Many composers have turned their hand to opera, from Handel to Kanye West. But who are the composers who have shaped this theatrical form into what it is today?
Originating in Italy at the end of the 16th century, opera has attracted composers from all styles and backgrounds. Although Italy remained the epicentre of the European opera world for quite some time, there have always been composers in other countries making waves: Schütz in Germany, Lully in France, Purcell in Britain and, more recently, Missy Mazzoli, Philip Glass and John Adams in the US.
While this may not be an exhaustive list of the greatest opera composers, it is a good place to start for those who are new to the art form.
The best opera composers of all time
20. Mark-Anthony Turnage (b. 1960)
British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage has penned a number of operas, including a chamber opera, Country of the Blind. Taking inspiration from a wide variety of genres and styles, Turnage's operas encompass eclectic soundworlds and explore complex and provocative subject matter.
Try this: Anna Nicole (pictured) tells the story of the rise and demise of Playboy model Anna-Nicole Smith.
19. Missy Mazzoli (b. 1980)
In 2018, Pennsylvania's Missy Mazzoli made history when she became one of the first two women (along with Jeanine Tesori) to be commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. She has chosen to base her Met Opera commission on George Saunders's 2017 novel Lincoln in the Bardo. BBC Music Magazine's columnist referred to Mazzoli as 'writing in a lush, neo-Romantic style spiced with minimalist and jazz flecks.'
Try this: Breaking the Waves (2016) blends lyrical beauty with jagged intensity, capturing tragic devotion and modern operatic daring.
18. Thomas Adès (b. 1971)
Thomas Adès leapt to global fame in 1995 following the premiere of his first opera Powder Her Face, written for four singers and chamber orchestra. The Tempest and The Exterminating Angel are both highly dramatic adaptations: The Tempest of Shakespeare's play of the same name and The Exterminating Angel an adaptation of the 1962 film by Luis Buñuel.
Try this: Powder Her Face is about a beautiful but promiscuous woman who is disgraced during her divorce, and is seen as one of the earliest operas about tabloid culture and cancel culture.
17. Vincenzo Bellini (1801-35)
The master of bel canto lyricism, Bellini’s operas Norma and I Puritani showcase pure, soaring melodies. His strength lies in vocal elegance and emotional expression, though his dramatic range and orchestration are more limited than later composers. He remains beloved among singers, but his works are less central to the operatic canon today.
Try this: Norma is bel canto at its peak: soaring, emotionally charged arias, dramatic tension, and vocal fireworks make it a timeless 19th-century operatic masterpiece. Here's the inimitable Maria Callas singing the aria 'Casta Diva':
16. Philip Glass (b. 1937)
Philip Glass belongs in any discussion of great opera composers because he transformed the art form with his minimalist language. His operas distill drama into hypnotic, repetitive motifs, creating a trance-like emotional intensity. By blending contemporary themes, historical subjects, and non-linear storytelling, Glass expanded opera’s expressive potential, influencing generations of composers. His works are daring, modern, and intellectually compelling, proving that opera can evolve while remaining profoundly moving.
Try this: Einstein on the Beach – a groundbreaking, non-narrative minimalist masterpiece, merging hypnotic repetition, evocative imagery, and bold theatrical innovation.
15. Kaija Saariaho (1952-2023)
Kaija Saariaho reshaped contemporary opera with her luminous soundscapes and emotional intensity. Blending electronics, spectral textures, and orchestral color, she created works that feel otherworldly yet deeply human. Her breakthrough L’Amour de loin (2000) brought her global acclaim, while Adriana Mater and Innocence confirmed her as one of the most vital operatic voices of the 21st century. Saariaho’s operas explore love, trauma, and memory with haunting beauty, ensuring her place among modern masters of the stage.
Try this: Based on the story of Jaufre Rudel, Prince of Blaye, one of the first great troubadours of the 12th century, L'Amour de loin is dark, brooding and already a mainstay of the European opera scene.
14. Ethel Smyth (1858-1944)
In her lifetime, The Boatswain's Mate was Ethel Smyth's most successful opera. The comic two-act opera features the theme that later became The March of the Women, the official anthem of the Women's Social and Political Union and the broader women's suffrage movement in 1911.
