Opera doesn’t just stir the soul—it grabs it by the collar and demands to be felt.
For centuries, composers have crafted arias that soar with passion, tremble with heartbreak, and blaze with fury. These iconic songs are opera’s emotional high points—moments where music and drama fuse into something unforgettable.
From the anguished cries of Puccini’s heroines to Mozart’s dazzling vocal fireworks, opera arias offer timeless expressions of human experience, all delivered through virtuosic vocal feats. Some are instantly recognisable even outside the opera house, thanks to film, advertising, or pop culture references. Others remain beloved treasures of the opera stage, fiercely adored by aficionados.
In this list, we count down the 15 greatest opera songs of all time—powerful, poignant, and packed with personality. Whether you’re an opera veteran or a curious newcomer, these masterpieces are guaranteed to move, thrill, and perhaps even convert you to the magic of opera.
Famous opera songs
15. Major-General's Song
Witty patter brilliance delivered at tongue-twisting speed
You probably know this one – especially from its parodies in Despicable Me 3, Family Guy, The Muppet Show, and Frasier. Gilbert and Sullivan’s 'Major-General’s Song' is a brilliantly witty patter piece from The Pirates of Penzance, satirising the overeducated but militarily clueless British officer. Its rapid-fire lyrics and clever rhymes make it famously tricky to perform – as hilariously proven by conductor Sir Andrew Davis at the 1992 BBC Proms.
14. Ombra mai fu
Serene, dignified tribute to nature’s gentle tranquillity
Unlike most operatic arias, Handel’s 'Ombra mai fu' from Xerxes is sung not to a lover or god, but to a tree. Mesmerised by its shade, Xerxes praises and even decorates the arbor in question.
Known also as Handel’s Largo, this gentle aria has outshone its parent opera in fame and is now performed by countertenors, contraltos, or mezzo-sopranos instead of the original soprano castrato.
13. Galop infernal (Can-Can)
Wild, high-kicking frenzy bursting with cheeky delight
For his 1858 opera Orpheus in the Underworld, the German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach included the Galop infernal, a song that deployed the can-can, a vigorous, physical dance, all high kicks and breathless speed, that was taking France by the storm at the time.
12. O Soave Fanciulla (O Sweet Girl)
A Puccini classic here, this one from La bohème, his 1895 opera about a group of young bohemians living in Paris. Sung as the closing number of Act One, this duet between the main lovers - Rodolfo and Mimi - is one of the most romantic and famous opera songs in the entire canon - a cocktail of ravishing orchestration and gooseflesh-inducing melody.
11. Catalogue Aria
Fast-paced comedic brilliance listing Don Giovanni's conquests
As famous for its words as its music, the Catalogue Aria from Mozart’s Don Giovanni is a witty bass solo in which Leporello lists his master’s many romantic conquests to the spurned Elvira. Set to playful music, the aria humorously details over 2,000 women across Europe, declaring Giovanni’s indiscriminate tastes—“anyone will do, as long as she wears a skirt.” Darkly comic and unforgettable.
10. Voi che sapete (You Who Know)
Charming, gender-bending ode to adolescent love confusion
Sung by the randy teenager Cherubino, this aria from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is about puberty, involuntary bodily functions and lust - specifically Cherubino’s lust for the Countess, on whom he has a teenage crush. Mozart’s music is elegantly simple, but beneath the swan-like surface is a tremulousness befitting the song’s subject matter.
9. Summertime
A sultry lullaby blurring lines between opera and jazz
The only 20th-century piece on our list, Summertime from George Gershwin’s 1935 opera Porgy and Bess blends jazz, blues, and classical into a languid lullaby. Sung by Clara to her baby, it evokes warmth, hope, and lazy summer days. Hugely iconic, it’s become one of the most covered songs in American music history—a timeless blend of elegance and emotion.
8. Habanera (L’amour est un oiseau rebelle)
Sensual, defiant habanera that smoulders with independence
This aria from Georges Bizet’s 1875 opera Carmen is all about the untameable nature of love and is sung by the title character, whose sultry allure it fully encapsulates. With its whistleable melody, which sidles chromatically down a descending scale, it’s one of the best-known songs in all of opera and has appeared in everything from films to adverts.
