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Operas are famous for their extravagant nature, but some go so far beyond the norm that the plots become more ridiculous than the music itself. If you laugh at Hollywood musicals like My Fair Lady or La La Land! due to the over-the-top singing and dancing that interrupts the dialogue, then opera will seem even more absurd with its entire world where characters only communicate through song. Picture a character belting out a powerful aria for ten minutes before collapsing, no matter how severe their injuries. Outlandish plots? Think swapped babies or love potions that turn deadly. And don’t forget the cross-dressing; you might find a man singing a woman's role while pretending to be a man disguised as a woman. Still following?
That’s the reality even in some of opera’s most renowned and beloved works. But there’s an even weirder world out there, filled with operas that push the limits even further. Here are 10 of the most outlandish operas, from the famous to the utterly bizarre.
10. Turandot
Set in Beijing, Turandot, composed by Giacomo Puccini with librettos by Giuseppi Adami and Renato Simoni, unfolds like a sinister fairy tale. The overarching theme seems to suggest that love triumphs above all—even over cold-hearted, sociopathic narcissism. The plot centers around Turandot, a princess who despises men and has devised a devious way to avoid marriage. Any suitor who wishes to marry her must answer three riddles correctly. Fail, and he doesn’t just lose her hand—he loses his life as she has him executed.
Calàf, a newcomer in the area, becomes infatuated with Turandot and takes a daring risk by volunteering as her suitor. Undeterred by the deadly challenge, he correctly answers all three of her riddles, leaving Turandot distressed as she realizes she must accept him as her husband instead of her next victim.
In a final act to win her love, Calàf offers Turandot one last chance to avoid marrying him: if she can guess his name by dawn, he’ll allow her to kill him. A huge effort is launched to discover his identity, even resorting to torturing a slave girl who loves Calàf, but she tragically takes her own life. That evening, when Turandot confronts him, Calàf kisses her unexpectedly, stirring a profound emotion in her. Trusting her, he reveals his name. The next day, Turandot informs the emperor that she knows the man’s name: 'It is Love.'
9. The Nose
The premise may remind you of a quirky Jim Carrey film, but The Nose is in fact based on a satirical short story by Nikolai Gogol. Composed in the late 1920s by Dmitri Shostakovich, with a libretto by Georgy Ionin, Alexander Preis, and Yevgeny Zamyatin, it is a strikingly prominent opera. The tale follows Kovalyov, a civil servant who awakens one morning to find his nose missing after a visit to the barber. His search leads him to discover that his nose has grown to human size, developed a mind of its own, and even outranks him in the civil service.
After the police reduce the nose to its normal size and return it to Kovalyov, he is unable to have it reattached. He wrongly blames the mother of a woman he had rejected for marriage, suspecting she cast a spell on him, though her reply to his letter reveals no involvement. Ultimately, the nose reappears on his face when Kovalyov least expects it, and the barber, who was initially blamed for severing it, is released from jail.
8. The Love for Three Oranges
Another satirical comedy from a 20th-century Russian composer is The Love for Three Oranges (1921), written by Sergei Prokofiev, who collaborated with Vera Janacopoulos on the libretto.
The title itself gives a clear idea of the plot. Based on Vsevolod Meyerhold’s interpretation of Carlo Gozzi’s play, this opera blends romance and comedy in an unusual way. It tells the story of a young prince, who, after falling into a deep melancholy, is cured by a witch who causes him to develop an infatuation with three magical oranges, setting him on a quest to find them.
The prince eventually discovers the three enormous oranges, each containing a princess. When the first two oranges are peeled open, the princesses tragically die. But the third orange holds the most beautiful princess, who survives the ordeal, and they live happily ever after. While this might seem like an odd fairy tale, it's reassuring to know the prince’s love is not for the fruit itself but for the girl hidden within.
7. Medea
There are many operas centered around violently dysfunctional families, but Luigi Cherubini’s Medea (1797), with a libretto by Francois-Benoît Hoffman, is arguably the most shocking. The opera’s conclusion, where Medea kills her own children, is so unsettling that it overshadows the rest of the already bizarre narrative. Based on Greek mythology and inspired by Euripides' play, it revolves around the deeply vengeful sorceress Medea.
Medea falls in love with Jason, the hero of the Argonauts, and helps him steal the Golden Fleece from her father, the king of Colchis. After they have two sons together, Jason betrays her by choosing to marry another woman—Glauce, the daughter of Creon, King of Corinth. Medea faces losing her children, as Jason takes them with him. Medea’s insanity is evident when she kills her brother, dismembers his body, and scatters the pieces to distract her father from pursuing her. It's no surprise that Glauce fears this deranged ex-wife. Despite Medea's prayers and King Creon’s attempts to protect Glauce, she enacts a horrific revenge by sending poisonous gifts, including a cursed robe that burns Glauce’s skin.
Medea’s vengeance reaches its peak when she does the unthinkable—she kills their two sons. This horrific chain of events culminates in Medea’s own suicide, as she sets herself on fire.