Try this: The Wreckers depicts Cornish villagers luring ships to crash ashore for plunder, colliding with love, betrayal, and moral conflict. Mahler was believed to be interested in bringing it to the Vienna State Opera, but unfortunately got fired before he had the opportunity to do so.
13. John Adams (b. 1947)
John Adams deserves a place among the great opera composers for fusing minimalism with lyrical sweep and urgent political themes. His operas tackle contemporary subjects—terrorism, nuclear brinkmanship, presidential scandal—yet feel timeless in their emotional resonance. With rich orchestration and propulsive rhythms, Adams created operatic works that are accessible yet profound, firmly rooted in the modern world. He revitalized American opera, balancing intellectual depth with theatrical immediacy, making him one of the most vital composers of his era.
Try this: Nixon in China – an audacious blend of history and myth, transforming real events into grand, poetic political theatre with minimalist drive.
12. Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848)
Gaetano Donizetti was a central figure of the bel canto era, celebrated for his gift of marrying dazzling vocal display with genuine drama. With over 70 operas, he brought both comedy and tragedy to life, from the effervescent sparkle of Don Pasquale to the heart-wrenching madness of Lucia di Lammermoor. His operas gave singers some of their most iconic roles, demanding both virtuosity and emotional depth.
Try this: Lucia di Lammermoor epitomizes bel canto tragedy: soaring melodies, gripping drama, and the unforgettable “mad scene” of doomed passion.
11. Benjamin Britten (1913-76)
The operas of Benjamin Britten manage to straddle traditional and avant-garde soundworlds and appeal to a wide variety of audiences. After giving the US premiere of Paul Bunyan, written to a libretto by WH Auden, the pair withdrew the opera – despite its deft use of American musical, country and blues idioms.
The premiere of Peter Grimes secured Britten a place on the international opera stage, and from then, Britten was able to flex his operatic muscles and wrote a tranche of stellar works for the stage. He has emerged as one of the major figures of 20th-century opera. Find out what we chose as Britten's best works.
Try this: Peter Grimes (pictured) tells of an outcast fisherman accused of cruelty, exploring isolation, suspicion, and the sea’s overwhelming, unforgiving power.
10. Henry Purcell (1659-95)
Purcell secures his place among opera’s immortals by fusing English folk sensibilities with Italianate drama and French elegance. His gift for word-setting was unmatched, giving his operas and semi-operas an expressive power that could move from playful to tragic with effortless grace. Though his life was short, Purcell established the foundations of English opera, combining grandeur, poignancy, and wit in works that remain captivating centuries later. His legacy still echoes in every subsequent generation of British composers.
Recommended opera (20 words): Dido and Aeneas – a compact masterpiece of tragedy and beauty, crowned by Dido’s devastating “When I am laid in earth.”
9. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-93)
Tchaikovsky's compositional output is wide-ranging, encompassing ballets, songs, symphonies and, of course, operas. Despite Tchaikovsky's hesitancy, concerned the public may not accept it, Eugene Onegin has become one of his most commonly performed operas. It is based on a novel by Alexander Pushkin, as are his later operas The Queen of Spades and Mazeppa.
Try this: The Queen of Spades fuses psychological intensity, sweeping melodies, and supernatural dread. Its tale of obsession and fate makes it his most gripping, operatically perfect masterpiece.
We also named Tchaikovsky one of the greatest ballet composers ever
8. Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Renowned for his effervescent comic operas and sparkling overtures (The Barber of Seville, Cinderella), Rossini combined wit, virtuosity, and melodic charm. While his bel canto technique influenced generations, some argue his works lack the deep psychological drama of later Romantic opera. Nevertheless, his sense of timing and flair make him a key transitional figure.
Try this: The Barber of Seville — a sparkling comic masterpiece, full of witty ensembles, virtuosic arias, and Rossini’s signature rhythmic brilliance.
7. Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Straddling the Renaissance and Baroque eras, Monteverdi pioneered Italian opera and vocal music. Instrumental music also played a key role in his writing however, with strings dominating the orchestral accompaniment in operas such as Orfeo. This might be due to the fact that Monteverdi grew up in Cremona, home to the Amati family who manufactured top-quality violins and string instruments.
