Opera Rara’s mission is to restore, record, perform and promote the lost operatic heritage of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
We are a unique combination of opera company, recording label and live operatic archaeologist. We search for neglected operatic masterpieces and restore them to life for contemporary audiences to enjoy and other opera companies to explore.
Our work has led to a fundamental revaluation of composers such as Donizetti, Pacini, Offenbach, Rossini and Mercadante, changing the way in which these figures are perceived internationally.
We were named Label of the Year at the 2024 Gramophone Classical Music Awards. Our catalogue comprises over 100 titles, including 66 complete opera recordings. Our artistic success has been recognised through many major awards over the last decade alone, including at the International Opera Awards (Best Opera Recording) for Mercadante’s Il proscritto (2023), Rossini’s Semiramide (2019), Donizetti’s Les Martyrs (2016) and Offenbach’s Fantasio (2015). Our label has also been recognised at the International Classical Music Awards with Semiramide (Best Opera, 2019), Ermonela Jaho’s debut recital album Anima Rara (Best Vocal Music Recording, 2021) and the Donizetti Songs Vols. 5 & 6 with Ermonela Jaho and Carlo Rizzi (Best Vocal Music Recording, 2026). In addition, we have won the Best Recording category at Germany’s Opus Klassik awards with Offenbach’s La Princesse de Trébizonde (2024) and Semiramide (2019). At the OPER! international opera awards, we won the award for Best Recording with for La Princesse de Trébizonde (2024), Donizetti’s L’Ange de Nisida (2019) and our complete collection of the Donizetti Songs (Best Complete Edition, 2026).
Our Artistic Director Carlo Rizzi was appointed in 2019. Since then he has recorded the final 1921 version of Puccini’s La rondine, the original 1912 version of Leoncavallo’s Zingari and Donizetti’s L’esule di Roma as well as Mercadante’s Il proscritto, whose discovery and restoration he championed, and seven new volumes of Donizetti Songs. Internationally renowned soprano Renée Fleming, who made her complete opera recording debut with Opera Rara in 1994 in Donizetti’s Rosmonda d’Inghilterra, is our Honorary Artist Patron. In 2022, marking Donizetti’s 225th birthday, we announced Ermonela Jaho and Michael Spyres as Artist Ambassadors, commemorating their long and acclaimed work with the company.
Our ground-breaking work is only made possible by the generosity of our supporters. Opera Rara is a charity that receives no public funding. Nearly £1M needs to be raised annually. By supporting Opera Rara, you become an essential member of the Opera Rara family and join us on a journey of operatic discovery.
Opera Rara Essentials Playlist
