The Major Operas since World-War II

[James]

Surveying whole operas.

[North Star]

Britten: Billy Budd, The Turn of the Screw, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Death in Venice
Poulenc: Dialogues of the Carmelites (1957)
Ligeti: Le Grand Macabre (1978)

[vandermolen]

Vaughan Williams 'The Pilgrim's Progress'. Having now seen it live twice I consider it possibly his greatest work. Largely neglected masterpiece.

[Drasko]

Poulenc - Les mamelles de Tirésias
Martinu - The Greek Passion
Starvinsky - The Rake's Progress
Henze - Die Bassariden
Birtwistle - Punch and Judy

[springrite]

I will only include ones I have seen LIVE:

Sallinen: Kullervo
Adam: Nixon in China
Prokofiev: The Fiery Angel
Britten: Midsummer Night's Dream
Glass: Einstein on the Beach

[chadfeldheimer]

3 additions

Arnold Schoenberg - Moses und Aron
B.A. Zimmermann - die Soldaten
Luigi Nono - Prometeo (I hope it is an opera)

[North Star]

3 additions

Arnold Schoenberg - Moses und Aron

A bit too early 

[Mr Bloom]

Moses und Aron was written between 1930 and 1932.
The fiery angel was written between 1919 and 1927.

Both were premiered in the 50's but they aren't works from after World war II.

[Abuelo Igor]

Luigi Nono - Prometeo (I hope it is an opera)

I don't really know what it is. Probably what I saw was a concert version, but I don't recall any plot or action that could make it qualify as an opera.

[chadfeldheimer]

A bit too early 

I had to delete "Einstein on the Beach" and "Rake's Progress" because springrite and Drasko were faster.

I'm not sure if "Oresteia" from Xenakis counts as an opera, but it's a stage work with vocals and it's great. The same holds for Andriessens "de Staat". 

[chadfeldheimer]

Moses und Aron was written between 1930 and 1932.
The fiery angel was written between 1919 and 1927.

Both were premiered in the 50's but they aren't works from after World war II.

Ok - then I recall "Moses und Aron".

[North Star]

I wonder how long it will take until all these are listed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_important_operas#From_1945

[knight66]

Birtwistle:The Minotaur
Judith Weir: Night at the Chinese Opera

Mike

[chadfeldheimer]

I wonder how long it will take until all these are listed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_important_operas#From_1945

Everyone who post's an opera, that is not in the list, hasn't a clue about operas 

[knight66]

Some on that list would not qualify as major.....Walton's The Bear? A shaving fallen from the master's work bench.

Mike

[ritter]

Not mentioned before, as far as I can see (in alphabetical order by composer):

George Benjamin: Written on skin
Harrison Birtwistle: The Mask of Orpheus; Gawain
Elliott Carter: What next?
Luigi Dallapiccola: Il Prigioniero
Peter Eötvös: Three sisters
Cristóbal Halffter: Don Quijote
Jonathan Harvey: Wagner Dream
Hans Werner Henze: The Bassarids
York Höller: Der Meister und Margarita
Bruno Maderna: Satyricon
Olivier Messiaen: Saint Fraçois d'Assise
Luigi Nono: Intolleranza 1960 and Al gran sole carico d'amore
Goffredo Petrassi: Il Cordovano
Ildebrando Pizzetti: Assasinio nella catedrale
Kaija Saariaho: L'Amour de loin
Karlheinz Stockhausen: Licht (the whole cycle?)

More to come (perhaps)....

Note: technically Lulu would qualify (completed and premiered in 1979) and War and Peace almost (completed during the war, premiered just after the war was over in Europe)...

[knight66]

I wanted to sneek Peter Grimes in, but it was premired in 1945, so does not strictly qualify.

Mike

[North Star]

I wanted to sneek Peter Grimes in, but [even though] it was premired in 1945, [it] does not strictly qualify.

Mike

I too.

[ritter]

Let me add a much-maligned work, which I though find quite an achievement (démodé as it was as soon as it was premiered):

William Walton: Troilus and Cressida

...and a great opera from Argentina, which deserves much wider ercognition;

Alberto Ginastera: Bomarzo

[knight66]

A favourite of mine, Golijov's Ainadamar, (Fountain of Tears). A short piece, powerful and memorable.

Mike