Five Best Operas for Beginners - The Operas You Should See First - Keep It Classical

Here are the five best operas for beginners. If you're not sure what operas you should see first, this list is for you. Opera can be intimidating when you're just starting out, but it doesn't have to be.

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Rachel Willis-Sørensen - Mimì
Jonas Kauffman - Rodolfo
Elina Garanca - Carmen
Diana Damrau - Queen of the Night
Michael Fabiano - Alfredo
Venera Gimadieva - Violletta
Hubert Zapiór - Figaro

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About me: I am a conductor, published composer, professional singer, sound engineer, and producer based in Los Angeles. I love classical music and want to help as many people as possible learn more about it.

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[KeepitClassical]

"No good opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are feeling sensible." - W. H. Auden

[monizdm]

A word of caution on helping someone go to their first opera: don't underestimate them. My brother wanted to try opera and I thought Carmen would be a good choice. He was generally unimpressed, but a week later told me he watched "Akhnaten" on TV and loved it. I got him a ticket to the Met production and he is now a bit of an opera fan. I never would have guessed that Akhnaten could be an introduction, but his interest in ancient history and the creative staging appealed.

[enkiitu]

I’ve been a professional singer for the past 35 years and have sung all of the operas mentioned here, some of them many times, especially La Boheme.
But if I had to name the best opera for beginners I would have to say Turandot.
It’s short with spectacular music all throughout.
I really recommend it.

[clara]

I would add that The Magic Flute is not only a good first opera for adults but hands down the best first opera for kids. I watched it for the first time when I was ten and my little brother was eight. We were well prepared by our parents, who listened to some of the highlight arias with us ahead of time, and read the synopsis to us so we wouldn't get lost if the subtitles went too fast. We both loved it and ran around the house singing pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pageno for weeks. The following year we named our new kitten Papageno and he became the best bird catcher. ;)

[jorgaba]

One thing I particularly like about this list is it covers the bases really well -- comedy and tragedy, fantasy and realism, the 3 most common languages (italian, german, french), several of the big-name composers, and a 105-year span of time (1791-1896) across opera's heyday of popularity. It seems safe to say that if a newcomer will like opera at all, they'll like at least one of these.

[ovh]

The best opera for beginners is The Barber of Seville. Everyone should know it from the Bugs Bunny Elmer Fud cartoon. And the best part is that the best part of the opera is in the very beginning. So if you can't sit for a 2 or 3 hour opera, you can leave early (as many people do) and not miss the best part!

[sandiburgess]

Agree with these choices. As a retired operatic singing/performer, now voice teacher ... these are excellent choices with simple explanations. Thank you. Sharing with new students to opera.

[akvavit]

You really can't go wrong with any of the 4 famous Puccini operas. Tosca, La Boheme, Madame Butterfly, and Turandot.

[herrgoldmann]

We just saw Mozart`s "Zauberflöte" in the Vienna opera. It was my first time visiting an opera and it was an amazing experience.

[subrismygoal]

I just saw my first opera at the Met. I saw Aida and it was absolutely breathtaking!!

[birdmanben]

I always feel like L'elisir d'amore is underrated as a first opera--it's so funny and the plot is super accessible!

Also, Rachel sings the pants off Kaufmann every time they collaborate and I love it.

[Anna-lvv]

My love for opera began around my 11 birthday. First one in the family. At that age I enjoyed a good story. So, Mozart: Zauberflöte and Le Nozze di Figaro, Smetana: The Bartered Bride, Weber: Der Freischütz, Verdi: Macbeth. I got a lot of vinyl records and my mother bravely accompanied me for five years to our small town opera (around 30 performances). A very expensive hobby for a kid. My big projects before my 15 birthday: Wagner: Meistersinger and Verdi: Don Carlo. I was very thankful for the metropolitan opera‘s stream during COVID.

[aaguero]

My first exposure to opera was "Rigoletto, " which I saw when I was 16 years old. It took my breath away and made me an inveterate opera lover for life! That was 40 years ago, and over time I've developed a love for Baroque opera. I recently also discovered Philip Glass through his opera "Akhenaten, " and was entranced. The journey never ends - there is a world of operatic delights out there!

[dorisschneider-coutandin]

Would always recommend to start with "Don Giovanni", also perhaps "Hänsel and Gretel". Then "The Magic Flute", and also "Carmen" would be on my list for beginners. "Aida", as well as "Turandot" might be interesting ones, too, for opera novices.

[zsuzsanna]

I know it's not really an opera, but my first experience was Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) as a kid, and I loved it, and kept singing songs from it. I think it can be a good idea to move gradually from musicals through singspiel to opera. After that it was la Traviata with Andrea Rost, and it was beautiful, but I think I needed the gradual introduction.
I haven't seen Carmen as a real opera yet, but turned into a skating film, Carmen On Ice with Katarina Witt, Brian Boitano and Brian Orser (world champions, Olympic champions and silver medalist), three of the greatest skaters of their time). It was a passionate performance and brought the music closer to me, as it was connected to my favourite sport.

[drekfletch]

I am giving this video a thumbs up solely for introducing me to Hubert Zapiór.
My first opera was Il Trovatore, and I don't think it gets enough appreciation. I bought the cd just for the Anvil Chorus, and discovered Stride la vampa and Di quella pira (curse my baritone range, taunting me with that aria).

[mauriat]

My 5 operas for beginners.
1. Carmen
2. Turandot
3. La Traviata
4. Madama Butterfly
5. Cavalleria Rusticana

[olliemartinelli]

As a child my parents would bring me and my sisters to see operas all the time, to the point where we always hated it because (obviously we were literally children) we didn’t understand the music. However, I am so grateful now, it’s insane how those few years of exposure shape so much later on. The first opera I saw that I genuinely remember and loved was Porgy and Bess. Also the first time I ever cried at a live performance of anything was a year ago seeing Cavalleria Rusticana. Shame there’s so much stigma around opera only being for snobs. So many people don’t even realise what they’re missing out on

[wordscapes]

I always recommend people start with the light comedies - Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti…. Then move toward the Romantic and late Romantic composers. I disagree that Mozart is bad for beginners. They need to know only two things: recitative and aria. That is all. Le Nozze is the quintessential beginner’s opera. Every aria is a hit, the libretto is pure genius, and it contains everything: romance, comedy, and tragedy. My grandmother, a dyed-in-the-wool Wagnerite, started me with Der Ring des Nibelungen. Not an easy start. But I’m glad that she did.

[mikeobrien]

The first four I agree with. Magic Flute is a better choice than most of the rest of the Mozart operas because it has dialogue instead of recitativo. For that reason, I'd take Paggliacci over Barber. It's also shorter, and as a bonus, it ends with a murder.😻
My parents' first date was Tristan. My mother had never seen an opera before. Can you imagine that?😳