Claudio Monteverdi – Orfeo – The first opera, or “drama with music,” this Baroque work is brief compared to longer Classical and Romantic era operas and incorporates many dramatic principles derived from Greek theater. While it might not be the best example of overarching operatic principles, it is a great historical introduction and allows students to see how opera began.

Mikhail Glinka – Ruslan and Lyudmilla – Premiering in 1842, roughly a half-century before Verdi’s Otello, used as an example in this text, this opera is a great representation of a synthesized European style. Using principles of Italian Opera Seria and French Grand Opera, as well as some humorous moments clearly inspired by German Singspiel, this work has an easy-to-follow narrative plot that features large choruses, 19th-century orientalism, duet arias, and strikingly beautiful melodies. Part of a larger tradition of Russian fairy tale operas, this work is a great example for students and provides some material to complement the Mozart and Verdi operas discussed in the text.