Obscure Composers 
by John A. Sarkett

Amazon

 

"Wonderful compilation." Henry Fogel, Dean, Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University;  former president, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra League
 

"An enjoyable read, and a great conversation starter."  James McCarthy, Limelight magazine, Australia

 

"...for those seeking to shake up their listening habits and explore musical rarities."  Opera America

 

The Obscure Composers Index™:  
  Most Recorded Operas CDs DVDs
1 Le nozze di Figaro, K 492 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  108 17
2 Don Giovanni, K 527 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  106 19
3 La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi  105 15
4 Die Walküre by Richard Wagner  100 12
5 Tosca by Giacomo Puccini  92 9
6 Aida by Giuseppe Verdi  91 14
7 Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner  89 9
8 Così fan tutte, K 588 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  84 13
9 Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner  84 8
10 Siegfried by Richard Wagner  84 7
11 La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini  79 15
12 Carmen by Georges Bizet  78 11
13 Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi  77 10
14 Die Zauberflöte, K 620 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  73 10
15 Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi  68 8
16 Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi  67 10
17 Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini  61 6
18 Otello by Giuseppe Verdi  59 9
19 Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti  58 9
20 Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner  56 12
21 Fidelio, Op. 72 by Ludwig van Beethoven  55 9
22 Un ballo in maschera by Giuseppe Verdi  52 7
23 Parsifal by Richard Wagner  51 6
24 Turandot by Giacomo Puccini  51 10
25 Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner  50 5
26 Il barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini  49 5
27 Don Carlos by Giuseppe Verdi  48 6
28 I Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo  47 4
29 Der fliegende Holländer by Richard Wagner  45 2
30 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, K 384 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  45 8
31 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Richard Wagner  45 6
32 Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph W. Gluck  44 5
33 L'Elisir d'Amore by Gaetano Donizetti  43 10
34 La forza del destino by Giuseppe Verdi  42 3
35 Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59 by Richard Strauss  41 5
36 Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi  40 6
37 Lohengrin by Richard Wagner  39 6
38 Norma by Vincenzo Bellini  39 10
39 Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni  38 8
40 Elektra, Op. 58 by Richard Strauss  36 4
41 Salome, Op. 54 by Richard Strauss  36 6
42 Simon Boccanegra by Giuseppe Verdi  36 5
43 Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss Jr.  35 7
44 Tannhäuser by Richard Wagner  35 5
45 Idomeneo, K 366 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  33 8
46 Faust by Charles Gounod  31 3
47 La Fanciulla del West by Giacomo Puccini  31 5
48 Dido and Aeneas, Z 626 by Henry Purcell  30 4
49 Eugene Onegin, Op. 24 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky  30 8
50 La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini  30 7
51 Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Puccini  30 6
52 Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti  29 7
53 I puritani by Vincenzo Bellini  28 2
54 Les contes d'Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach  28 3
55 Pelléas et Mélisande by Claude Debussy  28 4
56 Ariadne auf Naxos, Op. 60 by Richard Strauss  27 6
57 Der Freischütz, J 277 by Carl Maria von Weber  27 2
58 L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi  27 6
59 La sonnambula by Vincenzo Bellini  27 3
60 Andrea Chénier by Umberto Giordano  26 7
61 Luisa Miller by Giuseppe Verdi  26 4
62 Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky  25 5
63 Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi  25 6
64 Ernani by Giuseppe Verdi  24 3
65 Adriana Lecouvreur by Francesco Cilèa  22 3
66 L'Incoronazione di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi  22 6
67 L'italiana in Algeri by Gioachino Rossini  22 5
68 Werther by Jules Massenet  22 1
69 La clemenza di Tito, K 621 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  20 5
70 Lulu by Alban Berg  20 1
71 Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini  19 1
72 Giulio Cesare, HWV 17 by George Frideric Handel  19 5
73 Maria Stuarda by Gaetano Donizetti  19 4
74 Wozzeck, Op. 7 by Alban Berg  19 3
75 Attila by Giuseppe Verdi  18 2
76 Roméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod  18 3
77 Bluebeard's Castle, Op. 11/Sz 48 by Béla Bartók  17 1
78 Die lustige Witwe by Franz Lehár  17 3
79 I vespri siciliani by Giuseppe Verdi  17 3
80 La Gioconda by Amilcare Ponchielli  17 2
81 La fille du régiment by Gaetano Donizetti  15 5
82 Manon by Jules Massenet  15 3
83 Mefistofele by Arrigo Boito  14 2
84 Mikado by Arthur Sullivan  14 1
85 Samson et Dalila, Op. 47 by Camille Saint-Saëns  14 3
86 Dialogues des carmélites by Francis Poulenc  13 2
87 La Rondine by Giacomo Puccini  13 3
88 Les troyens by Hector Berlioz  13 3
89 Iphigénie en Tauride by Christoph W. Gluck  12 1
90 Turn of the Screw, Op. 54 by Benjamin Britten  12 3
91 Les pêcheurs de perles by Georges Bizet  11  
92 La donna del lago by Gioachino Rossini  10  
93 Pirates of Penzance by Arthur Sullivan  9 3
94 Guillaume Tell by Gioachino Rossini  7  
95 Rodelinda, HWV 19 by George Frideric Handel  7 1
96 Oedipus rex by Igor Stravinsky  6  
97 Francesca da Rimini by Riccardo Zandonai  5 2
98 Trouble in Tahiti by Leonard Bernstein  4 3
99 Castor et Pollux by Jean-Philippe Rameau  3 1

 

Source:  arkivmusic.com, 1/22/2015,
Analysis:  Sarkett & Associates, Inc., publishers:
 Obscure Composers