Try this: Although opera had already been developed by the time Monteverdi started writing, Orfeo is considered to be the first great masterpiece in Italian opera.
6. George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
The Baroque master of Italian opera, Handel wrote dazzling arias (Giulio Cesare, Rinaldo) full of virtuosity and emotional nuance. His contrapuntal genius and command of the human voice shine, though his dramas sometimes feel stylized compared to later Romantic opera. His works remain popular in concert halls and for specialist productions.
Try this: Giulio Cesare (pictured) — a dazzling Baroque opera full of virtuosic arias, intricate counterpoint, and political intrigue, showcasing Handel’s mastery of drama and vocal writing.
5. Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
Puccini’s lush orchestration, unforgettable melodies, and direct emotional appeal (La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly) make him the quintessential Romantic opera composer. His works are accessible and deeply moving, though critics sometimes dismiss them as sentimental or formulaic. Nevertheless, his ability to blend dramatic tension with lyrical beauty secures him a permanent place in the repertoire.
Try this: La Bohème — Puccini’s most beloved opera, combining lush melodies, poignant realism, and unforgettable arias to tell a bittersweet tale of love and loss among struggling artists in Paris.
4. Leoš Janáček (1854-1928)
There are few opera composers as wholly original as Janáček. Despite not getting round to writing his first major opera (Jenůfa) until middle age, he found his stride and completed many significant operas in the latter half of his life. His operas are notable for their prominent use of Slavic folk music from his native Czech Republic. Like many Italian operas, his writing is full of heightened drama and complex, fleshed-out characters.
Try this: Jenůfa — Janáček’s breakthrough opera, blending raw emotional intensity with folk-inspired rhythms and speech-like melodies, telling a haunting, deeply human story of love, betrayal, and redemption.
3. Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Richard Wagner truly was opera's colossus, revolutionising the form and popularising the use of leitmotifs – musical phrases corresponding to specific characters – in operas of the 19th century. His Ring Cycle perfectly indicates his grasp of the form, made up of four full-length operas – a cycle of unprecedented scale and grandeur.
Its four comprising operas are Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, and are intended to be heard in a series. Its opening opera Rheingold, is, at two and a half hours, the longest single stretch of unbroken music in the classical music canon. Later in his life, he founded the Bayreuth Festival, his very own opera gala. The festival provided a platform for Wagner to showcase his own works, including The Ring Cycle and Parsifal.
2. Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Giuseppe Verdi dominated the world of Italian opera in the 19th century after the premiere of Nabucco took Milan by storm in 1842, following in the footsteps of Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini who came before. Even during his lifetime, Verdi's operas were incredibly popular, performed across the world. His La traviata remains the most-performed opera in the world – despite having initially been viewed as something of a disappointment after the epic historic operas he had written before, Rigoletto and Il trovatore. Together, these three operas – written during his 'middle period' remain his best loved.
Try this: La traviata is a perfect blend of beautiful, memorable melodies, intense drama, and emotional depth. The story of Violetta, the Parisian courtesan torn between love and society’s expectations, showcases Verdi’s gift for lyrical arias, ensemble writing, and heartbreakingly human characters. Highlights include the passionate “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” (the famous drinking toast) and the heartrending “Addio del passato.”
1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1759-91)
Mozart’s genius in opera lies in his unparalleled combination of musical mastery and dramatic insight.
He could create unforgettable melodies that perfectly capture character, emotion, and situation, whether in the playful cunning of The Marriage of Figaro, the tragic nobility of Don Giovanni, or the sublime innocence of The Magic Flute. His orchestration is always precise, supporting singers while enhancing drama, and his ensembles—especially finales—revolutionized how multiple characters interact musically on stage.
Beyond technical brilliance, Mozart’s operas resonate with timeless human psychology: love, jealousy, ambition, and folly are portrayed with wit, empathy, and emotional truth. No other composer balances technical virtuosity, dramatic intelligence, and sheer musical beauty so consistently. For accessibility, sophistication, and enduring impact, Mozart remains the undisputed pinnacle of operatic art.
- Several Mozart operas feature in our list of the greatest operas of all time
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