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Whether you're completely new to opera or just need a refresher, we've put together this brief overview of all things opera to help you feel at ease when visiting one of our shows.

Read about the most famous opera songs that have been used in adverts, film, TV, social media and are regulars on classical radio stations.

Known as one of Italy’s finest opera composers, Puccini‘s works have stood the test of time, with some of his compositions being regarded as some of the best in the genre, including Madam Butterfly, Tosca and La bohème.

Find out a bit more about him here…

Find out about one of the most iconic opera singers of the 20th century.

Gilbert and Sullivan songs are beloved around the world, find out more about the pair

Being one of the most famous operas in the repertoire, it’s no surprise that Puccini’s La bohème has inspired musicals, films and even cartoons. Take a look at some of the most notable La bohème references in popular culture.

La bohème contains some of the most famous opera music ever written, which is one of the reasons it’s so popular with audiences across the globe...

Tosca: one of Puccini's best known opera, but the composition was hardly a smooth road. With our 2022 production coming up, we're taking a look at some of the key dates leading up to the premiere. 

Take a look at the best known operettas, and the composers behind them…

Classical music and studying go hand in hand. When you really need to focus, those orchestral tunes make for the perfect background noise. We have rounded up some of the world’s most famous opera singers to add to your study playlist.

A tale of love, murder and tragedy, Tosca resonates with everyone who sees it. Let’s take a look at some of the most famous examples of where you might’ve heard tunes from Tosca…

Is there any better way to capture the wonder of Christmas than through the magic of opera? Here are some of the best operas set at Christmas, full of love, faith, friendship and jubilation.

The 20th century produced some of the most famous opera composers in history. Here are just a few of the most successful composers and their popular works which have helped secure their place in the history books.

London is not only the home of some of the most famous opera houses in the world, but the setting of many popular operas. Here are just a few of the operas set in London that you should see!

Known for his revolutionary approach to music, Richard Wagner is one of the most famous German composers. With notable works including Tristan and Isolde, The Valkyrie, Tannhauser and Lohengrin, Wagner redefined the opera genre.

Find out more about the man behind some of the most popular opera music here…

Often regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the twenty-first century, American composer Philip Glass is best-known for his minimalist compositions.

Find out a bit more about him and his music!

Read on for a look at some of the most famous and interesting Requiems there are, as well as a quick overview of what a Requiem is.

Need some music to get you through the day? Welcome to our playlist hub.

Studies have suggested a correlation between listening to classical music and boosting productivity and concentration!

So, have a listen to this playlist.

ENO Surtitle operator Kate Telfer shares an account of what it’s like to do her job on a show day.

From witches to fairies, many composers through the years have brought their stories to live with a touch of magic.

Here's some of our favourite magical opera characters that would give Harry Potter a run for his money.

The mothers in opera are… perhaps not all stars. Nevertheless, we can applaud them for always adding drama to the operas they’re in, and we can be thankful for that at least!

To celebrate Mother’s Day, we’re taking a look at some of the more notable mothers in opera.

ENO has an ongoing collaboration with Central Saint Martin’s College of Art & Design (University of the Arts, London).

The Autumn Term module for 2nd year MA Character Animation students is inspired by the ENO season, with students creating short animation films in response to operas on our stage.

We’ve compiled a list of some of opera’s most famous, challenging or beloved roles in the operatic repertoire, and had a look at their best arias. Take a look!

Although in the 21st century female roles played by men have become uncommon, women in male roles (sometimes referred to as ‘travesti’ roles) are still commonplace across the art form.

Gilbert and Sullivan remain one of the best known composer/lyricist pairings in operatic history, but which of their songs are the ‘best’?

Librettist W.S. Gilbert wrote the words and composer Sir Arthur Sullivan wrote the score for their fourteen operas, in a collaboration that lasted 25 years. Find out more about the operatic duo here.

German-born Englishman, George Frideric Handel, is one of the best-known composers from the Baroque period. Find out a bit more about the man who spent the most part of his life bringing opera to the London stage…

We’ve taken a look at some of the most demanding and beautiful roles in the repertoire that challenge even the best sopranos.

