I haven't done one of these lists in months, so I thought as a nice change of pace, I would do something fun and light like this instead of the normal photo dumps or Dysfunction Junction.
EDIT, AN UPDATE: I have since found out that there is a BRER RABBIT OPERA, and thus is now my default favourite. All the rest are second bananas to this masterpiece.
In No Particular Order, My Top Ten Operas:
Billy Budd (Britten)
Beautiful, tragic, robust, Billy Budd is the unfinished Hemmingway short story turned opera. If you like testosterone rich high seas thrilling adventures, this is a very macho opera for you. Unfortunately, there are only a few moments of WE BE ON THE HIGH SEAS, YEE HAW!, and Billy Budd isn't as present in the opera that is about him as you should actually expect. It's gut-wrenching, emotional, and, as an added bonus, in English. It has a shorter running time than most operas. I would definitely recommend sitting towards the back of the house for this one, because you get the full effect of the robust power of that male chorus.
Elektra (Strauss)
Clocking in at a little over 90 minutes, this one-act opera is breathtaking. Every production brings something different, but, in more recent years, they have really leaned into the horror aspects and the special effects. (Without giving any spoilers, there was a scene in the 2017 SF Opera production --available for streaming-- with a teddy bear that made me laugh out loud and almost got me kicked out, hee hee.) A tale of righteous vengeance, duplicitous mothers, evil step fathers, lost siblings, and the stop at nothing until the goals are met, Elektra (the opera and the role itself) is a powerhouse.
The Ballad of Baby Doe (Moore)
Sweeping Americana, silvery highs and crushing lows, The Ballad of Baby Doe tells the true life story (as much as any opera can, of course) of Elizabeth "Baby" Doe Tabor and her controversial marriage to Horace Tabor--from rags to riches to rags again. A little Wild West, a little history lesson, a little bit of true love and what true loves really means.
Die Fledermaus (Strauss II)
We love a good madcap screwball comedy. This farcical romp bounds along at a breakneck speed spanning over three zany acts. A man named Gabriel von Eisenstein has to avoid an 8 day prison sentence and his wife so he can go to a party. Well, it turns out, that everyone else is also set to avoid each other and lie to go to this party. Bad disguises, stolen dresses, multiple extramarital affairs, bored Russian Princes, GIANT eggs, and champagne for days, if you are going to see one opera in your lifetime and you don't think you would enjoy opera, this is the opera for you.
Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)(Mozart)
Neglected wives, wily servants, slimy horndogs, chaotic pages and garden girls, and one identity crisis after another make up this second madcap comedy on this list. Oh, and it's also fan fiction of The Barber of Seville. The ultra-scummy Count Almaviva is trying to seduce (by force) his servant girl Susanna on her wedding day, but his wife, the other servants, a doctor-lawyer, and a music teacher conspire to thwart his dastardly plans. Instead of sexual coercion played for "laughs," The Marriage of Figaro is here to invert opera tropes on their head and show that the women and servants are the real ones running the show at all times. The comedy is next level.
Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)(Mozart)
Another Mozart for this list! A sumptuous fairytale with questionable morality, The Magic Flute is one of the top operas for a reason. I have nothing really to add here on this one, other than I love The Queen of the Night and "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" is literally everything.
Dialogues des Carmélites (Dialogues of the Carmelites) (Poulenc)
SAD SAD SAD SAD SAD SAD SAD. But absolutely gorgeous. Very mid-century modern, very French, very long, Dialogues des Carmélites recounts the martyrdom of the Carmelite nuns right before the Reign of Terror was brought to a close. The heartbreaking and unnecessary deaths of the nuns make you completely rethink the way we are taught about and meant to see the French Revolution,
Les contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann)(Offenbach)
The absolutely hapless Hoffmann, "a poet," recounts his "three great loves," Olympia (an automaton), Antonia (a young singer), and Giulietta (a courtesan), who all possess traits of his "one true love" Stella....and all of these characters are usually played by the same singer. I swear to you, this whole opera is WILD.
The Medium (Menotti)
A short, two act, terrifying ghost story with very, very complicated music. Phony seances turn into real ones with dire consequences.
Carmen
This is another one of those operas that you think of when you think of opera.
I don't have anything to add here, so here's HEY, ARNOLD!
So that's my list! Only 3 of the Big Ten made it on here, and that's because that's the beauty of opera--it appeals (or doesn't) to everyone differently.
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