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Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826) founded German Romantic opera in order to challenge the dominance of Italian bel canto. A master of orchestral colour and atmosphere, Weber was never well served by his librettists, and only one of his works, Der Freischütz, is performed with any frequency. Though he died young, his influence on later German composers, especially Wagner, was immense.
Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864). The archetypal composer of French grand opera, Meyerbeer's huge extravaganzas such as Les Huguenots and Le prophète were immensely popular in their day.
Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) links bel canto with Grand Opera. His immortal Barber of Seville was the only one of his operas that was continuously performed into the 20th century, but his serious operas, such as Semiramide and Ermione, are recognised as masterpieces now that singers with appropriate technique are again available to perform them. Guillaume Tell, his swan-song, has a vast sweep only equalled in the 19th century by the later works of Verdi, Musorgskij and Wagner.
Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848). Along with Rossini and Bellini, Donizetti is generally acknowledged as one of the masters of the bel canto style. His masterwork is generally cited as being Lucia di Lammermoor.
Jacques Fromental Halévy (1799–1862). Along with Meyerbeer, the best known composer of French grand opera, Halévy's key work is La Juive, a story of religious intolerance set in 15th century Germany
Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835). On account of such works as Norma and I puritani, Bellini is now recognised as one of the leading composers of the bel canto style of opera.
Hector Berlioz (1803–1869). Berlioz's attempts to carve out an operatic career for himself were thwarted by an unimaginative musical establishment. Nevertheless, he managed to produce Benvenuto Cellini, Béatrice et Bénédict and his masterpiece, the epic Les Troyens, the only French opera of its era of sufficient magnitude to challenge the music dramas of Wagner. Berlioz's dramatic legend, La damnation de Faust, has also been staged as an opera in recent years.
Mikhail Glinka (1804–1857) founded the Russian operatic tradition with his historical drama A Life for the Tsar and his fairy tale piece Ruslan and Ljudmila.
Ambroise Thomas (1811–1896). French composer noted for the operas Mignon and Hamlet.
Richard Wagner (1813–1883). Wagner revolutionised opera. In a series of "music dramas" such as Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal, and most of all his epic tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen, Wagner abolished the traditional distinction between recitative and aria and pioneered a new through-composed style of opera that avoids traditional cadences. Famous for their gigantic scale, Wagner's works also initiated a move away from traditional tonality.
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) had a long composing career, during which his compositional style kept evolving. Among his most famous works are Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La traviata, Don Carlos, Aida, and Otello. Mocked by critics during his lifetime and even today as melodramatic, Verdi's operas today dominate the world's stages.
Charles Gounod (1818–1893) wrote lyrical operas on literary themes, including Roméo et Juliette and Mireille. His Faust was one of the most popular operas ever written and still holds the stage today, in spite of criticisms of its "Victorianism".
Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880) was the founder of French operetta and a prolific composer of pieces which achieved tremendous success with Parisian audiences for their catchy melodies and satirical bite such as La vie Parisienne and Orpheus in the Underworld. At the time of his death, Offenbach was working on a more serious opera, The Tales of Hoffmann.
Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884) established Czech national opera with such historical epics as Dalibor. His folk comedy The Bartered Bride has entered the international repertory.
Aleksandr Borodin (1833–1887). A "weekend composer" who spent 17 years working on a single opera, Prince Igor, which now forms a key part of the Russian repertory.
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921). French composer of around a dozen operas of which one, the Biblical Samson et Delila, has an assured place in the repertoire.
Léo Delibes (1836–1891). French composer, whose Lakmé is notable for its Flower duet and as a vehicle for coloratura sopranos.
Georges Bizet (1838–1875). Bizet's masterwork Carmen is a staple of the repertoire of opera houses the world over. At the time of its premiere, the controversial plot scandalised both critics and the public.
Modest Musorgskij (1839–1881). Musorgskij completed only one opera, but Boris Godunov proved to be inspiration for generations of Russian composers on account of its uniquely nationalist character.
Pjotr Iljitsj Tsjajkovskij (1840–1893). Tsjajkovskij's international fame as an opera composer mainly rests on two works, Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades. Less interested in cultivating a uniquely Russian style than his contemporary Musorgskij, Tsjajkovskij also shows the influence of Mozart, bel canto and Bizet's Carmen in these pieces.
Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894) had ambitions to write grand operas in the Wagnerian vein, but is now most celebrated for lighter pieces, such as L'étoile and Le roi malgré lui, which were greatly admired by Ravel and Poulenc.
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) was the leading Czech opera composer between Smetana and Janáček. His Rusalka, based on the Undine legend, is his most popular work internationally.
Jules Massenet (1842–1912). Arguably the most representative French opera composer of his era (the Belle Époque), Massenet was a prolific and versatile writer whose works cover a wide variety of themes. His popularity faded somewhat after the First World War, but Werther and Manon still make regular appearances in the opera house.
Nikolaj Rimskij-Korsakov (1844–1908). Russian composer who wrote colourful operas on legendary and historical subjects.