7. Largo al factotum
Bubbly, breathless energy meets comic baritone bravura
Some of us (including myself) first came across this aria in the opening credits of Mrs Doubtfire - thanks to a hyper-exuberant Robin Williams. In fact it’s from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, and is sung by the barber himself - Figaro - as he makes his grand entrance. With its irrepressible drive and enthusiastic repetitions of ‘Figaro!’, it is one of the sunniest, most infectiously optimistic moments in opera.
- We named The Barber of Seville as one of the best operas for newbies
6. O Mio Babbino Caro
A tender, plaintive plea full of youthful romantic yearning
This aria comes from Gianni Schicchi, Puccini’s 1918 one-act comedy about a Florentine con-man known for his powers of mimicry, who changes an old man’s will for his own gain, and that of his daughter Lauretta.
‘O Mio Babbino Caro’ is sung by the young Lauretta, as she begs her father to let her marry the love of her life Rinuccio. As such, its earnest tone and heart-rending melody provide a rare moment of poignancy in what is otherwise a pretty cynical little opera.
Best opera songs: the top five
5. Flower Duet
Floating, radiant harmonies that shimmer with delicate beauty
British Airways made it their theme song in the 1980s, but this serene duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano has continued to do well since then, finding its way into films such as Meet the Parents and television shows including The Simpsons.
It comes from Lakmé, Léo Delibes’s tragic 1883 opera set in British India, and is sung by the title character and her servant Mallika, as they go to gather flowers by a river. But you’d be forgiven for not knowing that, given how rarely the full opera gets performed nowadays.
4. La donna è mobile (Woman is fickle)
A cheeky, irresistible tune with a tragic ironic twist
This aria, from Verdi’s Rigoletto, claims that women are fickle and untrustworthy. That’s not surprising, as it’s sung by the Duke of Mantua, a rapist, misogynist and otherwise thoroughly reprehensible character.
So while the words might be pretty unpleasant, they clearly don't represent the composer's view. As for the tune - a popular showcase for the tenor voice - it is nothing if not catchy.
3. Un bel dì vedremo
Much of the attraction of this famous aria is its heightened emotional content. 'Un bel dì vedremo', which translates as 'One fine day we shall see', is sung by Cio-Cio-San, the main protagonist of Puccini's Madam Butterfly.
In this passionate aria, Cio-Cio-San expresses her unfaltering hope that her husband, the American naval officer Pinkerton, will return to her. He has not been by her side for many years now, but she still believes that he will return to Japan and that they will be reunited. It's a powerfully emotional moment on two levels: firstly, Cio-Cio-San's strong love and unwavering faith is very touching. On a more tragic and poignant level, though, the audience knows all too well that Pinkerton will not return to her.
As such, 'Un bel dì vedremo' is one of the great Romantic opera arias and deservedly one of the most famous songs in the opera repertoire. A perfect showcase for Puccini’s expressive and emotional gifts as a composer, it's been a signature aria for many of the greatest sopranos. Not least the matchless Maria Callas:
2. 'Queen of the Night' aria
Dazzling vocal fireworks, terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure
With its rapid-fire staccatos and stratospheric leaps to the infamous high F, Der Hölle Rache—better known as the Queen of the Night aria from Mozart’s The Magic Flute—is one of opera’s most electrifying showpieces. A fiery blend of vocal acrobatics and raw emotion, it perfectly captures the white-hot fury of the Queen as she demands her daughter Pamina murder Sarastro, her rival.
The intensity is palpable from the first note: “Hell’s vengeance boils in my heart,” she proclaims, and we absolutely believe her. It’s not just a vocal test for coloratura sopranos—it’s a dramatic one too, requiring precision, stamina, and the ability to embody vengeance itself. Dazzling and terrifying in equal measure, it remains one of opera’s greatest—and most thrilling—arias.
And the greatest opera song of all time is...
1. Nessun Dorma
Closely associated with Luciano Pavarotti, who sang it many times in the ‘90s after performing it at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, 'Nessun Dorma' (‘Let no one sleep’) is possibly classical music’s greatest gift to contemporary pop culture.
It actually comes from the final act of Puccini’s opera Turandot, where it is sung by the prince Calaf, who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but frosty Princess Turandot. But 'Nessun Dorma' is often performed as a standalone work, thanks to its lush orchestration, its bittersweet harmonies and, most of all, its melody which - in its slow build to a towering climax - tugs with all its might at the heart-strings.
Photo: Anna Siminska as Queen of the Night in the Royal Opera's production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Die Zauberflote directed by David McVicar and conducted by Cornelius Meister at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London. All pics: Getty Images
