3rd, 1875, Georges Bizet's (1838-1875) Carmen became, a mere decade later, one of the most popular and fr...

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) composed his popular two-act opera buffa L'elisir d'amore hastily over six weeks in 1832 for a premiere that took place on May 12 of that year at the Teatro della Canobbi...

Don Pasquale, regarded as one of the crowning gems of comic opera, had its first performance on January 3, 1843 by the Theatre-Italien at the Salle Ventadour in Paris. Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) co...

Don Pasquale, regarded as one of the crowning gems of comic opera, had its first performance on January 3, 1843 by the Theatre-Italien at the Salle Ventadour in Paris. Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) co...

Umberto Giordano (1867-1948) wrote the four-act verismo opera Andrea Chénier in 1896, and it remains his best-known work. It premiered on March 28, 1896, at La Scala in Milan. Loosely based on the lif...

Umberto Giordano (1867-1948) wrote the four-act verismo opera Andrea Chénier in 1896, and it remains his best-known work. It premiered on March 28, 1896, at La Scala in Milan. Loosely based on the lif...

WERTHER, an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet (1842-1912), found its inspiration in a novel by Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther, which in turn based its story on the actual suicide of a young m...

WERTHER, an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet (1842-1912), found its inspiration in a novel by Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther, which in turn based its story on the actual suicide of a young m...

Italian composer Amilcare Ponchielli's (1834-1886) 4-act opera La Gioconda was first performed by La Scala in Milan on April 8, 1876, and was an immediate success, acting as a bridge between the Verdi...

LA BOHÈME, one of the most beloved and commercially-successful operas, is based on the 1851 novel Scenes of Bohemian Life by Henri Murger. With a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, Giacomo...

LA BOHÈME, one of the most beloved and commercially-successful operas, is based on the 1851 novel Scenes of Bohemian Life by Henri Murger. With a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, Giacomo...

The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia) was written by Giocchino Rossini (1792-1868) in 1816. The two-act comic opera is considered one of the greatest opera buffas ever written, and it remain...

The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia) was written by Giocchino Rossini (1792-1868) in 1816. The two-act comic opera is considered one of the greatest opera buffas ever written, and it remain...

Because he had formerly won the Prix de Rome prize in composition, George Bizet (1838-1875) had the opportunity to write his opera LES PECHEURS DE PERLES (THE PEARL FISHERS) on commission. With a libr...

Because he had formerly won the Prix de Rome prize in composition, George Bizet (1838-1875) had the opportunity to write his opera LES PECHEURS DE PERLES (THE PEARL FISHERS) on commission. With a libr...

Because he had formerly won the Prix de Rome prize in composition, George Bizet (1838-1875) had the opportunity to write his opera Les pecheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) on commission. With a libr...

Because he had formerly won the Prix de Rome prize in composition, George Bizet (1838-1875) had the opportunity to write his opera Les pecheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) on commission. With a libr...

Based on the 1832 play LE ROI S'AMUSE by Victor Hugo, Guiseppe Verdi's (1812-1901) RIGOLETTO was the composer's sixteenth entry into the genre and is widely considered one of the first operatic master...

Based on the 1832 play LE ROI S'AMUSE by Victor Hugo, Guiseppe Verdi's (1812-1901) RIGOLETTO was the composer's sixteenth entry into the genre and is widely considered one of the first operatic master...