6. Pagliacci
While it's not uncommon for comedians to harbor a dark side, the blend of humor and tragedy within one individual has never been portrayed so dramatically as in Ruggero Leoncavallo’s iconic opera Pagliacci. Canio, the leader of a traveling theatrical troupe, brings joy to audiences through his clown performance. But when he discovers that his wife, Nedda—the troupe's leading lady—is planning to leave him for the dashing young Silvio, Canio’s jealousy turns to madness.
While this opera may feature fewer murders than some others, Pagliacci is shocking in its own right. Canio, dressed as a clown, stabs Nedda during a live performance. When Silvio attempts to intervene and save Nedda, Canio kills him as well. The audience believes it’s just part of the performance until Canio chillingly declares, 'The comedy is over.'
5. Marnie
Based on Winston Graham's novel, which was adapted into the unforgettable 1964 Alfred Hitchcock film, the opera version of Marnie is packed with sensational plot twists. Whether this is a positive or negative aspect depends on your appetite for intense, nonstop drama.
Composed by Nico Muhly with a libretto by Nicholas Wright, this 2017 opera revolves around a beautiful embezzler haunted by a traumatic childhood. Her past scars lead her to avoid any romantic connection until she is blackmailed into marriage and ultimately tries to take her own life. Marnie delivers constant thrills and tension, along with a deep dive into psychoanalysis, which, while dramatic, is a rare approach for the operatic stage.
4. Die Frau ohne Schatten
In many operas, half-human characters appear, but in Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman without a Shadow), the empress is a hybrid of human and spirit who desperately wishes to become fully human. Composed by Richard Strauss with a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, the opera explores her complex quest.
Time is running out for the empress, as she must accomplish her task within three days or her husband will turn to stone, forcing her back to the spirit world. One of the oddest elements of the plot is the emperor’s recollection of how he first met his wife. He describes her as a gazelle he was hunting, and when he struck her with a spear, she transformed into a woman. However, their marriage has not been blessed with children, and even stranger, she has no shadow.
The empress’s nurse attempts to buy the shadow of a regular woman by offering her a luxurious life with a new man, and the woman agrees. However, when the human emotions of compassion for the woman’s husband, as well as the sorrow of seeing her own husband turned to stone, allow the empress to finally cast her shadow, she saves the emperor.
3. Ottone
In George Frideric Handel’s renowned 1723 opera Ottone, with a libretto by Nicola Haym, the history of the Holy Roman Empire is reimagined in a musical farce. Based on Antonio Letti’s 1719 opera Teofane, this complex plot presents a fictionalized account of the marriage between future Roman Emperor Otto II and the Byzantine princess Theophanu. It’s intriguing that so much of the narrative is invented, given that the real events after the wedding were dramatic enough to inspire a great opera on their own.
Teofane (Theophanu) arrives in Rome to marry her betrothed, Ottone (Otto II), but he is delayed by battle. In the meantime, a deceitful imposter named Adelberto, at the urging of his scheming mother, impersonates Ottone to trick Princess Teofane into marrying him and attempting to seize control of the empire. When the real Ottone arrives, he has Adelberto arrested. In retaliation, Adelberto’s fiancée, Matilda, conjures monsters and thunderbolts when Ottone refuses to show mercy.
Adelberto manages to escape and forms an alliance with a pirate to kidnap Teofane. However, it turns out the pirate is her long-lost brother. Teofane and Ottone eventually unite and realize that, despite their marriage being arranged, they have developed real affection for each other—a rare moment of truth in this otherwise twisted tale.
2. Iolanta
Composed by Peter Tchaikovsky and Béla Bartók, with a libretto by Tchaikovsky's brother Modest in collaboration with Béla Balázs, the 1891 opera Iolanta tells the story of a blind girl. Her father, King René, goes to great lengths to conceal her blindness, keeping her sheltered from the knowledge that she lacks one of the five senses. Iolanta believes that the only purpose of eyes is to produce tears. This illusion is shattered when a visitor, Vaudémont, who falls in love with her, notices that she cannot distinguish between a red and a white rose. He reveals her blindness, which enrages her father, partly because he fears her betrothed will find out before their marriage.
A physician who claims to be able to cure Iolanta’s blindness states that the treatment will only work if she truly desires to see. To encourage her, King René threatens to execute Vaudémont if Iolanta remains blind. Fortunately, Vaudémont is spared, and after the treatment is successful, Iolanta regains her sight and marries him.
1. Elektra
Set in the aftermath of the Trojan War, Elektra, composed by Richard Strauss with a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, premiered in 1909. It is often considered one of the most violent operas ever created.
Elektra, a princess, is driven insane after her father, King Agamemnon, is murdered by her mother, Klytaemnesta, who wields the axe. Her mother's act is fueled by Agamemnon’s decision to sacrifice their daughter Iphigenia. At the start of this one-act opera, Elektra is already plotting her revenge against Klytaemnesta, planning to have her brother carry out the murder. When he returns home after a long absence, finding Elektra mad with grief, he carries out the act, killing Klytaemnesta and her lover. Elektra is overjoyed by the outcome and dances ecstatically, eventually collapsing from the emotional release.