For the last 400 years, operas have been based around themes of real human emotion: life, death, joy, anger, and most predominantly, love. From two impoverished bohemians, to lovers who can only be together in death, we’ve chosen some of opera's greatest love stories.

Did you know that Dvořák’s Rusalka is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid?

We’ve rounded up some of the best-known operas inspired by fairy tales here. Take a look.

The image of Paris as the city of love is one we know well, especially thanks to the famous stories that have been inspired by the capital itself. It’s no surprise that a place, famed for its romance, elegance and drama has been the setting for some of the best-known operas in the repertoire. Have a read to see how (and why) Paris has inspired these famous operas.

Composers have long taken inspiration from literature for their operas. From novels to novellas, find out more about the literary sources from some of the best-known works in the repertoire.

Thanks to opera’s origins in the preservation of Greek drama, it’s no surprise that one of operas founding fathers, Claudio Monteverdi, chose Greek tragedy as his first opera’s starting point. Take a look at some of these best known operas based on myths and legends.

From murderers to monarchs, historic moments and famous faces have inspired operas throughout the centuries. We’ve chosen six of the best known operas which have done just that.

The Austrian composer may have only been alive for 35 short years, but that was more than enough time to write some of the most famous classical music today. Here’s 6 you’ve almost certainly heard before.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, operas could not be performed in front of audiences unless they had passed a process of censorship. Many operas we know and love today are different versions of the operas their composers had imagined thanks to the scrutiny of the sensitive censors of the age.

Although these four operas below managed to pass censorship (with significant changes, no doubt), they still managed to cause great controversy. Take a look at four major operas that shook society.

Thanks to these cartoons, you might be better acquainted with classical music than you think. Take a look at some of the most iconic uses of opera in TV…

Thought opera wasn’t for the masses? Think again!
Thanks to these TV ads (and many others that we haven’t included) you probably know famous opera songs without even realising it. Take a look at some of the most famous…

Even if you’re a newcomer to the world of opera, chances are you’re already familiar with some of opera’s best known music – especially if you’ve seen one of these films before!

Despite being known as ‘the land without music’, the UK has long enjoyed a vibrant operatic scene, with the capital city of London being especially fortunate. This timeline highlights the most significant events.

Take a look at this timeline of the last 400 years of opera.

ENO launches its 2018/19 Season with a new production of Salome, Richard Strauss’s one-act opera based on Oscar Wilde’s celebrated play. It is the first production in a season of nine operas at the London Coliseum in which we shall be exploring and examining some of the patriarchal structures, relationships, and roles of masculinity within our society.

First seen at the London Coliseum in 2013, Simon McBurney’s five-star production directed Mozart’s The Magic Flute for ENO.

Here’s four things you didn’t already know about the production.

Director Jonathan Miller’s classic production of Puccini’s La bohème is a staple of ENO's repetoire. Here’s four things you might not have already known about the production…

Their working relationship, and friendship, may have only lasted 7 years, but Britten and W. H. Auden still managed to collaborate on a great number of projects.
From Paul Bunyan to Hymn to St Cecilia, get to know the works of Britten and Auden

With at least 25,000 versions, Porgy and Bess’s opening aria, ‘Summertime’, is the most covered song in the world.

We’ve taken a look at some of the different versions of ‘Summertime’ from the past 80 years.

We take a look at different depictions of the Salome story throughout the ages.

Everything you need to know about the events that lead to Britten composing his powerful War Requiem.

What do Moulin Rouge, Pretty Woman, and Verdi’s La traviata have in common? If you love one, you will probably like them all! Few people know that both Pretty Woman and Moulin Rouge use Verdi’s opera as inspiration. Take a look at the similarities between them all and see for yourself…

Explore ENO's 50 years at the London Coliseum

There’s no official record of how many theatres the architect worked on. It is estimated he designed at least 80 theatres, and renovated many more. Out of these 80 theatres, less than 20 still survive today. Take a look at a few of his most impressive works!